| Abstract: |
Health communication plays a vital role in promoting public health,
influencing health behaviours, and engaging individuals in healthcare
decisions. Despite the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) being a
common hormonal disorder that affects women of reproductive age
globally, it is still under recognised. While lack of awareness has long been
acknowledged, its stronger effects are becoming increasingly evident in
the current digital era. Therefore, this study investigated how social media
platforms influence the awareness of PCOS among female staff of Lead
City University, Ibadan. The study was anchored on the Health Belief
Model. The study employed correlational survey research design. The
population for this study comprises female employees of Lead City
University in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The findings revealed that
irregular or missed menstrual periods are well recognised as a common
symptom of PCOS, with 74% of respondents indicating awareness,
reflected in a mean score of 2.66 (SD = 0.61), showing that most
respondents understand this key symptom of PCOS. Social media
platforms have a statistically significant and strong influence on the
awareness of PCOS (F = 79.534, p < 0.05). Also, there exists a statistically
significant and positive effect of social media platforms on awareness of
PCOS (B = 1.615, Beta = 0.493, p < 0.05). The study concluded that
exposure to social media significantly enhanced awareness of PCOS. The
study recommended that social media campaigns should be designed to
reinforce awareness of PCOS, using accurate and engaging content |
