THE IMPACT OF COVID 19 COMMMUNICATION ON WELLNESS OF SOUTH EAST RESIDENTS OF NIGERIA: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

COVID-19 has come and gone but up until today, the residual effects still lives with the public. Studies have shown that the impact of COVID-19 is diverse. Some school of thought argue that the impact is felt more in terms of the economy while some have said that the impact is felt more on the area of quality of life. Some have also argued that the impact is felt more on family relationships where it has caused isolation and disintegration. This work however singled out one crucial aspect that seems to have a more lasting impact which is mental health and quality of life of the public using residents of South East Nigeria as a case study. The study investigated the influence of COVID-19 Communication on mental health and quality of life of residents in South East Nigeria. The study was anchored on the Framing theory. Using a sample size of 663 respondents drawn from the population using the multi-stage sampling technique, the study found that social media is the dominant channel through which residents in South East Nigeria obtain information on COVID -19 pandemic.  The study also showed that COVID-19 communication to a large extent shaped the respondent’s opinion about the pandemic. Also, the study showed that, the constant exposure to COVID-19 related information had some negative effects like depression, anxiety, fear and stress on the mental health and quality of life of residents in the South East region. This might be due to the nature of such messages because anecdotal evidence suggests that most of the information are those that concerns the effect of the disease on person and people and also most of this information sometimes were also not very clear and instead of giving the people some sort of relief on what to do, it increased their anxiety, fear and misunderstanding concerning the disease. This findings aligns and upholds literature in this area which shows that media messages on COVID-19 had significant effects on the mental health and quality of life of the public during the pandemic. The study concludes that continuous dissemination of news about the pandemic which particularly focused on the rising number of cases, deaths and health risks, led to increased anxiety, depression, fear and stress among residents  and this negatively affected their mental health well-being and overall quality of life. In line with this, the study recommends that communication concerning health issues must be well thought out, streamed and carved in such a way that it will produce the expected results and not fear. The use of fear appeal and other appeals in communicating health information should not be used in cases of pandemic but health communication messages concerning pandemic must be tailored in a way to direct the public on what to do and not to cause fear and anxiety.