An assessment of awareness campaigns in COVID-19 management

ABSTRACT

A public awareness campaign is a tool of social marketing technique. The quality of awareness campaign is determined based on its effectiveness which is evaluated by its impact on the audience. To know the awareness related to major media campaigns, during the COVID-19 pandemic related to COVID-appropriate behaviour, a survey tool was designed and administered in online mode among 200 young respondents from Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Data were collected through Google forms shared via various social platforms and snowball sampling technique with age and area related restrictions. The media campaign which made a great impact on the mind and heart of the respondents were "Do gaj doori mask hai jaroori (Mask and maintaining distance of two yards is necessary) " and "Jab tak dawai nahi tab tak dhilai nahi (No carelessness till a medicine is recommended)" The sources which made people aware were "caller tune" followed by "family and friends". Almost all components of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour were known to the respondents except, seeking COVID-19 related information from reliable sources and refraining from sharing unverified social media posts. This research throws light on the interventions that can be more impactful and will thus help in better designing and dissemination of awareness campaigns in future.