ROLE OF MEDIA IN PROMOTING PUBLIC HEALTH A MIX METHOD STUDY IN ISLAMABAD

Health education is incorporated in public health programs only as a public relations expeditions [1]. There is no single interpretation of health communication. "Health communication, like health education, is an approach which attempts to change a set of behaviors in a large-scale target audience regarding a specific problem in a predefined period of time"[2]. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention defines health communication as "the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community decisions that enhance health [3]." Considering the wide scope of health communication, scholars, practitioners, and policy makers’ perceive the connotation of health communication to public health [5]. Much of the public’s understanding of health and health policy is not from their direct experience [6]. Media and computer technology affect the healthcare system and individuals [7]. Clearly, media representations of health and illness develops understanding of the experience of illness, health, and healthcare policymaking [8]. “Media can be a conveyance instrument for getting the right information to the right people in the right way at the right time to promote personal change” and that “they can be a cariole for increasing participation in communal and constitutional life and social capital to promote social change” [9]. In today’s media rich landscape, and especially with the advancements of Information and Communication Technologies [ICTs], increasing attempts are underway to consolidate mass media strategies into health education, promotion, and disease prevention practices [10]. Despite the fact that journalists recognize the need for specially designed training on health issues, there is lack of such guidance [11]. Journalists believe they need more training to acquire definite skills related to assessing conflicts of interest, interpreting medical research reports, and understanding demography so as to evaluate specific health topics, such as medical research and science, health policy, and business/economics of health care [12]. Previous researches have shown that, regardless o