Use of Social Media in Promoting Health Programmes among Rural Women in Mbeya Referral Hospital in Mbarali District Council in Tanzania.

Mosha, Arcad Vincent (2025) Use of Social Media in Promoting Health Programmes among Rural Women in Mbeya Referral Hospital in Mbarali District Council in Tanzania. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

The study aimed at assessing the use of social media in promoting health programmes among rural women in Mbarali District Council in Mbeya Zonal Referral Hospital Tanzania. It explored the number of rural women in seeking healthcare services after accessing information through social media; it assessed the ability of rural women in using digital technology in accessing health information; it examined changes in women’s ability to take informed decisions about their health and reproductive rights after receiving health related advice through social media; and finally examined the challenges for using social media platforms in rural women’s health promotion. The reviewed literature was guided by The Health Belief Model and the Social Media Engagement Theory while the overall research approach employed was mixed method approach. The research design used was cross sectional which enabled the researcher to collect data via questionnaire, interview and focus group discussion in a sample size of 95 respondents obtained purposively from the overall population of the study. The findings revealed that a significant number of rural women reported exposure to health information through social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook; that the ability of rural women to use digital technology, including smartphones and social media, for accessing health information is generally low to moderate; that social media positively influenced rural women’s ability to make informed decisions regarding their health and reproductive rights. Lastly the study identified limited internet connectivity, low digital literacy levels, as the main challenge that limit the effective use of social media for health promotion. Keywords: Social media, promotion of health programmes, rural women, Mbarali District Council, Mbeya Zonal Referral Hospital

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