Digital Media for Community-Based Food Safety Education: Improving Awareness on Health Communication Strategies in Malaysia.
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Abstract
The evolution of digital technology has disrupted how society receives information, including in relation to community-based food safety education. The objective of this study is to assess the potential efficacy of digital media as an interactive digital communication strategy and the role of awareness and comprehension levels in the efficacy of food safety messages among the Malaysian community. A quantitative survey was conducted, and 500 community members and students in Malaysia were recruited using stratified random sampling to include both urban and rural. Content validation, pilot test, and factor analysis were carried out to maintain construct valid and reliable research instruments, while multiple linear regression was conducted for data analysis after statistical assumptions were met. Results show that awareness has a positive and significant effect on communication effectiveness while understanding does not, and this may reflect the knowledge-practice gap or the effect of statistical suppression. These results underscore that the activation of awareness is the driving mechanism by which digital media communication on food safety increases effectiveness. It adds to the literature not only by further elucidating works of a definition of digital media and speculating on the overlap with aspects of information-seeking theory and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in a unified analytical lens but also by adding initial empirical evidence from the Southeast Asian region. Implications of the study indicate a need for health communication strategies to move from simply delivering information to approaches centered on awareness activation to trigger behavioral change around food safety in community settings
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