Media Literacy, Health and Women Malnutrition: The Mediating Effect of Cognitive Absorption Dr. Padhy Mahendra Kumar1, Mr. Vishal Vinit2 1Assistant Professor(Selection Grade), Dept. of Mass Communication and Journalism, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Lucknow, U.P. Mobile. 09451529128 2Ph.D Research Scholar, Dept. of Mass Communication and Journalism, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Lucknow Online published on 10 December, 2021. Abstract The research paper is an attempt to identify and delineate the role of media in determining the knowledge of health-related issues among the rural women of Kalli Pashchim and Birura village. Media helps to inform, encourage, motivate and promote people about the information related to health issues. And the steps taken to make people aware of the health-related issues is known as health communication.The researcher has focussed on the knowledge, behavior, and attitude of the rural women towards several health issues. The main objectives of the research paper is to determine the knowledge of health-related issues among the rural women of Lucknow district, to understand the importance of health communication in rural areas and to examine the reach and access of communication in the rural areas. A survey of 300 rural women was collected from the village areas of Lucknow district. The sampling area selected by the researcher was Kalli Pashchim and Kheda villages of Lucknow. The sampling technique used for the research study is judgment sampling. The interview schedule was prepared to keep the nutritional status of the rural women and communication reach on the subject of health issue in mind like malnutrition. The findings indicate that the majority of the respondents are not aware of the concept of ‘Health Communication’. This shows that the term ‘Health Communication’ is not known by more than half of the rural women respondents. The researcher found that the only 14% of the respondents take interest in health-related programs and they watch and hear programs. While maximum female respondents said that they love watching daily soaps and rarely watch any program related to health. The researcher found that 60.50% feel that media is playing a crucial role in communicating information related to health related issues. This shows that the women in rural areas understand the importance of media in the field of health. Top Keywords Media Literacy, Health Communication, Rural women, Malnutrition, Cognitive absorption. Top |