{"id":30289,"date":"2026-07-12T04:40:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T04:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/?p=30289"},"modified":"2026-07-12T06:18:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T06:18:58","slug":"the-impact-of-media-health-programs-on-womens-health-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/2026\/07\/the-impact-of-media-health-programs-on-womens-health-awareness\/","title":{"rendered":"The impact of media health programs on women’s health awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Findings from Salam Watandar’s interviews with 35 women across 10 provinces of Afghanistan (Kapisa, Badakhshan, Kabul, Daikundi, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Faryab, Ghor, Kunduz, and Badghis) show that media health programs increase women’s awareness of health issues and improve their health-related behaviors. According to the findings, all of the women interviewed say that the media are effective in improving their health awareness.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The women say that after following media health programs, they use safe drinking water more consistently, seek medical care sooner when they become ill, pay more attention to a healthy nutrition, and follow health recommendations.<\/p>\n

Among the 35 women interviewed, 16 receive health information through radio, 7 through television, and 12 through social media.<\/p>\n

Armaghan Noori, a 30-year-old woman from Samangan, says that she obtains most of her health information through radio and television.<\/p>\n

“I get most of my health information from television, radio, and sometimes Facebook. Since we do not always have a stable internet connection at home, I mostly rely on television and radio programs,” she says.<\/p>\n

Shakila, another 28-year-old woman, also says, “I use social media, television, and radio\u2014especially radio, because it is accessible almost everywhere.”<\/p>\n

Fatima Sorosh, a 25-year-old from Daikundi, talks about health programs that have been useful to her. She says,<\/p>\n

“Programs about nutrition for pregnant women, caring for children suffering from malnutrition, seeking treatment at hospitals, and avoiding the use of medicine without consulting a doctor have been very useful. They have encouraged me to pay greater attention to my own health and my family’s health.”<\/p>\n

Shogofa Ahmadi, a 26-year-old from Baghlan, highlights the impact of a health program by saying,<\/p>\n

“One of the most useful programs I watched was about women’s health and anemia. The doctor explained that persistent fatigue, dizziness, and physical weakness could be signs of anemia. I had the same symptoms, so after watching the program, I went to a clinic. The doctor confirmed that I was anemic. After receiving treatment and taking the prescribed medication, my condition improved.”<\/p>\n

Health programs; a positive shift in women’s health behaviors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another key finding of the report is the positive change in women’s health behaviors. The women interviewed say that after listening to health programs, they seek medical care sooner when health problems arise, pay greater attention to children’s nutrition, and ensure that prenatal check-ups and childhood vaccinations are carried out on time.<\/p>\n

Marziya Hossaini, a 30-year-old teacher, says, “I now pay greater attention to hygiene and the use of clean water. If I become ill, I seek medical care sooner. Once, after listening to a program about high blood pressure, we took our mother to a clinic, and her condition was diagnosed at an early stage.”<\/p>\n

Hassani Mohammadi, a 26-year-old graduate in midwifery from Ghor, also says, “I now pay closer attention to regular medical check-ups and following health advice. I have visited health facilities several times for consultations and examinations, and the results have been positive.”<\/p>\n

Complex medical terminology; a barrier to understanding health messages<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although many of the women say that media health programs are easy to understand, others note that some medical terminology is difficult for them to comprehend. Shakila Ahmadi, a 30-year-old teacher from Badghis, says,<\/p>\n

“Most health programs are produced in simple, easy-to-understand language, and people can use them easily.”<\/p>\n

Shahnaz Rahimi, a 23-year-old from Nangarhar, also says,<\/p>\n

“Sometimes English terms are used in the programs. We expect them to use simpler and more understandable language in the programs whenever possible.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization emphasizes that governments, media organizations, civil society organizations, and healthcare providers are responsible for ensuring that reliable health information is presented in ways that are understandable and usable for everyone.<\/p>\n

However, the women interviewed do not place the same level of trust in health information provided by the media. While some trust the information, others consult doctors to ensure its accuracy. Silsila Quraishi, a 24-year-old, says,<\/p>\n

“I trust it to some extent, but I also discuss the information with a doctor to make sure it is accurate. I ask whether I should follow the advice or not.”<\/p>\n

Nooria Ahmadi, a 27-year-old from Herat, says that complex medical terminology should be avoided to help people better understand health information.<\/p>\n

“Many people may not be familiar with medical terminology and therefore may not understand the message. The information should be simplified, and Persian or Pashto equivalents should be provided so that ordinary people can understand it,” she says.<\/p>\n

Health programs should be simple and address people’s needs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Health experts say that the media play an important role in increasing public health awareness and that health programs should be presented in simple, understandable language and address people’s actual needs. Mohammad Khalid Musamim, a public health expert, says,<\/p>\n

“The media should develop health programs based on people’s actual needs, particularly those of women. Topics such as antenatal, childbirth, and postnatal care, healthy nutrition, vaccine administration, maternal and child health, prevention of communicable diseases, personal hygiene, and mental health should all be explained in simple language.”<\/p>\n

Fawad Akhundzada, another public health expert, says that specialists and other professionals should be invited to participate in health programs.<\/p>\n

“They should use simple and understandable terms so that listeners and viewers can easily understand the information. They should also invite specialists and professionals to provide useful and easy-to-understand information about seasonal diseases and maternal and reproductive health,” he says.<\/p>\n

Officials at the Ministry of Public Health say they have started public awareness programs through the media and health workers in both the capital and the provinces to raise mothers’ awareness about protecting their own health and that of their children.<\/p>\n

Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, says,<\/p>\n

“The Ministry of Public Health has implemented awareness programs on disease prevention, vaccination, proper child nutrition, and breastfeeding in the capital and districts. We have also held seminars and other public awareness activities.”<\/p>\n

Access to reliable and understandable health information is a key factor in enabling people to make informed decisions about their health. By providing accurate, scientific, and trustworthy information, the media can help people prevent disease, seek timely diagnosis, and make proper use of healthcare services.<\/p>\n

Reporter: Sharifa Qasemi<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Findings from Salam Watandar’s interviews with 35 women across 10 provinces of Afghanistan (Kapisa, Badakhshan, Kabul, Daikundi, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Faryab, Ghor, Kunduz, and Badghis) show that media health programs increase women’s awareness of health issues and improve their health-related behaviors. According to the findings, all of the women interviewed say that the media are effective in improving their health awareness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":30290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[990,186,218,23,24],"tags":[1508,2016,2015,360,207],"class_list":["post-30289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-investigative-reports","category-health","category-multimedia","category-women","tag-awareness","tag-health-awareness","tag-health-programs","tag-media","tag-women"],"views":1,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30289"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30294,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30289\/revisions\/30294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}