Jurnal Pengajian Media Malaysia

Guest Editor’s Note: “Sustainability and Equality of Health: Empowered through Communication”

Wardatul Hayat Adnan — 2024-09-29

The special issue on Health Communication themed “Sustainability and Equality of Health: Empowered through Communication” highlights several critical aspects of health communication and the role of media in promoting positive health beliefs for sustainable and equitable health outcomes. This issue features six papers that emphasize the importance of effective communication in different contexts and audiences. The insights provided by these studies are vital to building an understanding of media and communication practices that help build resilience among members of the public. In the post-pandemic era, this resilience is seen to be the public’s strongest defence.

Future of Malaysian Youth at Risk: Mental Health, Self-Efficacy and Behavioural Change

Wardatul Hayat Adnan — 2024-09-29

High rates of mental health problems are a growing concern in Malaysia higher education, negatively impacting students’ behaviour. Despite the serious nature of poor mental health, students often do not seek help because of negative behavioural changes. Identifying the youth's past behaviour, demographic culture, personality, moods & emotions and Media Intervention will further in identifying the level of mental health faced by our youth, early detection is important to reduce the risk of mental health issues amongst them. Recent mental health research reports that self-efficacy is associated with better mental health and reduced negative behavioural change. However, relationships between those constructs remain to be evaluated among youth in Malaysia. This study aims to appraise the relationships between mental health problems, self-efficacy and behavioural change in this population. An opportunity sample of 201 students from a public university completed questionnaires regarding these constructs. Correlation, regression, and path analyses were conducted. Mental health problems were positively associated with self-efficacy and behavioural change. Findings suggest self-efficacy is essential for mental health in Malaysian youth and is associated with negative.

Promoting Health Sustainability and Equality Globally During Pandemics with Strategic Health Communication

Gary Kreps — 2024-09-29

The COVID-19 pandemic has focused attention on the importance of public health communication around the globe. The pandemic has not only been a major health challenge but has also been a challenge to communicating relevant health information and support for guiding effective responses to the rapidly spreading and adapting virus. The pandemic has been complicated by problems with disseminating relevant information, helping people recognize key risks and response guidelines, along with difficult misinformation issues. This review article examines what we have learned from the pandemic about effective communication strategies to promote health sustainability and equality within countries and across nations.

Portrayals of Cancer in Hingga Jumpa Lagi (2018): Understanding And Enhancing Health Literacy in The Screen Media

Nuruliza Roslan — 2024-09-29

Screen media plays a vital role in shaping public perceptions of cancer. This article examines the Malay telefilm Hingga Jumpa Lagi (2018) and its representation of cancer’s complexities. While the telefilm effectively showcases the personal struggles of Eva, it oversimplifies the multifaceted aspects of the disease. This oversimplification risks perpetuating misconceptions and stigmatisation. Identifying crucial gaps in information, this article suggests that the telefilm lacks depth needed for comprehensive understanding. Recommendations emphasise the necessity of providing additional, accurate information within the film to dispel misconceptions.
By enhancing the portrayal’s accuracy, this approach aims to foster informed support for cancer patients and promote better societal awareness of the disease.

The Pervasiveness of Social Media Platforms Towards Social Media Fatigue and Fear of Missing Out: A Threat to The Mental Health of Students in China

Suffian Hadi Ayub — 2024-09-29

When data shows an increase in students burnt out owing to meeting obligations as a student, the mental health of students in China is alarming. The high level of expectation in research has caused them to focus and ensure that the information is current and up to date. Students in China might experience Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and Social Media Fatigue (SMF) because of their extended engagement with social media platforms as a result of this pressure. As a result, the purpose of this study is to determine the influence of Social Media Platform use and its effect on social media fatigue and fear of missing out among Chinese students. These quantitative studies were conducted on students from Chinese public universities. There are 381 students was participated in the study. Stratified random sampling was used in getting the samples. Results shows positive relationship between Use of social media platform towards social media fatigue (ρ =.626) and Fear of Missing Out (ρ =.702) among China students. Pearson The correlation analysis was utilised to detect the association, and regression was used to determine the weightage of the influence. Risk of students’ mental health can be reduced by participation by the community at large. As discussed, life of a university student has frequently been burdened by high expectations established by parents, teachers, and society at large. As a result, mental health is something that society or relevant organisations may work on to alleviate student load and ensure study-life balance.

Unveiling Social Learning Through Emotional Experience: A Phenomenological Study on the Impact of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay Korean Drama in Malaysia

Mohd Yusof Zulkefli — 2024-09-29

Social learning is a process whereby it happens in all human beings through observing, imitating, and modelling the behaviours, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Social learning commonly happens and tends to happen naturally through the adaptation process. It can occur not only through interaction with others but this procedure can be triggered through mass media, leading to attitudes and behavioural change. In Malaysia, mental health is the second-highest health problem, and the drama “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” with the mental health awareness theme is believed to be able to deliver educational information to the audience. Hence, this research employs emotional experience to further elaborate the presence of social learning among the audience in a qualitative approach by using the phenomenology study to understand the perception and emotions of the audience. In this study, 11 young Malaysian audiences aged 18 to 30 were selected using a purposive sampling method to conduct in-depth interviews. The results show that the audience learned and perceived the information from the drama has changed their perception of mental health issues and their behaviour towards someone with mental health problems by treating them equally and becoming more tolerant. The implication of this study indicates that the “charity starts at home” is the baseline of every behaviour development.

Using Social Media For ADHD Education and Advocacy: A Case Study of Mental Health Influencer Dr. Ned Hallowell

Hao Zhang — 2024-09-29

The rapid popularization of social media accelerates the speed of information dissemination, and the ADHD community is discriminated against and stereotyped by the underground influence of media content quality. Ned Hallowell, as a key opinion leader in the field of ADHD, actively promotes the positive characteristics of ADHD. This article takes his social media content to explore the positive characteristics of ADHD. Research found that ADHD has unique potential in creativity, humor, and high enthusiasm. This article advocates ADHD as a resource rather than a barrier, encouraging individuals with ADHD to establish connections with their unique traits.