MJAMR

Public Health Awareness and Community Engagement: A Case Study of Kassanda District

Kyeyune Coas, Kituno Moses


Abstract

This study examined the relationship between public health awareness and community engagement in Kassanda District, Uganda. Recognising that effective public health outcomes depend on both informed communities and active participation, the study investigated how health knowledge, access to health information, attitudes towards health, and health-worker communication relate to the level of community engagement in health programmes. A cross-sectional survey design with a mixed-methods approach was adopted, and data were collected from 200 respondents comprising community members, village health team members, and health workers using questionnaires and interviews. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression were used for analysis. The results revealed a strong positive and significant relationship between public health awareness and community engagement (r = 0.66, p < 0.01), with awareness dimensions jointly explaining 50.8% of the variance in engagement (R² = 0.508). Health knowledge and access to health information were the strongest predictors. The study concludes that raising public health awareness significantly enhances community engagement and recommends strengthening health education, information access, and health-worker communication.

Keywords

public health awareness community engagement health knowledge health information
Metropolitan Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research

Cite This Article

Kyeyune Coas & Kituno Moses (2026). Public Health Awareness and Community Engagement: A Case Study of Kassanda District. Metropolitan Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research, 5(7). https://journals.miu.ac.ug/pages/article.php?article_id=729

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