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Impact of Health Education Booths at Public Markets on Preventive Health Knowledge among Market Traders in Nigeria

Abstract

Preventive health knowledge is an important component of disease prevention, early detection, and appropriate utilization of healthcare services. Market traders in Nigeria constitute a large and economically active population who may have limited opportunities to access formal health education because of demanding work schedules, financial responsibilities, limited time, and restricted access to healthcare information during working hours. Health education booths established within public markets provide an accessible platform for delivering health information directly to traders in their everyday work environment. Such booths may provide information on hypertension, diabetes, malaria prevention, immunization, healthy lifestyles, sanitation, infectious disease prevention, cancer screening, and other relevant preventive health services. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of health education booths at public markets on preventive health knowledge among market traders in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Health Literacy Framework, and Social Ecological Model. The Health Belief Model explains how perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence traders' understanding and adoption of preventive health measures. The Health Literacy Framework emphasizes individuals' ability to access, understand, evaluate, and apply health information when making appropriate health decisions. The Social Ecological Model recognizes the influence of individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and environmental factors on health knowledge and preventive behaviour. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how market-based health education may influence preventive health knowledge among market traders in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise adult market traders aged 18 years and above in selected public markets across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, markets, trading sections, and eligible traders. Health education booths will be assessed using indicators such as availability and accessibility of booths, frequency of educational activities, operating hours, range of health topics covered, number of traders reached, availability of trained health educators or healthcare workers, use of posters and audiovisual materials, language accessibility, health information materials provided, opportunities for questions, and referral information. Preventive health knowledge will be assessed using indicators such as knowledge of hypertension and diabetes prevention, malaria prevention, immunization, sanitation, food safety, healthy nutrition, physical activity, cancer screening, infectious disease prevention, tobacco and substance-use prevention, and appropriate preventive healthcare-seeking practices. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, preventive-health knowledge assessment tools, booth attendance registers, health education records, observation checklists, information materials, and relevant market health programme documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, exposure to health education booths, and preventive-health knowledge scores. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of health education booths on preventive health knowledge. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, knowledge scores before and after exposure to the health education booth may be compared with those of traders in a comparison market to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that health education booths at public markets have a significant positive impact on preventive health knowledge among market traders in Nigeria. Traders exposed to health education booths are expected to demonstrate greater knowledge of disease risk factors, preventive measures, screening services, healthy lifestyle practices, and available healthcare services than traders without comparable exposure. Locating health education within markets may reduce time and accessibility barriers because traders can obtain health information without leaving their workplaces for extended periods. Interactive discussions, brief health talks, visual materials, screening information, demonstrations, and referral guidance may further improve understanding and recall. However, market congestion, competing business activities, limited attention time, inadequate staffing, poor booth visibility, low literacy, language differences, irregular health education activities, and limited availability of educational materials may reduce effectiveness. The study therefore expects strategically located, accessible, regularly staffed, and culturally appropriate health education booths to contribute significantly to improved preventive health knowledge among market traders in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on market-based health education, preventive health knowledge, occupational and community health, health literacy, health promotion, disease prevention, health communication, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, state ministries of health, local government health authorities, primary healthcare centres, market associations, community health workers, health educators, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for reaching economically active populations with preventive health information. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for establishing health education booths in public markets, developing brief and visually engaging health messages, using local languages, adjusting booth operating hours to market activities, involving market leaders and associations, providing trained health educators, and linking market-based health education with accessible preventive screening and healthcare services across Nigeria.

Keywords: Health education booths, public markets, market traders, preventive health knowledge, health literacy, health education, health promotion, disease prevention, community health, healthcare awareness, Nigeria, public health.