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Article History

Received: 25 June 2025

Accepted: 17 January 2026

First Online: 29 January 2026

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Department of Mass Communication, Ebonyi State University (EBSU/MAC/24/EC10) and the date of approval was 17 July 2024, and the Institutional Review Board of Cheongju University (CUIRB-15-392) on 18th June 2024. All research procedures were performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was rigorously reviewed to ensure compliance with ethical standards, safeguarding participant confidentiality and rights, and ensuring that all research activities met established scientific and ethical principles.

: Informed consent was orally obtained from all participants, all of whom were aged 50 years and above. The consent process was conducted by the principal investigators and trained research assistants prior to any FGD session between August 2024 and December 2024. Participants were comprehensively informed about the study’s aims, procedures, potential risks and benefits, confidentiality safeguards, and their right to withdraw without penalty. The consent covered participation in the study, the use of their anonymised data purely for research purposes, and the publication of the findings. All participants had sufficient time and opportunity to ask questions and consider their participation, thereby ensuring voluntary and informed participation.