Client Awareness and Effectiveness of the Information Dissemination Strategies of a Prosecution Office in Negros Occidental

Abstract

Aims: This paper assessed the clients’ awareness and effectiveness of the traditional and modern information dissemination strategies of a prosecution office in Negros Occidental when the clients are taken as a whole and grouped according to geographical location and services availed from the said office. It also identified the challenges encountered by the clients with the information dissemination strategies of the prosecution office. Study Design: This study used the quantitative-descriptive research design. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted among the clients of the prosecution office in Negros Occidental, Philippines from June to July 2021. Methodology: Through a validated and reliability-tested researcher-made survey instrument, data were gathered from 50 clients who availed of the services of the prosecution office from June to July 2021. Data on clients’ awareness and challenges encountered on the information dissemination strategies were treated using frequency and percentage distribution. Meanwhile, data on the level of effectiveness of the strategies were treated using mean and standard deviation. Results: As a whole, 83% of the respondents (f=415) are aware of the information dissemination strategies of the prosecution office on the average. Overall, the level of effectiveness of the information dissemination strategies of the prosecution office is very high (M=4.32, SD=0.70). The most common challenges encountered by the clients with the information dissemination strategies of the office are limited usage of modern tools for more effective and faster dissemination of information (f=9, %=18), no print and broadcast media for updates on its services (f=8, %=16), no mechanism for feedbacks on the information relayed to the clients and the public (f=7, %=14), no well-established system for disseminating information to the clients and the public (f=6, %=12), and no assigned personnel who takes the responsibility of disseminating the information to the clients and the public (f=6, %=12). Conclusion: Information dissemination is one of the responsibilities of the government to the people. To apprise the public of updates relating to the functions and services of government offices, there should be effective dissemination tools that can transmit the information from the source to the receiver. Despite the emergence of many modern tools to facilitate communication, people still hold on to the relevance and importance of the traditional tools; thus, the role of the traditional tools in any context or environment will be irreplaceable.