Communication for child survival / Communication for child survival

ABSTRACT

This manual presents a systematic public health communication methodology for child survival programs. It is meant for health and communication professionals who wish to use communication strategies to improve child health in the developing world. The manual provides a detailed description of (1)Public health communication and its role in child survival programs; (2)Three disciplines which have significantly influenced public health communication - social marketing, behavior analysis, and anthropology; (3)Three stages of the methodology - planning, intervention, and monitoring/evaluation, and; (4)Methods for assuring the continued application or "institutionalization" of a public health communication strategy. The strategy as applied to child survival has been tested in U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) sponsored projects in more than 10 countries. Examples used here are drawn largely from those countries in which the methodology was applied under two AID projects the Mass Media and Health Practices Project (MMHP) and the Communication for Child Survival Project (HEALTHCOM). The goal of public health communication strategies is to bring about changes in health-related practices and, in turn, in actual health status. Results obtained from these projects demonstrate the possibility of such success