Emphasis behaviors in maternal and child health : focusing on caretaker behaviors to develop maternal and child health programs in communities / Emphasis behaviors in maternal and child health : focusing on caretaker behaviors to develop maternal and child health programs in communities

A multidisciplinary team of medical and behavioral specialists developed a list of sixteen emphasis behaviors that, if practiced by caretakers, could improve maternal and child health in communities. Criteria for identifying the emphasis behaviors included their impact on multiple disease areas, demonstrated relationship with mortality and morbidity, impact on the most important public health problems in developing countries, measurability, and their feasibility and cost effectiveness. The emphasis behaviors fall under five categories: (1) reproductive health practices, (2) infant and child feeding practices, (3) immunization practices, (4) home health practices, and (5) care-seeking practices. It is suggested that health managers choose which emphasis behaviors to focus on in their programs by reviewing existing community-based data. Following this selection process, they can develop and implement strategies appropriate for the local context, as well as monitor and evaluate results

Communication for child survival / Communication for child survival

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