"The main objective of this document is to provide evidence-based guidance on conducting practical social mobilization and communication for a yellow fever vaccination campaign, either preventive or reactive. Information is also given on the monitoring and evaluation of communication and social mobi
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lization techniques. These 10 points from field experience will be especially useful for district-level planning. We aim to impart knowledge from the field about using political structures, communication strategies and grass roots communications; sending key messages; dealing with the local media; training mobilizers; conducting a local assessment; and preparing a local plan. This can be used both in local assessments and district planning at a national level, and will help find the correct media mix in these contexts that balances the effective use of printed materials and social networks." (Introduction, page 1)
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"Many people recognise that mass media is important in promoting public health but there have been few attempts to measure how important. An ongoing trial in Burkina Faso (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01517230) is an attempt to bring together the very different worlds of mass media and epidemiology: to me
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asure rigorously, using a cluster-randomised design, how many lives mass media can save in a low-income country, and at what cost. Application of the Lives Saved Tool predicts that saturation-based media campaigns could reduce child mortality by 10–20%, at a cost per disability-adjusted life-year that is as low as any existing health intervention. In this Viewpoint we explain the scientific reasoning behind the trial, while stressing the importance of the media methodology used." (Abstract)
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"This article is based on a qualitative study that set out to analyze the labels and terms attached to 28 people affected by albinism in villages in Kilolo district, Tanzania. Even though national and international attention to killings of people with albinism has attempted to improve general knowle
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dge of albinism and reduce discrimination, most of the community members within the study had little knowledge of the (bio)medical explanations for albinism and tended to marginalize people with albinism. Framed within a wider moral discourse on illness, disability and socially appropriate behavior, albinism is mostly considered to be God’s will or the consequence of past misdeeds within the family, and many of the existing labels for people with albinism express such ideas." (Abstract)
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"This study examined the use of a locally developed storytelling prompt as an alternative medium for HIV and AIDS awareness and prevention messages among rural university students in Limpopo Province, South Africa. An assessment of first-year students’ (n=21) response to a storytelling stimulus wi
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th local and familiar content shows a high uptake of the content messages in six persuasive narrative mediators: recall, narrative interest, absorption, identification with the main character, intention to commit to at least one health behaviour and self-efficacy. There were statistically significant correlations between narrative interest and recall, as well as between absorption and intention to commit to at least one health behaviour. Within the narrative theory framework, I argue for differentiated and culturally sensitive strategies and modes on HIV and AIDS communication to broaden the scope of focus to marginal areas where educational entertainment (EE) programmes may be inaccessible and ineffective. Finally, I discuss opportunities for further research that assess the effectiveness of local stories on a larger scale." (Abstract)
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"Entertainment education and the promotora model are 2 evidence-based health communication strategies. This study examined their combined effect on promoting healthy eating among mothers in a family-based intervention. Participants were 361 Mexican-origin families living in Imperial County, Californ
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ia, who were randomly assigned to an intervention or delayed treatment condition. The intervention involved promotoras (community health workers) who delivered 11 home visits and 4 telephone calls. Home visits included a 12-minute episode of a 9-part situation comedy depicting a family struggling with making healthy eating choices; an accompanying family workbook was reviewed to build skills and left with the family. Baseline and immediate postintervention data were collected from the mothers, including the primary outcome of daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Other dietary and psychosocial factors related to healthy eating were examined. At postintervention, mothers in the intervention reported increases in daily vegetable servings (p <= .05); however, no changes were observed in fruit consumption. Improvements were observed in behavioral strategies to increase fiber (p <= .001) and to decrease fat intake (p <= .001), unhealthy eating behaviors (p <= .001), and individual (p <= .05) and family-related (p <= .01) perceived barriers to healthy eating. Entertainment education and promotoras engaged families and improved mothers' diets. Further research should examine the dose needed for greater changes." (Abstract)
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"The purpose of this review is to contribute to the evidence base on health communication evaluation research in order to aid public health professionals and researchers in the development of future evaluation strategies. The review is divided into two sections. In the first section the focus is on
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reviewing evaluations of campaigns undertaken in European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries, however, examples from the wider European region are also included. The second section, addressing challenges posed by campaign evaluation, draws on broader international literature pertaining to the identification of health communication campaign evaluation tools, frameworks and models. It would appear that there has been very few high quality European evaluation studies carried out in the last decade in relation to communicable disease prevention campaigns. Nevertheless, it is evident in reviewing the literature that there are valuable existing frameworks and guidelines that can help guide and inform evaluation research development. The review examined the international English-language literature published between 2000 and 2011 . The reviewers retrieved 160 references of which 35 were examples of evaluations of health communication campaigns carried out in EU/EEA Member States." (Executive summary)
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"A national survey was completed in November 2004, designed to measure: media access and use; knowledge of Malaria, its prevention and cure; reach of the radio programme Bolongodala. The sample achieved represented the adult (15+) population of the Gambia estimated to be 768,200. Mandinka is the mos
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t widely spoken language with 61% claiming to speak it well. This was followed by Wolof (47%), Fula (36%) and English (17%). Radio is by far the most used medium. 97% were radio listeners, 53% had listened to radio on the day before the survey interview and 88% during the previous week. 88% have a working radio at home. Radio listening is something that most listeners do with someone else rather than on their own. Despite widespread knowledge of Mandinka, most people prefer to hear radio programmes in their own language. The radio station with both the highest national Share and Reach is GRTS Banjul with a 39% Share and 69% weekly Reach. The radio audience has a very broad demographic profile, matching the Gambian population profile very well. However, women listen less often than men. TV is the next most important medium. 83% were TV viewers, 23% had watched TV on the day before the survey interview and 56% during the previous week. 40% have a working TV set at home." (Executive summary)
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"Se quisermos caracterizar o perfil das fontes à s quais os jornalistas recorreram, poder-se-á dizer que esta é masculina, oficial e com fala desenraizada de um lugar geográfico especÃfico – portanto, de nÃvel nacional. É o caso do ministro da Saude, Alexandre Manguele, que é uma fonte reco
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rrente nas notÃcias por nós analisadas no contexto da greve dos médicos. Observouse também que predominam as fontes oficiais, devido à utilização de comunicados e notas de imprensa emitidos pela Direcção Nacional de Saúde sobre a crise dos medicamentos. O facto de os jornais públicos analisados construÃrem as notÃcias sobre a greve dos médicos e a crise dos medicamentos com base em comunicados de imprensa e fontes oficiais, faz com que haja uma replicação do conteúdo dos textos noticiosos de um meio de comunicação para outro. A falta de especialização nas redações e a escassez de tempo podem justificar a confiança dos jornalistas em informação pronta a publicar, previamente preparada por entidades oficiais ou gabinetes de assessoria e relações públicas." (Página 30)
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"This handbook is designed to serve the needs of anyone who conducts, plans, or implements clinical trials—especially trials that evaluate new drugs or interventions in a community setting. We want to make your job easier, whether you are a researcher, a study coordinator, or a communications prof
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essional. Objectives: provide practical guidance to clinical trial staff and research partners on how to anticipate and respond to the special communications challenges posed by the conduct of clinical research in resource-limited settings; share lessons learned from case studies of actual experiences running trials in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the United States and Europe; supply hard copy and electronic versions of diagnostic tools, sample templates, and model examples of communications plans and materials that sites can adapt for use in their communications planning and implementation." (Page 2)
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"In recent years, cyberculture has informally reported a phenomenon named the 1% rule, or 90-9-1 principle, which seeks to explain participatory patterns and network effects within Internet communities. The rule states that 90% of actors observe and do not participate, 9% contribute sparingly, and 1
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% of actors create the vast majority of new content. This 90%, 9%, and 1% are also known as Lurkers, Contributors, and Superusers, respectively [...] Our goal was to determine if the 1% rule applies to moderated Digital Health Social Networks (DHSNs) designed to facilitate behavior change. Methods: To help gain insight into participatory patterns, descriptive data were extracted from four long-standing DHSNs: the AlcoholHelpCenter, DepressionCenter, PanicCenter, and StopSmokingCenter sites. During the study period, 63,990 actors created 578,349 posts. Less than 25% of actors made one or more posts. The applicability of the 1% rule was confirmed as Lurkers, Contributors, and Superusers accounted for a weighted average of 1.3% (n=4668), 24.0% (n=88,732), and 74.7% (n=276,034) of content. Conclusions: The 1% rule was consistent across the four DHSNs. As social network sustainability requires fresh content and timely interactions, these results are important for organizations actively promoting and managing Internet communities. Superusers generate the vast majority of traffic and create value, so their recruitment and retention is imperative for long-term success. Although Lurkers may benefit from observing interactions between Superusers and Contributors, they generate limited or no network value. The results of this study indicate that DHSNs may be optimized to produce network effects, positive externalities, and bandwagon effects."
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"In this report Time to Change explores how mental health problems are being portrayed in today’s TV dramas. From big budget box sets to homegrown soaps, mental health is being covered more frequently on the small screen. What impact are these storylines having on the viewing public, the media ind
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ustry and our attitudes towards mental health problems?" (Page 2)
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"As part of its ongoing commitment to fighting online child sexual abuse content and, in particular, to helping its members realise the objectives of the Mobile Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Content, the GSMA has worked with INHOPE, Save the Children, ECPAT, IWF, Net Safe Latvia, Meldpunt, ICM
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EC and Interpol to collate information which will help organisations build fully-functioning hotlines in countries where no such facility is currently in place. This information is presented in the document below." (Page 3)
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