Information , education and communication�

Prof.K.Punithalakshmi

Principal, JIETCON

������������ Information , education and communication

Information

• Information means, data or idea or observation that can be used or reworked into a finished form.
• The facts provided or learned about something or someone .

Education

• The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university.

Formal education - Pre school education. Primary school education, Secondary education, Tertiary education

• Definition

IEC can be defined as an approach which attempts to change or reinforce a set of behaviors in a target audience regarding specific problem in a predefined period of time.- Reproductive health and research, WHO

Aims

• To change the health behavior of individuals, family and community.

• To prepare background or basis for change in health behavior.

• To change the norms of the community.

• To facilitate education for audience about public health and to create awareness in public opinion.

• To obtain social, political support for health activities.

Scope or Fields of IEC

In relation to health

• Primary health care Prevention /control on communicable diseases.
• Reproductive health/maternal and child health services.
• Family welfare
• Nutritional services
• Personal hygiene

Approaches of IEC

The approaches of IEC are based upon following fields or subjects

• Diffusion theory

• Social marketing

• Behavioral analysis

• Instructive design

• Anthropology

​

Communication

• Communication is about sharing of idea, information, knowledge and opinions. - Shuchi M bhardway.
• Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another person. - U. S. army.

​

​

Types of communication-

Verbal communication -The tone of voice can communicate feelings and emotions that are as significant as the words being spoken.

Non-verbal communication -Body position, facial expression, body language, movement or expression that indicate fatigue, fear, frustration and anger.

​

​

​

• Information, Education and Communication
• IEC is the process of learning that empower people to make decision, modify behaviour and change social condition.
• Conversation or passing on information by “word-of- mouth” has been show to be one of most effective communication channels for acquiring knowledge and promoting desired changes in behaviour.

​

​

​

• Information , education and communication in health programme
• aims to increase awareness, change attitudes and bring about a change in specific behaviour.
• IEC means sharing information and idea in a way that is culturally sensitive and acceptable to the community, using appropriate channels, messages and method.

​

IMPORTANCE OF IEC- �

IEC works, it creates awareness, increase knowledge.

• Mass media helps to create an agenda for public debate, it is not expensive.
• IEC is effective, communication channels ensures availability of feedback mechanism. This is important for reinforcement and for clarifying questions an issues.
• IEC is an adequate blend of entertainment and social message.

​

Health Education

• John M Last defines, 'The process by which individuals and groups of people learn to behave in a manner conducive to the promotion, maintenance or restoration of health'.
• World Health Organization defines as 'Health education is the part of health care that is concerned with promoting healthy behavior'.
• Health education can be defined as a process aimed at encouraging people to want to be healthy, to know how to stay healthy, to do what they can individually and collectively to maintain health and to seek help when needed. The Declaration of Alma Ata(1978)

Aims and objectives

• To encourage people to adopt and sustain health promoting life style and practices.

• To promote the proper use of health services available to them.

• To arouse interest, provide new knowledge, improve skills and change attitudes in making rational decisions to solve their own problems.

• To stimulate individual and community self reliance and participation to achieve health development through individual and community involvement at every step from identifying problems to solve them.

Principles of Health education

• Credibility
• Interest
• Participation
• Motivation
• Comprehension
• Reinforcement
• Learning by doing
• Known to unknown

​

​

• Setting an example
• Good human relations
• Feedback
• Leaders
• Prosodic – like rhymes
• Paralinguistic – tone, pitch or manner of speaking
• Kinesics – body movement & gestures
• Standing feature

​

PLANNING AN IEC STRATEGY-

• IEC success when it is planned with a comprehensive strategy.
• Gain knowledge and incorporate community traditions and to “ follow the community at its own rhythm.
• IEC strategy must have comprehensive intervention which emphasize long term capacity building at the grass root level.
• There must be a true dialogue around a wise range of issue relevant to public health during the planning stage.

​

​

• It is important to remember that every thing can not be changes at once and focus on relevancy.
• Modeling is often the best way to teach complex behaviour.
• Programs that seek to teach new behaviours work best when they define through research what the health problem really is, who it effects.
• Sound programs also use audience segmentation behaviour analysis and anthropological research to create message that are salient, action oriented and attractive

• Most effective campaigns combine mass media with community, small group and individual activities and are supported by an existing community structure.
• Campaign for preventive behaviours are more effective if they emphasize positive behaviour change rather than the negative consequences of current behaviour.
• Fear arousal as a campaign strategy needs to be used with caution .
• The timing of a campaign help to determine its effectiveness.
• If more than one set of messages is being delivery via an umbrella campaign, phasing of messages might be important to avoid information overload.

IMPLEMENTING A STRATEGY-

• Support of community leaders, public opinion. Leaders and decision-makers can lead to stronger results.
• Actively involving the target audience in the design, implementation and monitoring of a project is critical, listen to local language, custom and experience.
• Establish linkages and relationship with and actively involve traditional healers, NGO’s and support groups share information with them.
• The instruction between health care providers and client providers and client is important for successful IEC intervention. Provides behaviour is critical and the need for behaviour and attitude change among health workers has been established.

​

​

​

​

• Multimedia are most effective when mass media and population traditional channel are used in combination with person to person interaction.
• Take advantages of local holidays and festiva.
• Logos and symbols offer a way to create unity between a wide range of communication messages.
• Observation of materials in use and trial periods can help to detect problems.
• Simple, inexpensive print materials can be useful and more cost-effective than more expensive and elaborate product.
• IEC materials are more widely distributed when their distribution system is combined with relevant health commodities.

​

RESOURECES FOR IEC-

1)Print media-

• Print media have a useful role in health promotion in providing information on health issue.
• The effectiveness of print media depends on achieving a match between the readability of the material and the level of literacy and health literacy of the intended audience
• Health promotion needs to adopt a systematic approach to the development of print materials including initial research to develop appropriate message, good quality, design using clear and attractive layouts ensure readability of the content and relevance of the content.
• Ex. Newspaper, magazines

2)Mass media-

• Mass media are tools for the transfer of information, concepts and ideas to both general and specific audiences. They are important tools in advancing public health goals, communicating about health through mass media is complex.
• Mass media performs three key functions
• Educating  Shaping public relations
• Advocating

• Television- TV is a powerful medium for appealing to mass audiences, it reaches people regardless of age, sex, income, educational level.
• Radio- Radio also reaches mass and diverse audiences. Radio health message campaigns have been effective in developing countries.
• Internet- The advent of the world wide web and the massive increase the internet users offers public health personnel enormous opportunities and challenges.

​

​

​

Types of media Ways to use media

Example of media Audio visual broadcast media

• News programs,
• documentaries,
• Education entertainment,
• public service announcement
• TV,Radio

Audio visual non broadcast media

• Self help package,
• documentaries,
• cartoons,
• short features Video,
• DVD,
• CD,
• Cassettes

Print media News items,

• magazines,
• features ,
• advertisement,
• report,
• cartoons,
• story board
• Newspaper,
• leaflet,
• Pamphlets
• booklet,
• journals,
• photo comic

​

Electronic media

• Website,
• self help packages,
• Internet,
• CD- ROM,
• Mobile phones,
• Advantages

1.Achieve wide coverage

2.Impact on behaviors receptive to change

3.Convey simple information

4.Increase knowledge

5.Put health on public agenda

​

​

•  IEC Reference manual for health programme managers-
• In 1980, Zimbabwe adopter the primary health care approach to correct imbalance in the health care, health programmes address problems idenitified as priorities by the ministry of health and child welfare.
• These priorities includes HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, nutrition, diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory infection, reproductive health including family planning, dysentery and measles.

​

​

• The purpose of IEC is improve peoples, health by increasing awareness and knowledge and changing attitude and behaviour.
• The strategy aim to improve the general well-being of individual, family and community by encouraging people to be responsible for their own action through their own efforts.

​

HEALTH EDUCATION AGENCIES� International level

• International union for health education

• Health Education and Health Promotion HEHP(WHO)

• Division of Public information and Public relation(WHO)

​

•  National level

• Central Health Education Bureau (CHEB)

• Under the Ministry and Broad casting, different division or units are playing important part in providing health education to community.

• Central Health Education Bureau (CHEB) Objectives

• To make available facilities of communication for health education.

• To carry out training and research in health education.

• To exchange latest information about the development and programmes.

• To publish and distribute various health bulletins, magazines and information.

• To provide technical support to central and state health services and various health organizations.

• Central Health Education Bureau (CHEB) Divisions
• Training division
• Publicity division
• Editorial division
• Health education division
• Regional study division
• Exhibition center division
• Professional syllabus division
• Research and evaluation division

 Under the Ministry and Broad casting, different division or units • Press information Bureau(PIB) • Directorate of field publicity • Directorate of advertising and Visual publicity • Prasar Bharti • Songs and Drama division • National medical Library

​

​

• State level

• State Health Education Bureau • IEC bureau under their health ministry. • Besides the state agencies, the divisions/wings/units of central health education agencies

• District level

• All district level health officers • family planning officers • RCH wings . • District information centres • District Collector

• Local level

• In cities; Municipalities, municipal corporation, development authorities etc • In villages panchayats, Block development officers • Beside these various NGOS and voluntary organizations, health and nursing professional associations

​

NURSES RESPONSIBILITY IN IEC�

• The nurse should consider the following points in health education

• To gain confidence of people.

• To arouse the interest in people about good health.

• To motivate them to bring about changes in habits for healthy life.

• To prepare them for utilization of available health services.

• To develop a sense of responsibility among people towards good health of the whole community.

• A friendly and cooperative feeling should be kept for health education.
• The opportunities for health education should be widely used.

• It is necessary to select the subject matter cautiously. The nurse should be proficient in the art of incidental and timely health education.
• It is necessary to use appropriate audio visual aids to enhance the effect of health education.
• The sufficient preparation and cooperation of the government and voluntary agencies, central health education bureau, state health education bureau, directorate of audio visual publicity, local leaders, teachers, health workers etc.
• It is necessary to remove various obstacles in communication.
• Health education should be planned and continuous.
• Periodical evaluation and expected correction of health education programmes with the help of various tools and observation are also the responsibilities of a nurse.

​

​

​

​

​

THANK YOU