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  • Title: Saving children's lives: a communication campaign in Egypt.
    Author: Hirschhorn N.
    Journal: Dev Commun Rep; 1985; (51):13-4. PubMed ID: 12340538.
    Abstract:
    There are 2 features of Egypt's National Control of Diarrheal Diseases Project (NCDDP) that are central to its effective management: the NCDDP enjoys a certain degree of autonomy to the extent that it can reach beyond the Ministry of Health to bring in specialists through grants and contracts, and it has the power to manage its own budget and personnel; and the NCDDP is not a group of separate program elements but an integration of elements -- training of health workers; production, distribution, and marketing of oral rehydration salts (ORS); monitoring and evaluation of the project; and education and promotion via television, radio, and other public media. These aspects are all concurrently active, and all are maintained and coordinated through the Secretariat, the technical arm of NCDDP. The goal of the communications element, the focus of this discussion, is to teach, persuade, and change the behaviors of all Egyptian mothers of children under 3 years and other specific target groups, especially health personnel, pharmacists, mass media reporters, and decisionmakers involved with the management of diarrhea and dehydration programs. Data acquired through target audience research provides program planners with the most useful and valid information upon which to build a communication campaign. This holds true whether the activity is to select an appropriate logo to call attention to the campaign or to determine the most effective channels through which to communicate social messages. Regarding the logo, 4 designs were selected from among 10 submitted by independent artists and advertising agencies. Focus groups and brief interviews in public places on these 4 logos were carried out to determine audience response. Questioning the mothers who participated in focus groups helped project staff determine what amount of fluid a mother would find believable to give to a child with diarrhea. In addition, surveys showed that a 200cc packet of salts would be the most practical size for home use. A plastic cup and spoon also were developed for distribution with the packet. Field research showed that mothers favored simples names for the solution that either convey a warm feeling or that describe the purpose of the solution. Television history was made with NCDDP ads. It was the 1st time a famous person was used to deliver a socially-oriented message and only the 2nd time the testimonial format was used on television. Messages were designed as much for medical professionals as for mothers. The success of the NCDDP project in Egypt demonstrates that the mass media can help change behavior but that all other elements of a mass campaign must be equally well planned and coordinated to achieve this success.
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