Health Communication In Ethiopian A Case Study Of Tackling Trachoma In The Amhara Region

The problem of trachoma is massive in Ethiopia. The national blindness prevalence isrnestimated to be 1.25% and more than 900,000 people are believed to be blind. Diseaserntransmission occurs primarily between children and the women who care for them. (CarterrnCenter 2005, p.1). One reason aggravating the situation is poor health communicationrn(Health Education Center 2005, p.8). This study was designed to assess the healthrncommunication strategies used in tackling trachoma and their appropriateness in thernAmhara Region (West Gojam Zone, Yilmanadensa Woreda). Other than secondary data,rnthe research was used both qualitative and quantitative methods so that the data support eachrnother. The quantitative method followed procedures of selecting four Kebeles from the Woredarnfor their accessibility and using a systematic random sampling to distinguish 396 adultrnrespondents from those Kebeles. Additionally, 8 target community members and 10 expertsrnas well as 16 in-school children of 7 – 11 years of age were interviewed. In addition, two focusrngroup discussions and personal observation were employed. Finally, appropriate quantitativernand qualitative research methodologies were used to analyze the data. This study took placernbetween April and July 2006.rnThe entire community is Orthodox Christian and religious leaders were the most influencingrnpartie. Coffee gathering, church, fetching water and firewood and meeting were found to bernuseful indigenous media. Concerning the trachoma program, it used mass media, IECrnmaterials and interpersonal communication methods. Effort was also made to reach differentrnaudience groups separately. However, there seemed to be a wide gap between developmentrncommunicators and beneficiaries. Message inconsistency, inefficient and inadequaterncommunicators and discord with local culture were among the various failures observed in therncommunication strategy. Therefore, following the social marketing theory-prior study onrnmedia habit, needs, culture and worldview of the audience as well as community andrnprofessional input should be given due emphasis in the design of trachoma communicationrnstrategy to the specific community. Besides addressing other environmental and structuralrnproblems is found to be equally important. This study was conducted only in four ruralrnKebeles, it is impossible to reach generalization. For this reason, further study isrnrecommended.

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