Module 4 - Health Communication

Objectives
2

At the end of this chapter, the trainees will

be able to:
 Define communication
 Discuss
the components of
communication
 Explore methods of communication
 Explain stages of communication
 Identify
barriers to effective
communication and how to overcome
 Brain storming
3

 What is communication?
 What is health communication?
 Why is health communication?
 Introduction
4

 Communication is the core of HE and HP

programs.
 Play an important part in daily life.
 We have the advantage of language, spoken
words, songs, and written scripts and so on.
 It is by communication that an individual
makes himself/herself to understood by
others.
 Requires an appropriate design so as
transmit an effective message.
 What is communication?
5

 Communication is the process of

sharing of ideas, information,
knowledge, and experience among
people to take action.
 Facilitates creation of awareness,
acceptance and action
 Always involves a sender and a receiver
 What is health
6
communication?

 Health Communication-is an art and a

technique of informing, influencing, and
motivating individuals, institutions, and
public audiences about important health
issues.
 Why is health communication?
7

 Increases awareness and knowledge

 Influences perception, beliefs and attitudes,
etc
 Promotes action
 Demonstrates or illustrates skill
 Shows benefit of behavioral change
 Increases demands for health services
 Re-enforces knowledge, attitude, or
behavior
 Strengthens organizational relation ship

 Communication Models
8

1. One-way communication
 This is a linear type of communication
 No input (feed back) from the receiver
 It is commonly used in advertising
 Best used when the message is simple
and quickly
 No opportunity to clear up
misunderstanding
 Meaning is controlled by the receiver
 One way model
9

Messag Receiver
Sender e s

Disadvantages
 Learning is authoritative
Advantages  Little audience participation
• Faster
 No feed back
• Orderly
 Does not influence behavior
 Communication Models
10

2. Two-way communication
 Essential for complex message
 There is input (feed back) from the
receiver
 Meaning is controlled by the sender
 There is opportunity to clear up
misunderstanding
 Two-way model
11

Messag
Sender e Receivers
Feedback

Advantages
• Audience
Disadvantages
participation
• Learning is • Slower /time taking
democratic
• Open for feedback
• Influence behaviors
 Communication process
12

 The communication process is a system that

involves an interrelated, interdependent group of
elements working together as a whole to achieve
a desired outcome or goal.

 It is not a linear process rather it is a cyclical

process that involve many elements.

 Communication process involves eight elements

 Communication process ….
13

• source/ • Message • Channel • Receiver/

encoder decoder
• “matter of • Vehicle to carry
• “Sends Message” communication” message” • “audience”

1. 2 3 4.

• Feedback • Barrier • Situation • system

• “possibilities of
• “Response” communication • “Context” • “relationship”
breakdown “

5 6 7 8
 Communication process….
14
 1. Source/Encoder

15

• The sender begins the communication process by forming

the ideas, intentions and feelings that will be transmitted.

• Sender are required to filter out the details that are

unimportant and focus on the most relevant information.

• The source, or encoder, makes the decision to communicate.

• The source also determines the purpose of the message- to

inform, persuade, or entertain.
 Source/encoder ….
16

 Source should determine how the message gets

from the source to the receiver.
 First, the source must encode, or create, a message.

 That is, the information that the source wishes to

convey must be put into a form that can be sent to
the receiver.
 Qualities of source/sender
17

1. Empathetic -putting one self in the

position of others.
2. Credibility , particularly, the
messengers

• The messenger is the model appearing in message

who delivers information, demonstrates behavior,
or provides a testimonial.
 2. Message
18

 Message is a piece of information, ideas, facts,

opinion, feeling, attitude or a course of action that
passed from the sender to the receiver.

 It is the subject matter of communication-

something that is considered important for the
audience to know or do.
 Message ….
19

 Message appeals: The way the content of the message

could be organized so that it can persuade or convince
people.
1. Fear arousal appeal
 The message is conveyed to frighten people into action

by emphasizing the serious outcome from not taking

action.
 Appropriate with people no schooling

 Mild fear may be appropriate

 Too much fear is not appropriate

 Fear arousing appeals…
20

HIV/
AIDs
makes
I am here, you to
my name is look
AIDS, take like
care this
HIV/
AIDs
makes
you to
look
like this
 Appeals…
21

2. Humors
 The message is conveyed in a funny way such as cartoon.

 Humor very good way of attracting interest & attention.

 It can also serve a useful role to lighten the tension when

dealing with serious subjects.

 Enjoyment & entertainment can result in highly effective

remembering and learning.
 Humors….
22
 Appeals …
23

3. Logical / factual appeal

 The massage is conveyed to convince people by giving

facts, figures and information, e.g. facts related to
HIV/AID such as prevalence, morbidity , mortality , rote
of transmission etc.
 Appeals…
24

 Logical appeals are good with a person of high

educational level.

4. Emotional appeal
 The massage is conveyed to convince people by arousing

emotions, images & feelings rather than giving facts &

figures, e.g. by showing smiling babies, wealthy families
with latrine etc, and associating with FP education.

 More influence a persons with less education.

 የቤተሰብ ምጣኔ አገልግሎት በመጠቀማችን ደስተኛ
ሆነናል!!
25
 Appeals…
26

5. One sided message/appeals

 Only presents the advantages of taking action & does not

mention any possible disadvantages.

 One sided message may be effective if the communication is

through mass media-selective perception
27

6. Two sided message/appeals

 Presents both the advantages & disadvantages (pros’ &
cons’) of taking action.

Appropriate if ;
 The audiences are literates.
 We are in face to face with individuals or groups
 Appeals…
28

7. Positive appeals
 Communications that ask people to do something, e.g.

breast feed your child, use a latrine.

8. Negative appeals
 Communications that ask people not to do something,

e.g. do not bottle feed your child, do not defecate in the

bush.
 3. Channel/medium
29

The channel is the way through which a message is

sent out.
It is the physical bridge or the media by which the
message travels between source and receiver

It is also called the medium of communication

 Channel…
30

 The commonest types of channel are audio, visual,

printed materials or combined audio visual &
printed materials.
 Criteria: Channel selection
31

 Availability
 Cost
 Users’ preference and receivers’ access
 Adaptability to the communication purpose/objective
 Adaptability to the message content
 Type of recipient and their stage in the adoption
process
 4. Receiver/decoder – ‘audience’
32

 The person or the group for whom the communication is

intended or the person who receive the message.

 Receiver decodes the message- the act of interpreting

messages.

 Receivers decode messages based on past experiences,

perceptions, thoughts, and feelings.
 Receiver ….
33

 The 1st step in planning any communication is to

consider the intended audience.

 It is important to understand the audience from the

following perspective

 Analysis …..segmentation ….audience profile

 5. Feedback
34

 A communication is said to have feedback when the

receiver of the message gives his/her responses to the
sender of the message.

 The sender must know how well the messages have been
received by the receiver, understood, interpreted, and act
up on it.

 It completes the process of communication.

 Feedback …
35

 Effective communicator is always;

 sensitive to feedback and

 constantly modifies his or her messages as a

result of the feedback received

 7. Barriers/Noise
37

 Barriers are any obstacles or difficulties that come in the

way of communication.
 It can occur at any stage of communication process.

 The source’s information may be insufficient or unclear.

Or the message can be ineffectively or inaccurately
encoded.
 The wrong channel of communication may be used.
 The message may not be decoded the way it was
encoded.
 Barriers…
38

 Finally, the receiver may not equipped to handle

the decoded message in such a way as to produce
the response (feedback) expected by the source.

 Barriers may be
1. Physical
2. mechanical
3. psychological
4. cultural or
5. linguistic in nature.
 How to achieve effect communication ?
39

 Communicating with small groups and being direct.

 Using language easily understood and spoken by the target
group.
 Increasing the similarities between the sender and the
receiver.
 Keeping the message short and clear.
 Putting yourself in the receiver’s shoes.
 Using multiple ways of communicating – verbal, written,
audio or visual.
 Keeping confidences and listening.
 The seven c’s of effective communication
40

C1: Command Attention

C2: Clarify message
C3: Create trust
C4: Cater to the heart and
head
C5: Communicate benefits
C6: Consistency count
C7: Call to action
 Stages of communication
41

 We communicate for special purpose ; to promote

improvement/change in health through the modification
of the human, social and political factors that influence
behavior.

 To achieve these objectives, a successful communication

must pass through several stages- six stages
 Six Stages…
42

Message reach Gain attention Understood

audience • Attract attention so • KISS
• Heard that people read or see • Avoid technical words
• Seen it

Gain acceptance
Produce believed, credible
Improve health
change(KABP) source , easily
demonstrated effect

NB. Communication failure can occur at each stage

 Stage1. Reaching the intended audience
43

 Communication can not be effective unless it is seen or

heard by its intended audience.

 Communication should be directed where people are

going to see or hear them.

 This requires sound study of your intended audience to

find out where they might see posters, listening &
reading habits .
 Reaching…
44

 A common cause of failure in this stage is

preaching the converted

e.g.
 posters placed at the clinic or

 talks given at antenatal clinics.

 These only reach to the people who are already

motivated & attended the service.
 Stage2. Attracting the audiences attention

45

 Any communication must attract attention so that

people will make the effort to listen and read it.

 Attention: is the process by which a person selects

part of the message to focus on while ignoring
others for the time being.
 Attract attention …
46

Examples of failure at this stage are:

 Walking past the poster with out bothering to look

at it;

 Not paying attention to the health talk or

demonstration at the clinic;

 Turning off the radio programs or switching over.

 Stage 3. Understanding the massage
47

 Once the person pays attention to a message he/she

then tries to understand it.

 The message should perceived/understood as

intended by the sender.

 Message may misunderstood at this stage and

cause communication failure
48
Stage 3…
Examples of failures at this stage can take place when;
 Complex language & unfamiliar technical words are used;

 Pictures containing complicated diagrams and distracting

details

 Pictures containing unfamiliar/strange subjects.

 Too much information is presented and people can not

absorb it at all.
 Understood?
49

Asendabo HC
 Too much and strange message photo
50
 Stage 4: promoting change (acceptance)
51

• A communication should be believed & accepted.

• Credible sources enhance acceptance
52

 It is usually easier to promote a change when its effects

can be easily demonstrated.

 For example, ventilated improved pit latrines do not

smell, if people become green in color when they get
HIV/AIDS it is easier to promote change.
 Stage 5. Producing a behavior change
53

 Communication should be resulted in behavior change

(change in KABP)

 However, a communication may result in a change in

beliefs and attitudes but still not influence behavior/action.

 This can happen when the communication has not been

aimed at the belief that has most influence on the person’s
behavior. E.g lack of enabling factors to realize the
behavior.
 Stage 6. Improvement in health

54

 Communication should resulted in improvement in health

 Improvement in health will only take place if the

behaviors have been carefully selected so that they really
influence health.

 If your messages are based on outdated & incorrect

ideas, people could follow your advice but their health
would not improve.
 Forms of communication
55

Verbal or
oral
communica
tion
Forms of Non-verbal
Communica communica
tion tion
Written
communica
tion
 1. Verbal or oral communication
56

• It is the spoken, oral, and

unwritten way of communicating
message.
• It makes use of words,
vocabulary, numbers and symbols
and is organized in sentences.

• Sender and receiver could be at

the same time and place and/or
both
 2. Non-verbal communication
57

Sending and
receiving
messages
without the use of
words.
58

Action speaks
louder than
words
 Definition
59

• Non-verbal communication refer

to using a non spoken symbol to
communicate a specific message
 Non-verbal communication…
60

Nonverbal messages can;

 support verbal messages (clarify)
 contradict verbal messages (mixed
messages)
 replace verbal messages (secrets)

It is easy to lie with word much more

difficult with non-verbal communication
 Nonverbal Communication ….
61

• If this message reinforce the content of

verbal one, it means we send a powerful
message.
• If the two messages do not match, they
may cancel each other and that means no
messages delivered.
• Therefore, we should create a powerfull
Characteristics of non verbal
Communication

 Always • It is more

62
communicating spontaneous
 Powerful • It expresses attitude
 It reveal the inner • Watch for cultural
thoughts and differences
feeling • Less to control
 Non-verbal communication
63

Appearanc Personal
Personal
e and environme Time
space
dress nt

Body Voice
language

Facial
Gestur Postur
expressi Eyes
es es
on
Body speaks !!!

- How Does Body Speak?

- Like any spoken language,

body language has words,
sentences and punctuation.

- Each gesture is like a single

word and one word may
have several different
meanings.

64
Bodily speaking…

 In a normal conversation between two

persons, less than 35% of the social

65
meanings is actually transmitted by
words.

 So, at least 65% of it is conveyed

through the body (non-verbal channel).
 A. Eyes
66

 The most powerful and most expressive

part of the body.

 Maintain good eye contact with others,

says “I am interested and I respect you”

 Be careful of cultural differences

 No eye contact indicates lack of interest

in even what they are doing
 B. Facial expression
67

 Our face communicate emotion

 Understanding

 Ambiguous at times

 Can be deceptive
68

Facial expression…

Facial expressions reflect emotion, feelings and attitudes

 C. Hand and harm gestures
69

 Further away from body

 Hands are the most sensitive

 Legs gives away a great deal of

information

 Openness
 D. Posture
70

 Culture dependent

 No universal language (meaning)

 Consider the context (the circumstances

that form the setting for an event,
statement or idea, it helps make it fully
understood)
 Concurrence
 Body angle
 Posture …

71

• Standing straight can indicate

confidence.

• Dragging your feet can

indicate you are tired or
reluctant to go where you are
Going.
 E. Voice Characteristics…
72

 Speaking loudly and quickly…Anger

 High pitch, fast rate, loud volume, and

upward Inflection……..Joy
 F. Appearance
73

 Body shape
 Clothing
 Dressing up and dressing down
 Attractive look
 G. Time (unspoken message)
74

 Arrive early & leave late!

 Clock watcher
 Amount of time spend on certain tasks
or meeting
 Punctuality
 H. Space
75

 Maintain the appropriate distance

 Be careful of the height impact
 Remove any object between the
speaker/listener
 Lean forward to express connection
76

Remember;

 Make sure your body and your mind

speak the same language
 3. Written communication
77

 It involves the exchange of facts, ideas, and

opinions through a written instrument /materials.
• Successful written communication requires careful
thought and clear planning.

• A plain writing style should be used.

• Because, it is easy to understand and reduces the

chances of misunderstanding and ambiguity.
 Written communication…
78

 A useful tool in improving your writing skills is

writing
 Start writing in simple, plain English, then move on
from something concrete to something abstract and
expressive.
 In written communication, avoid four common
errors which should be avoided, Judith (1993)
 Common errors in written
79
communication
Verbosity
Poor
(use of
Confusin
sentence
Informati
too many
g
structureon
words)
language
overload
s
 Types of
communication
80

There are two main types of

communication

1. Face-to-face (‘interpersonal’)
2. Mass media.

Reading assignment
81 Effect of communication on behavior
change: Process of Behavioral Change
(PBC) Model
 PBC recognizes that behavior change

and thus communication intended to

influence behavior changes is a process.

 According to this model, there are five

stages/steps to behavior change
 Selection…
82

Knowledge
Approval
Intention
Practice
Advocacy(motivating others to change)
 Stage of change and communication
83

 people at different stages constitute

distinct audiences

 they usually need different messages

and sometimes different approaches
(interpersonal channels, community
channels, or mass media)
 Stage and communication ….
84
 Behavioral change process on EPI,
2012, Ethiopia

85
 Principles of communications
86

1. Perception: For communication to be effective the

perception of the sender should be as close as possible to
the perception of the receiver.
2) Sensory involvement: The more sensory organs
involved in a communication the more is its effectiveness
from their cumulative effect.

3) Face to face: The more communication takes place face-

to-face the more its effectiveness.

4) Feedback (two-way): Any communication without two-

way process is less effective because of lack of opportunity
for concurrent, timely & appropriate feedback.
 Principles ….
87

5) Clarity: Ideas, facts, opinions in the mind of

communicator should be clear before communication. It
should be direct, simple, easily understandable language.

6) Information: the sender should have at in hand correct,

current and scientific information before communicating
it.

7) Completeness: the subject matter to be communicated

must be adequate and full which enable the receiver to
understand the central theme or idea of message.

Incomplete message may result misunderstandings.

 Qualities of communication

88

• The communicator should be knowledgeable, positive

attitude, skilled and have credibility.

• The message should be simple (or brief & clear)

meaningful, appropriate, relevant, and timely
(SMART).

• The channel should be familiar, appropriate, available

& accessible.

• The receiver should also be responsible with proper

attitude to receive the information.
 Characteristics of an effective communicator

 As an effective health communicator, one is both in the situation of the sender and the receiver
89
 Make sure he/she has the full attention of the communication partner

 Speak in a loud and clear voice

 Formulate the message clearly in a way that can be easily understood

 Explain technical terms

 Be able to adapt the same (health) messages to the educational background of the receiver

 Encourage the client to speak openly

 Give full attention to the client

 Listen carefully

 Ensure that the message is understood

 Show by way of acknowledgement that message was understood

 Take questions and concerns of clients seriously

 Answer any questions fully

 Self assessment Questions
90

1. How do you decide to communicate

your message either through oral or
written form of communication?
2. Can non-verbal communication used
independently to deliver health
message? how/why?
3. Why non-verbal communication is
important?
91

4. How do you check whether your written

communication is written in plain
English?

5. What are the common errors in written

communication? Describe them.

6. Describe the advantage sand

disadvantages of using print
materials?
 Characteristics of effective
communication
92

 All barriers have been removed.

 The proper media has been chosen.
 A good presentation has been made.
 Two – way communication has been
established.
THANK YOU!!