Anne E. Heggen, Melissa A. Rodgers, Jonathan D. Dissemination of appropriate health education messages is essential to any health promotion campaign. This cross-sectional study examined media ownership, access and media preferences by target groups in Kapoeta South County, Southern Sudan. Interviewees were selected at random from 49 villages.
Overall, a small portion owned radios 6. The majority were interested in programs developed in the vernacular A very low literacy rate 1.
Traditional entertainment was attended by Information from chiefs This research highlights the utility in understanding media access, habits and preferences of community members when designing a health promotion campaign. Health communication messages are essential for promoting behavior change among individuals and groups. If successfully produced, they can increase knowledge and awareness of a health problem, influence perceptions which may lead to behavior change, increase demand for health services, and inform decision-making.
Audience segmentation is the process of dividing the audience into homogeneous groups that have one or several similar characteristics that can be addressed in a communication campaign. Therefore, in addition to identifying the purpose and content of the health message, formative research should be conducted to identify the most appropriate channels of communication, based on availability and preferences of the intended audience.
A number of programs in Africa have successfully used radio, video, drama and other forms of mass media to increase knowledge and promote behavior change. A better understanding of mass media access and preferences in post-conflict Southern Sudan would aid the development of communications strategies designed to increase knowledge and promote behavior change.
