Public Participation and Communications in Latin American Disease Control Programs

Transcription

1 Public Participation and Communications in Latin American Disease Control Programs P. Chain Pan-American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Center, Caixa Postal 589 ZC-00, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Summary This paper provides a framework for considering the role of communications in supporting and strengthening animal disease control and prevention programs. It surveys briefly the key elements to be included in the analysis of a control program and of the target audience (usually the livestock owner) for which the program was designed. It emphasises the identification of target behaviours to be induced in part by the information campaign and points to the need to identify audience perceptions, needs and structural constraints and include these in planning communications strategies. Selection of information content, format, channels and evaluation mechanisms is undertaken with these target behaviour and audience situation criteria in mind. An example of this approach is presented, taken from field training exercises of young veterinarians in Brazil in 1976 and 1977 in connection with the national footand-mouth disease control program of that country. A short summary of trends foreseeable in the near future to increase this discipline's contribution to animal health programs completes the presentation. The paper concludes that communications can considerably enhance a well designed program's chance of success in eliciting voluntary compliance with animal health measures that are meaningful to both program administrators and to the farming community. Introduction The eventual success of an animal disease control program depends ultimately on its ability to stimulate the co-operation and voluntary participation of livestock owners and other allied groups. It is the responsibility of the rural communications specialist to identify means by which this co-operation and participation may be obtained. For many years in Latin America this task of identifying ways to elicit farmer cooperation and participation was felt to be best handled by the mass media. Communicators relied almost exclusively on their ability to persuade farmers to adopt the program innovations by creating large quantities of pamphlets, posters, folders, radio spots and flyers, and distributing them to the field. The communicator acquired a reputation still prevalent of being merely a producer of audio-visuals, a costly and often superfluous addition to a technical program. This emphasis on the mass media and on audio-visuals generally was often made without considering the context in which they would be seen and heard. It was based on what proved to be erroneous assumptions about their potential impact, based on models of usage from developed countries. 335

2 Today, the mass media and the persuasive, unilinear approach they represent have been assigned a more realistic role, in accordance with their limited capacity to bring about change. As a first and fundamental step, the communicator now studies the program itself, as well as the farmer and his situation, his real and perceived needs (de Sagasti, 1975). Based on this analysis he then designs strategies for bringing needed information to the farmers by the most efficient means possible. The information itself is selected in terms of the latitude of decision making open to the individual in that particular situation, and how well this information addresses itself to carrying out the particular course of action in that situation (Fett, 1974). The means chosen may include the mass media and audio-visuals, but these are simply one set of tools among the many he has available. The communications specialist also includes in his task the development and promotion of dialogue between program administrators and the farming community. He is the 'bridge' facilitating this two-way exchange of information. The following is a summary of the elements that have been found to be important in developing practical action-oriented communications strategies. The compilation is by no means exhaustive. The elements were defined and confirmed through work at the Pan-American Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) Center and with the national animal health programs of Latin America, most of which concentrate their efforts on the continuing control of FMD. These elements are also pertinent to the communications needs of new control programs being introduced, as well as to communications activities in support of disease prevention programs, as recent experiences in the region with African Swine Fever have demonstrated. Understanding the program Planning a communications strategy in a disease control program requires, first, a thorough understanding of the program itself. Since the communications specialist is often not a veterinarian, it is important that he discuss the program's objectives and goals with the other members of the program team. The epidemiologist in particular is a key colleague in this preliminary phase, as well as in the later operational phases: The communicator must first answer five basic questions about the program: 1. What are its specific objectives? And what is their order of priority or of timesequence? 2. What specific groups (or target audiences) will be involved in the program? These target audiences may include, among others, livestock owners, allied processing and marketing groups, consumers, community leaders, related government agencies, and the field staff of the veterinary service itself. 3. What is each target audience expected to do in order to comply with these specific objectives? That is, what final behaviour is expected of each target audience? The answer must be as detailed as possible, and be stated in terms of actions. 4. What specific information does each target audience need in order to carry out the expected behaviour? How can he tell if the disease has entered his herd? What forms does he need? How does he get them? Where? What vaccines does he need? Where does he get them? 5. Is the infrastructure necessary for the target audience to behave as expected in place and operating? Have provisions been made for providing key products and services, and are they available to the target audience? Understanding the audience Once these questions have been answered, the communicator proceeds to the delineation of the community or target audience in order to complete his analysis. At 336

3 this stage the identification of target audience attitudes is essential to the communicator. The latter must be able to answer a series of questions which will lead to the selection of adequate channels and messages to stimulate the desired changes in the particular context of the specific target audience: 6. What are the general characteristics of the audience? The general educational level? Access to mass media? Socio-economic status? Importance of livestock in the farm economy? Do significant differences exist between the large and small producers? This is a critical question in South America, where the situation of the small producer often is completely different from that of the larger producers, in some countries even involving a separate language and culture. If such small producers are an integral part of the target audience, then special provisions must be made within the communications strategy which take into account these differences. 7. Which organisations bring the target audience, or parts of it, together regularly? What formal organisations, such as co-operatives, producer organisations, religious affiliations, exist that may exert influence on audience behaviour? 8. What practices are generally used in dealing with this particular animal health problem? Does the farmer consider it to be a serious problem? Does he consider it to be a problem at all? 9. Are there any factors beyond the control of the audience which may impede the people from acting as projected? That is, what structural constraints exist within the target population? This question is particularly important when dealing with the smallholder livestock producer, where lack of sustained benefits is often more a result of institutional rather than technical inadequacies. Ideally, the answers to these questions are provided through sociologial research. However, this method is costly and time-consuming. The most feasible method has been to draw the answers from statistical reference and from informal discussions with key individuals who are already familiar with the group or with the area. Planning the communications strategy Keeping in mind audience characteristics and situation, the communicator then further refines the focus of his analysis, selecting the most efficient means of bringing the needed information to the target audience: 10. Which communications channels both mass and inter-personal are available to reach the target audience with information on the control program? With which mass media do they regularly come in contact? What group media (slides, flip charts, posters, pamphlets etc.) can be used? How may meetings of formal organisations be incorporated into program needs? 11. Which of these channels is best suited for the motivational, or awareness, stage of the communication strategy? It is here that the mass media have traditionally had their most effective use. 12. Which motivational content is most likely to capture the interest of the target audience? We found, for example, in Brazil during a field training project that our best drawing card for ensuring farmer attendance at meetings was to announce on the most popular local afternoon radio show Musk on the Prairie') that film clips of the championship game of the 1970 World Soccer Cup would be shown after the meeting! However, this was part of a disease control program maintenance effort, rather than the introductory phase of a new program. In the latter case, a more specific diseaserelated motivation would have to be identified. It is worthwhile to remember here that the most appealing aspect of the program to its administrators is not necessarily the same for the client group. 13. Which of these mass and interpersonal channels will be most effective in the informational and instructive phases? A combination of mass and interpersonal 337

4 channels often works best at this point. To ensure the efficacy of the interpersonal channels, which most often involve the participation of the local veterinarian and other program staff, it is important to verify their preparation for this task: Are they familiar with the audio-visual material prepared? Are they familiar with its use? Have they received orientation for their role as 'experts' in direct contacts with the target audience, whether in groups or in person-to-person meetings? 14.What message content will be selected for these phases and these channels? It is at this stage that the specific information needed (Question 4) is cast into terms which are comprehensible to the target audience. A nearly infinite variety of forms and channels are available, but the choice and combination of content, format and distribution will depend on the audience and the situation defined in the analysis. Once prepared, a simple informal pre-testing of the material will often save later more costly revision. Are the terms used understandable to the farmer? Can he identify with the people, clothing, and habitat used in the visuals? Is he able to correctly identify the actions and items in the photos and drawings? 15.Which of the communication channels will be most suitable for the consultative task? That is, which channels will best allow for a systematic dialogue between program administrators and the target audience? Logically, the local veterinarian will play a key role at this stage. His ability to listen authentically to what the client groups have to say is vital. Also important are: the receptivity of program administrators to this information from the field, and program flexibility which allows for tactical decisions or readjustments based on this feedback. 16., What mechanisms exist within the program which may be used to indicate the effectiveness of the information campaign in stimulating the desired behaviour? If none exist, what other informal means of evaluation are available? Overall, there is no single technique, no single channel of communication which will fill all the needs of all situations. Each control program, and each region, area or country in which it will be applied, presents a unique set of circumstances which must be considered and incorporated into the communications strategy. An example A simple example of the application of this approach may be taken from the shortterm field projects carried out by students in a series of rural communications courses sponsored by the Pan-American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Center. One project was conducted in a predominantly dairy cattle region in central Brazil. There were approximately 400 farms in the region, 70 per cent of them small farms, linked through several dairy co-operatives. The region had a 100 per cent compliance with the thriceyearly vaccinations carried out as part of the FMD control program. This program further called for these vaccinations to take place not only during a set period, but on a specific day, established previously by the local program office, to allow auxiliary personnel to supervise the vaccinations directly, another requirement of the program. Only 40 per cent of the farmers vaccinated on the specified date, despite each being advised beforehand by letter of the day the auxiliary personnel would arrive to check the vaccinations. The local veterinarian identified this as one of the problems in the area, as noncompliance resulted in a considerable loss of time and effort by auxiliary personnel, whose assistance was also needed for other functions. After discussing the problem and the community with the veterinarian, the students first carried out interviews with a sampling of farmers to discover the reasons for this 338

5 lack of compliance. Those most often cited by the farmers were: (1) forgetting the date; (2) not realising the day itself was important; and (3) lack of farm hands. Not much could be done about the last reason, but the first two pointed clearly to a lack of understanding of a key program detail and the inefficiency of the thrice-yearly letters sent out by the local program office. The students then identified their project objective: they would attempt to increase the percentage of farmers vaccinating on the right day from 40 to 80 per cent in the next vaccination period. Their campaign would emphasise the importance of vaccinating on the right day and would make each farmer aware, by the most conspicuous means possible, of his day for vaccinating. Their strategy included three basic stages: 1. A preliminary phase in which they enlisted the support of the local dairy cooperatives, vaccine production firms, community leaders, radio stations and newspapers. 2. A series of meetings with auxiliary personnel (who maintained the most contact with the farmers), with students in the rural elementary schools (children of the farmers) and with the farmers themselves. In the meetings with the auxiliary personnel, the students emphasised the importance of 'health education' techniques in their contact with the farmers. With the schoolchildren and the farmers, they reviewed basic disease symptoms, control measures and the importance of vaccinating at the right time. 3. As a final step they distributed to each farmer a specially printed calendar, with his days for vaccinating during that year marked in red. The calendar carried their campaign slogan, 'Keep your eye on the date... Vaccinate on the right day'. Posters carrying the same slogan were placed in strategic locations in the town (the banks, the post office, the small bars most frequented by the farmers etc.), at the dairy co-operatives and at the office of the agricultural agency. Approximately six months later, a second group of students returned to the same region, as part of a subsequent course, and carried out an evaluation of the original project. After visiting and interviewing over 90 per cent of the farmers, they discovered that the rate of directly supervised vaccination had indeed risen to slightly over 80 per cent in the previous vaccination period. Ninety-six per cent of the farmers had received the calendars and used them many even showed the interviewers the calendars hanging in their barns and homes. Eighty per cent cited the calendars as having helped them to remember to vaccinate on the correct day. The students who carried out the evaluation also felt that the informal conversations between the farmers and the auxiliary personnel who had distributed the calendars also contributed to the success of the campaign. A simple problem and a simple solution. The pivotal point was taking the time to find out why the problem existed, and looking to the farmers themselves for the reasons. I am encouraged to believe that the young veterinarians involved in the training exercise will remember this common-sense idea of 'looking before you leap' when they are charged with designing and carrying out communications strategies to support FMD and other disease control programs in their home states and countries. Future directions In considering the lines of emphasis that rural communications will take in the near future, one speaks more in terms of hopes than of obvious developments from present situations. Strengthening the role of rural communications, as a support discipline within a multidisciplinary, problem-oriented approach to animal health would include: 339

6 1. A greater integration of rural communication specialists in animal health program teams, especially in their early planning stages 2. A greater structural flexibility within the programs to permit information from the field to be incorporated into the program's goals and strategies 3. An increased integration of communications presently working within a region and also between regions. A first step in this direction in Latin America is being taken with the establishment at the Pan-American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Cebter of a clearinghouse for communications and educational materials used in animal health programs in the Americas. Following the outbreaks of African Swine Fever in Brazil and the Dominican Republic in mid-1978, national animal health programs in South America recognised the need to alert not only producers, but the general public as well (a potential vector of the disease) to the dangers involved. The small, nascent communications units of these programs benefited from the exchange of materials provided through the clearing-house, which was still in its organisational phase. Slides of actual eradication measures being applied in Brazil, for example, were sent to the countries to be incorporated into the informative and educational materials prepared for their own swine producers. 4. More emphasis during veterinarians' university training on the human aspects of his future field work 5. More emphasis in university training of communicators on the application of this field to agricultural concerns. In summary, communications inputs will not save a poorly-designed disease control program. They are, however, capable of considerably enhancing a good program's chances of success, eliciting voluntary compliance with animal health measures that are meaningful to both the program designers and administrators and to the farming community. REFERENCES Fett, J. (1974) Gatekeepers in agricultural information dissemination. Communication Strategies for Rural Development, proceedings of the Cornell-CIAT International Symposium, Cali, Colombia. Safasti, H. E. E. de (1975) Effective Communication with the Rural Poor. A Knowledge Base for Action. Volumes I and II. Academy for Educational Development, Washington, DC. 340