Entertainment-Education and Behaviour Change: An Impact Assessment of a Polio Documentary Film in Northern Nigeria
Entertainment-Education and Behaviour Change: An Impact Assessment of a Polio Documentary Film in Northern Nigeria
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Date
2013-04
Authors
Onuekwe, Chima E.
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Abstract
Communication for polio eradication has been an integral part of the national
effort to interrupt polio transmission in Nigeria. The communication approaches
can be broadly categorized into advocacy, social mobilisation and programme
communication. The cardinal objectives of the communication approaches are
to sensitize and mobilize the populace to embrace polio vaccination for children
aged 0-59 months.
Although, these efforts have yielded varied results across the country, cases of
noncompliance to polio vaccination are still high especially in Northern states
of Nigeria. The resultant effect of this is that polio continues to transmit
especially among children who have been inadequately protected through
vaccination.
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of an entertainment-education
documentary film for communicating polio vaccination to noncompliant
households to accept polio vaccination and to recommend the methodology or
suggest improvements in polio communication in Nigeria. A total of 1688
participants randomly selected from the northern states of Nigeria participated
in the study. The study adopted a field experimental survey to gather
quantitative data and focus group discussion for qualitative data. Participants for
the study were grouped into treatment (exposed to the documentary film on
control (not exposed to the documentary). Findings of the study from
both the field experimental survey and the focus group discussion indicated that
participants that watched the documentary film demonstrated better
understanding of polio, developed a higher sense of knowing the severity of
polio infection, and were more likely to accept polio vaccination than those who
were not exposed to the documentary film.
Based on these empirical findings, this study therefore, recommends the
following:
i. that entertainment-education be adopted as an alternative communication
strategy for impacting behaviours of noncompliant parents to accept polio
vaccination in northern Nigeria;
ii. that active participatory communication approach be adopted for
involvement of stakeholders at all levels of polio eradication initiative;
iii. that a bottom-up communication approach be applied to engender a sense
of ownership of polio programmes in the families and the community at
large.
Description
A PhD Dissertation submitted to the Postgraduate School
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
In fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Doctorate Philosophy in
Development Communication, Department of Theatre and Performing Arts
April 2013
Keywords
Entertainment,, Education,, Behaviour,, Change,, Impact,, Assessment,, Polio,, Documentary,, Film,, Northern,, Nigeria,