Role of Mass Media in Health Education

Presented by : Navneet Randhawa

Under guidance of: Dr. Amaninder Randhawa

POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS OF INDIA

• India is a developing country with majority of population residing in rural areas.

• According to 2011 census the urban population %age is 30%.

• The rural population %age is an overwhelming 70%.

Literacy in India

• According to 2011 census the literacy rate in India is 74.04%. This means that over 26% of people are still illiterate after 67 years of independence.

• This translates to roughly 260 million people who are unable to read and write even after 67 years of independence.

MOST COMMON ORAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN INDIA

• As per national oral health survey 2002-03 in

• Age group Caries prevalence

• 12 years 53.8%

• 35-44 years 80.2%

• 65-74 years 85%

• In the same survey it was seen that in children

• Age group Periodontal disease prevalence

• 12 years 57%

• 15 years 67.7%

• 35-44 years 89.6%

• 65-74 years 79.9%

• Incidence rates for oral cancer varies per 100,000 population in different countries.

• As per survey it is 12.6 per 100,000 in India.

• There are about 250 million tobacco users in India who account for 19% of the world.

• India has 800,000 deaths every year due to tobacco use.

Dentist Population Ratio

• According to 2004 survey• 1:10,000 – Urban Areas• 1:2.5 lakh – Rural Area• i.e ¾ dentists are clustered in urban areas that

have ¼ population.

• The national oral health survey 2002-03 also concluded that children aged 12 years and 15 years the prevalence of malocclusion was 23.6% and 23.9% respectively.

• Indians have greater tendency for Class II malocclusion.

• Having all these above mentioned demographic values in mind it is clear that

• Burden of dental problems is very high in India

• Literacy rate is very less

• Accessibility of dental services is very poor, especially for the rural residents.

• Hence it becomes necessary that a lot of stress should be there to provide dental health education on a large scale and

• An efficient methods of education should be searched so that we can reach to each and every individual residing in this country to comply with the saying

• “Prevention is better than cure”

In order to first understand the role of media in health education we need to under stand what is health and what is education.

Health according to WHO is defined as complete mental, physical, social and economic well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Education as defined by George F. Kneller, “In its broad sense, education refers to any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual….In its technical sense education is the process by which society, through school, colleges, universities, and other institutions, deliberately transmits its cultural heritage – its accumulated knowledge, values, and skills – from one generation to another

HEALTH

EDUCATION

• Merging the aforesaid definitions we can define health education as, “Health education comprises consciously constructed opportunities for learning involving some form of communication designed to improve health literacy, including improving knowledge, and developing life skills which are conductive to individual and community health.”

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of health education are:• Informing people (Cognitive objective)

People are informed about the different diseases, their etiology and how to prevent them. Information increases knowledge and helps people become aware of their health problems and this helps in preventing disease and promoting health.

• Motivating people (Affective objective)• It is concerned with clarifying, forming or

changing attitudes, beliefs, values or opinions. The mere presence of information does not improve health. After proper health information is given, it is necessary to motivate them to alter their lifestyles so that it becomes favorable to promoting health and preventing disease. Motivation has been defined as “a combination of force which initiate, direct and sustain behaviors.”

• Guiding into action (Behavioral Objective)

It is concerned with the development of skills and action a person who has obtained health information and might be motivated to change his behavior and lifestyle. However he might need professional help and guidance so as to bring about these changes and to sustain these altered lifestyles.

• Medical Model

The model is concerned with the recognition and treatment of disease and technological advances to facilitate this process. Health information is provided to the people hoping that they will use this information to improve their health. However since this model gave no importance to the social, cultural and psychological factors, it did not bridge the gap between knowledge and behavior.

• Social intervention model

However, with the complex public health problems present today, it has become necessary to focus not only on the individual but also on his social environment, which shapes his behavior and the behavior of the community.

• Motivation model

When people did not use the information provided to them, it was felt that just providing information is not sufficient; the individual must be motivated to translate the health information into action.

Communication:-

“a key strategy to inform the public about health concerns and to maintain important health issues on the public agenda. The use of the mass and multimedia and other technological innovations to disseminate useful health information to the public, increase awareness of specific aspects of individual and collective health as well as importance of health in development”.

Auditory

Visual

Combined Audio-Visual

Role of Mass Media in Health Education and Awareness

• Definition:-

The mass media are diversified media technologies that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication.

Types of Mass Media

WHAT THE MASS MEDIA CAN DO

• Raise consciousness about health issues• Help place health on the public agenda• Convey simple information• Change behavior if other enabling factors are

present

WHAT THE MASS MEDIA CANNOT

• Convey complex information• Teach skills• Shift people’s attitudes or beliefs. If messages

are presented which challenge basic beliefs, it is more likely that the message will be ignored, dismissed or interpreted to mean something else

• Change behaviour in the absence of other enabling factors

• Because of such high number of illiterate people it is a challenge to provide health awareness to each and every one effectively.

• In order to provide health education to such a large and diverse population effective means of communication and mass media are required.

• The health related stats of India are fairly average because of its huge population, meager resources and low awareness.

• All India Radio, AIR, was

started in 1937 with its

First broadcast.

Role of Radio in Health Education

• Healthradio.in is an online radio service started by health and education trust of London.

• It provides information about the following health topics.• Rehydration• Diarrhea• HIV and Breastfeeding• Mother & Child Health• Community Radio• Disaster Relief

Gyan Vani• Gyan Vani made its maiden broadcast on March 2000.• It was an initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development.• It was broadcast over a bandwidth of 105.6 Mghz.• Gyan Vani stations operate as a media cooperative with the day-

to-day programmes being contributed by various educational institutions, NGOs, government and semi-government organizations, UN agencies, ministries such as Agriculture, Health, Women and Child Welfare, Science & Technology, etc

• ‘Interactive Mode’ for enhancing and supplementing the learning process.

• Low cost popular mass medium.

• “Science for Women’s Health and Nutrition” focuses on improving the health awareness of women, which often involves dispelling myths, superstitions and misconceptions related to health and nutrition. The programme seeks to bring about behavioral change among women and, in turn, their families. It is succeeding on a number of levels.

Advantages

• Has a broader audience than television• Can also reach illiterate people• Economical and easily accessible medium

Novelty Stage• Philo Farnsworth

Patents “Dissector” Tube (related

to cathode ray tube)

Mass Medium Stage

• TV booms in the 1950s• Many of the early

programs steal radio shows and audiences.

Television in India

• Television services in India were started on 15 Sep. 1959 with the commissioning of First broadcast of Doordarshan from New Delhi.

• Prasar Bharati is Government Organization is responsible for broadcasts of Doordarshan throughout the country.

Gyan Darshan• Indian DD Gyandarshan exclusive Educational

Television Channel of India started by IGNOU and Prasar Bharti in 2000. it relays programmes from various Doordarshan Kendras.

• Education Media Research Centres (EMRC) and Audio Visual Research Centres at different places produce programmes for university students.

Advantages

• Coverage to large number of people.• Can also reach illiterate people.• Can influence public opinion effectively.• Provides entertainment as well as education.

Disadvantages• Disadvantage is the high cost

NEWSPAPERSFirst newspaper in India was launched in 1780 by J.A. Huckley.

They are the most popular and widely disseminated form o fliterature.

They have influence over large parts of the conutry in any subject of importance.

Some leading newspapers carry special supplements on health every week.

The only disadvantage this form of mass media has that it is severely limited by the number of readers and the percentage of literate people.

- Since 1802

POSTERS

• Posters are the most common and one of the most effective audio visual aids.

• They can be effective even in regions of low literacy and low awareness.

• The main advantage is that they are eye catching and they should be artistic.

• The message should be simple and short.

• Should be placed in locations were people frequent like bus stands, hospitals.

• They should be changed frequently to maintain their effect.

Magazine• Magazines are popular source of information

about various subjects for the population.• They are a cheap audio visual aid of education

as well as communication.

The INTERNET is a network of computers, which links many different types of computers all over the world. ARPANET was the first WAN and had only four sites in 1969. In 1989, the U.S. government lifted restrictions on the use of INTERNET, and allow its usage for commercial purposes as well.

INTERNET

• There are a number of internet sites providing health education to the community. e.g, www.mciindia.org, www.dciindia.org, www.who.int

• Information can be accessed via internet at any place at any point of time.

• It has brought about a revolution in the field of health education.

Advantages

• Communities and individuals can be given an audio visual demonstration of critical health care practices.

• The main advantage of internet is its worldwide accessibility and reach.

Disadvantages

• It is expensive• There are chances of providing misleading

information without any scientific basis. Therefore, people should be advised to seek information only from websites belonging to authorized bodies or associations.

• It is approachable only to educated, mostly urban elite.

Conclusion

• In the end we can conclude that mass media plays an extremely pivotal role in the dissemination of health education among the masses thereby creating awareness.

• It is also critical in promoting hygienic habits, facilitating exchange of ideas in the area of health research which make a tremendous impact on our everyday lives.

THANK YOU

References :

Essentials of Preventive and Community

Dentistry, Soben Peter, 4th Edition

Amit Trivedi, 4th edition

Internet sources: www.google.com

www.wikipedia.org

www.who.int

www.air.nic.in

www.mhrd.nic.gov.in