Communication and Health Promotion - Assignment Example

Communication and Health Promotion Mass media is the best strategy for changing healthy behaviours.” Critically discuss this ment giving examples to illustrate your argument. The mass media has for a long time been used to change the health behaviours among various populations. Most of the notable media campaigns have been aimed towards prevention of tobacco use as well as averting the spread of heart disease (Durkin, Biener and Wakefield, 2009). The effectiveness of the media campaigns is related to their ability to relay well-defined and behaviourally-oriented messages consistently and in an attractive manner. Mass media campaigns leads to positive change in health-related behaviours among many people. Mass media assists in changing the population norms and sets the agenda for change in policies that influences the health behaviour. Some of the stories may also act as eye-openers in discerning the best practices necessary for transforming the health behaviour of the masses. The mass media is more effective if supported by other strategies such as services, products and policies. Emotion-provoking messages through the media can assist in enhancing discussion and agenda setting on numerous topics associated with health. Public engagement assists in enlightening the public on the detailed concepts of many competing health-harmful information. The mass media advocacy can play an eminent role in enhancing the adherence of the public to health policies and behavioural changes. Mass media exposes high proportions of large populations to various health messages through channels such as newspapers, radio and television (Ewles and Simnet, 2003). However, the media campaigns may back fire or fail to serve the intended expectations. Some of the factors that cause such situations include inadequate funding, unfavourable media environment, and use of inadequately researched information. Additionally, the campaigns may address the health behaviours that the public might perceive challenging to change. For instance, campaigns on improved diet to curb nutritional ailments may be inefficient if the public cannot afford the recommended changes. However, the exposure to such messages is normally passive and non-permanent. The mass media is also competing with pervasive marketing of products as well as deep-rooted behaviours such as addiction (Block et al., 2002; Corcoran, 2007). Owing to their positive contribution to dissemination of health information to the public, mass media should be applied as a prominent component of the main stream strategy applied in transforming the health behaviour of the public. Other strategies that can enhance its effectiveness include sufficient funding, sound research before conveying it to the public, and ensuring adequate access to promoted products and services. Examine the role of social factors in communication, and identify their relevance for health promotion interventions. Communication is the most eminent tool that human beings use when interacting with one another. Some of the roles of effective communication in enhancing social aspects include learning, conducting successful business and relating well with each other. Some of the social factors affecting communication include cultural norms, shyness and anxiety, self-esteem and ego and social norms (Thierry, Mewa and Kaumanns, 2004). Different cultures are characterised by different norms that directs their communication modes. For instance, some cultures discourage women from speaking actively in public. Such cultures would derail the communication of health information because women will not be provided with the relevant freedom required for relaying their views on health. Effective dissemination of health information can also be affected by shyness or anxiety that may characterise the speaker (Israel, 2013). In such cases, the value of communication delivered is related to the form of communication, audience and the setting. Shy people are not suitable for delivering information on health promotion interventions to a diverse and large group of audience. People with low sense of self esteem have difficulties voicing their opinions on health interventions. People with inflated ego have no difficulties conversing and interacting with others. Although those with inflated ego may sometimes misguide others, they are strategically adapted to communicate information related to health improvement. Dissemination of health information may be affected by social norms. Appropriate conversation is determined by the setting, context and the agents of communication (Glanz, Rimer and Lewis, 2002). For instance, some of the health information, especially sexually related information is regarded as privy or obscene by most societal norms (Seale, 2002). Different cultural settings and activities requires a specified type of information to be disseminated. This implies that successful communication of health improvement strategies will require an appropriate setting for disseminating information. For instance, it would not be strategic to communicate health information on political campaigns; few people would pay attention. Explain the key components of social marketing and identify the strengths and limitations of using social marketing in health promotion campaigns. The key components of social marketing include definition of the problem and goals, choosing the audience, choosing the marketing strategies, implementing the marketing strategies and testing (Tones and Green, 2010). Definition of problems and goals involves identification of the issue at hand and identifying the goals applied in addressing the issue. Once the problem is identified, the objectives that will help in solving the issue are formulated. It is crucial to identify the audience because promotion strategies target various populations. This calls for detailed research on the target group to understand their various characteristics that would affect dissemination of the health information (Stead, Gordon, Angus & McDermott, 2007). After identifying the target audience, several promotion strategies, suitable for the chosen audience, should be identified. For instance, if the information is targeting the youth, web social marketing means such as face book would be the most effective means of marketing. The actual marketing messages are then designed with the capability of accomplishing the identified role. The marketing strategy is later tracked to ascertain whether it fulfils the set objectives. Application of social marketing in health promotion is beneficial because the method is effective in targeting i.e. proper usage can attract a wide range of internet users. For instance, the global groups in various websites attract enormous membership. This has enhanced outreach at a global level. The methods possess a high return on investment. This lowers the engagement risks and enables the health promoters to spend less on marketing. The method does not require complex technical skills for the medical operators to apply. The method is also more effective than other online advertising campaign methods because messages are conveyed consistently. However, application of social marketing in health promotion can expose the health industry in inadequacies such as bad branding, risk of malicious comments, commitment and the temporal inconveniences because addiction to social websites wastes time (Miller, 2011). Identify and give examples of the most effective ways of communicating health messages with minority groups. Critically discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these methods. The most effective ways of communicating health information to the minority groups will be intrapersonal and interpersonal communication strategies. Intrapersonal communication occurs within a person. Intrapersonal communication is characterised by three aspects; self awareness, expectation and perception (Borra et al., 2003). Self-awareness defines how a person views him or herself. Perception involves creation of better understanding of oneself and the surrounding. Expectations are future-oriented strategies messages that present and define the long-term roles. Self-awareness will be crucial because the health providers must continuously participate in the process of self-exploration. They are required to be aware of their self, how others perceive them and the effect they have on other people. For instance, the focus on communicating with HIV/AIDS patients requires health practitioners to understand how they function emotionally and be initially aware of how personal emotions may affect the patients (McDowall, Bonnell and Davies, 2006). Successful intrapersonal communication requires the possession of analytical skills required for understanding the internal feeling of the people around us. Interpersonal communication entails the interaction between the health care practitioners with two or more people. This can be verbal or non-verbal and is characterised by sharing of information and feelings among individuals or groups; encompasses Social Learning Theory (Davis and Macdowall, 2006; Morton, 2005). Interpersonal communication allows the health care practitioners to develop strong relationships with the people they interact with. The prominent benefit of interpersonal communication is the involvement of adequate feedback. The main purpose of interpersonal communication is that various elements of communication can be used in addition to verbal means e.g. gestures. The method is also effective in first-hand teaching of the relevant skills required in enhancing personal health. The method offers an effective clarification for any issue arising from the conversation. However, the method involves a lot of travelling and can be time consuming. References Block, L.G., Morwitz, V.G., Putsis, W.P. Jr., Sen, S.K. (2002) ‘Assessing the impact of antidrug advertising on adolescent drug consumption: results from a behavioural economic model’ Am J Public Health, vol. 92, pp. 1346–51. Borra, S.T., Kelly, L., Shirreffs, M.B., Neville, K. & Geiger, C.J. (2003) ‘Developing health messages: qualitative studies with children, parents, and teachers help identify communications opportunities for healthful lifestyles and the prevention of obesity’ Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 103, no. 6, pp. 721-8. Corcoran, N. (ed) (2007) Communicating health: implications for health promotion, London, Sage. Davis, M. & Macdowall, W. (2006) Health promotion theory, Open University Press, Maidenhead. Durkin, S., Biener, L. & Wakefield, M. (2009) ‘Effects of different types of antismoking ads on reducing disparities in smoking cessation among socioeconomic subgroups’ Am J Public Health, vol. 99, pp. 2217–23. Ewles, L. & Simnet, I. (2003) Promoting health: a practical guide, Bailllere Tindall, London. Glanz, K., Rimer, B.K. & Lewis, F.M. (2002) Health behaviour and health education: theory, research, and practice, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. Israel, B.A. (2013) Methods for community-based participatory research for health, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. McDowall, W., Bonnell, C. & Davies, M. (2006) Health promotion practice, University Press, Maidenhead. Miller, M. (2011) The ultimate web marketing guide, Indianapolis, Ind., Que. Morton, T.A. (2005) Mass communication, interpersonal communication, and health risk perception: Reconsidering the impersonal impact hypothesis from a communication perspective, St. Lucia, Qld. Seale, C. (2002) Media and health, London, Sage. Stead, M., Gordon, R., Angus, K. & McDermott, L. (2007) ‘A systematic review of social marketing effectiveness’ Health Education, vol. 107, no. 2, pp. 126-191. Thierry, B., Mewa, S. & Kaumanns, W. (2004) Macaque societies: a model for the study of social organization, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Tones, K. & Green, J. (2010) Health promotion: planning and strategies, London, Sage. Read More