Health Improvement and Communication Methods

Study Notes

Health improvements require careful selection of behaviors that effectively influence health.
Accurate, up-to-date advice is essential to ensure health outcomes improve.

Informing: Introduces and familiarizes the audience with new ideas.
Educating: Explains the strengths and weaknesses of those ideas.
Persuading: Provides convincing arguments to motivate action or acceptance.
Entertaining: Engages emotions of the audience to draw attention to new ideas.

Intra-Personal Communication:
- Occurs internally and affects beliefs, feelings, and thoughts.
- Influences are shaped by culture, language, personal needs, and past experiences.
Interpersonal Communication:
- Involves real-time interactions between individuals.
- Examples include discussions between health workers and community members or teachers and students.
Advantages*:
- Facilitates two-way communication with immediate feedback.
- Utilizes multiple channels (verbal and non-verbal), useful for sensitive topics.
Limitations*:
- Requires language proficiency and personal status.
- Demands professional knowledge and preparation.
Mass Communication:
- Transmits messages to a wide audience using mass media (radio, TV, newspapers).
Advantages*:
- Quick outreach to a large number of people.
- Perceived as credible, especially from trusted sources.
Limitations*:
- Typically one-sided with limited interaction.
- Fails to cater to specific target audiences.

Mass Communication:
- Reaches many people simultaneously.
- Limited personal interaction; feedback is delayed.
Interpersonal Communication:
- Face-to-face interactions with immediate feedback.
- More effective in assessing attitudes and behaviors.

Barriers can lead to misunderstandings and prevent program goals from being achieved.
Common barriers include:
- Competition for attention (noise).
- Language differences and varying vocabulary.
- Age-related communication issues.
- Conflicting attitudes and beliefs.

Different types of noise can distract during communication:
- Physical noise (external sounds).
- Internal noise (psychological states affecting communication).

Physical Characteristics:
- Size and intensity (e.g., bold text).
- Use of color (primary colors like red and yellow).
Motivational Characteristics:
- Novelty and surprise provoke interest.
- Utilizing entertainment and humor effectively draws attention.

Understanding the Message: Subjective interpretation can vary, leading to misunderstandings, especially with complex language.
Promoting Change: Acceptance is necessary; beliefs more easily changed if acquired recently or demonstrable effects are shown.
Producing Behavioral Change: Communication must target significant beliefs; other influences like community pressure and lack of enabling factors can hinder change.