Projecting Health

Projecting Health engages communities in social behaviour change and communication (SBCC) through visual communication. PATH's digital messaging model combines focused health information with visual demonstrations aligned with local customs and dialects. This visual approach is designed to allow for flexibility to focus on barriers and drivers for health practices specific to that community, with familiar and trusted individuals conveying the information to provide the social context and support for practicing health-seeking behaviours. As a result, it is hoped, the videos are relatable and impactful to the viewer (e.g., a mother), as she can recognise and identify with the actors and issues from within her own community.

To outline the process: First, a community advisory board identifies video topics and guides activities. Then, PATH conducts community-level training on basic digital media technology. Community members develop key messages and storyboards and then act in and produce the videos that address issues such as colostrum feeding, immunisations, and family planning methods. Enlisting local women to star in the videos is a key element, organisers say. (Click here to view some of them on YouTube.) Many aspects of the videos are meant to be funny and engaging while delivering serious messages. Local health workers share the videos via low-cost, portable projectors and other mobile devices during mothers' group meetings. Seeing the topic played out on the screen (typically a sheet draped on a wall) by people they identify with is intended to lead to a more enriching discussion and sharing of experiences. If the women don’t understand something, they replay the video and discuss it until they do. Facilitator-led dialogue sessions are held before and after these video screenings.

Not only YouTube presence but - as it turns out - mobile phones have allowed the videos to be shared even further with family members and friends. As the project leader says: "We knew we wanted to take this mobile, but unbeknownst to us, the community had already figured out how to download the videos onto their cell phones. Women are showing the videos to their husbands and mothers-in-law and friends. The potential reach is huge."

Children, Women, Health, Nutrition, Reproductive Health, Immunisation

According to PATH, "[e]arly findings from a project evaluation make clear that all that viewing is having an impact on maternal and newborn care practices. Women who took part in Projecting Health showed significant improvements in their knowledge and behaviors around such critical activities as preparing for childbirth, breastfeeding, and preventing umbilical cord infections." Based on such results in India, PATH and our partners plan to expand the Projecting Health model to countries in Africa and to other health topics, such as adolescent health for girls. As of May 2015, there have been 59 videos created, 5,894 screenings of videos, and over 52,000 viewings on YouTube. Topics include, amongst others: breastfeeding; immunisation; preparing for childbirth; water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); nutrition; and prevention of early marriage and early pregnancy.