Immunization and child health materials development guide pdf

Examples of demographic characteristics include the following:
• Age
• Gender (sex)
• Marital status
• Occupation
• Income
• Religion
• Social class
• Ethnicity or language group
• Number or age of children • Literacy and education level
• Urban/rural dweller
• Level of expertise or experience
4. Define Your Audience by Relevancy of Issue. Some
segments of the population are more affected by a particular health
problem. For example, some groups have a higher susceptibility to
certain diseases because of their genetic makeup. These groups share
the same concerns or have to cope with a similar problem in their homes
or communities. Perhaps they belong to a support group in their
community or read a certain newsletter for information about their
particular health problem. Find out what resources are available to this
audience to help them deal with the problem and how serious they
perceive it to be. Their responses to these questions can help you
determine the best way to reach them and to effectively intervene.
5. Remember Your Secondary Audience. 5 While your primary
audience is the specific group of people you want to reach, as discussed
above, your secondary audience includes (1) people who can help
identify ways to reach your primary audience and (2) allies, such as
decision-makers, community leaders, and health authorities, who can
help solve the problem. 6 As part of your materials development process,
carefully consider your audience, what you want them to do, and how
best to get them to do it. Service providers, for example, can have an
enormous impact on whether and how often community members bring
their children for immunization. Their support is extremely important, so
ask them what would be useful for educating and motivating clients.
It’s not always possible or desirable to focus all your efforts on one or two
segments of the population. Political or equity issues might suggest you
pay attention to audiences who are less likely to respond to your
intervention. If possible, start by spending more money on the segment
that is most at risk from the health problem and will respond most easily
and quickly. Plan to provide for the hard-to-reach population later. 7
One technique
for helping to
define your
primary
audience is to
write a detailed
description of the
typical person
whom you are
trying to reach.
For example,
“Nyima has six
children. Her
husband works in
the city and
comes home
once a month.
She must take a
riverboat, walk
four miles, and
then find a ride
on the highway
to reach the
nearest clinic.
She gets most of
her information
from merchants
passing through
her village, and
her motherin-law
accompanies
her to all hospital
and clinic
visits…”
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