(Person) Percentage - Sabanci University Research Database

The Asian Conference on Media & Mass Communication Osaka, Japan
It was not just content but the context which was critical in this process of
communication. While education and employment remained the focus of the previous
two Radio Ramzans, the third radio series was dedicated to the issues around the
health of minority ethnic groups, especially that of Mirpuri community in
Nottingham. In association with the Specialist Health Promotion Service of
Nottingham Health Authority, Karimia Mosque developed a comprehensive health
education project using Radio Ramzan as a vehicle to reach out to the community and
seek their participation in developing culturally sensitive and socially relevant
strategies to fight inequalities in health.
This partnership approach between public and voluntary sector has become part of a
new discourse in which the concepts of community mobilization and local
participation are sought to reduce health inequalities and promote good health among
marginalised groups. Supported by many surveys and research findings, the
participatory approach in health education and delivery is highlighted in various
health policy documents (Acheson, 1998, Department of Health 1999a, 1999b, Social
Exclusion Unit, 2000). This approach is also present in various international
declarations supported by World Health Organisation (WHO) including Alma Ata
Declaration (1978), the Ottawa Charter (1986), Amman Declaration (1996) and
Jakarta Declaration (1997). However, the populist paradigm of participation has come
under attack for its technical, theoretical, political and conceptual limitations. There is
a range of critiques available about the populist participation approach (Bastian &
Bastian, 1996; Nelson and Wright 1995). Although there are critics of this approach
who question the rhetorical use of participation and demand clarification on terms,
mechanism and conditions of partnerships and alliances (Cook and Kothari, 2001),
the approach of involving victims of inequality to fight inequality does make sense
when participation is on the terms of victims.
Against this background, Radio Ramzan developed a month long multi-agency
intensive health education campaign bringing together health professionals,
community workers, religious leaders, volunteers and statutory organizations to find a
common ground to fight inequalities in health faced by the Mirpuri community living
in inner city Nottingham. The project resulted from a partnership which had
developed between the Specialist Health Promotion Service (SHPS), Nottingham
Community Health NHS Trust, the Karimia Institute of Nottingham and City Central
Primary Care Group (PCG).
The project was basically a partnership project between the City Central Primary Care
Trust (PCT) in Nottingham and the Karimia. The objectives of the HEAP project
included:
• Generate and share knowledge from the experiences of health from
participants, which can be used as guidance for change to promote health
education and mobilization for culturally relevant action.
• Develop a contextual approach in addressing some of the pertinent health
issues among the Mirpuri community by acknowledging and adopting the
cultural practices prevalent in this community.
• Facilitate the participation of marginalized people in local health initiatives so
that they can take a more pro-active part in looking after their health and the
health of others in the community.
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