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Entertainment-Education for Better Health |
 
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| February 2008 Issue No. 17 |
The INFO Project • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health • Center for Communication Programs • 111 Market Place, Suite 310 • Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA • 410-659-6300 • 410-659-6266 (fax) • www.infoforhealth.org • infoproject@jhuccp.org | |
Key Points
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For over 30 years entertainmenteducation (E-E) has been a tool for changing health behavior. E-E uses drama, music, or other communication formats that engage the emotions to inform audiences and change attitudes, behavior, and social norms. Worldwide, several hundred major projects have used E-E to improve health.
Entertainment-education has encouraged people to live healthier lives. For example, E-E projects for family planning and reproductive health have helped motivate people to use contraception, to prevent HIV infection by having fewer sex partners, and to use antenatal care services.
Entertainment-education dramas can persuade because they show characters who change their behavior to improve their lives. Stories have unique power and nuance to describe people’s behavior and interactions, and their consequences. When audience members see that they could be in the same situation as the characters, stories can move them to change, too. E-E is particularly able to influence behavior rooted in traditions that are hard to change.
Theories of human behavior and behavior change underlie E-E. For example, social learning theory emphasizes how people learn by observing others. Thus the theory supports the use of dramas with characters who model healthy behavior.
Choosing an E-E format depends on audience and budget. Mass media formats reach people who have access to radios or televisions. Young people are a prime audience for popular music. Theater, and especially street theater, reaches people without access to radio or TV. Mass media projects can be costly. In contrast, a community-level activity may cost little. Projects often use several formats or media to reach the intended audience.
Mass media formats are often cost-effective. Although expensive to produce, radio or TV dramas have attracted audiences in the millions. They have cost very little per person reached and US$3 or less per person influenced to adopt a healthy behavior.
To achieve high quality, E-E projects require skill and creativity but also follow a process. As with other communication projects, the process consists of five basic steps—research and analysis, strategic design, development and pretesting, implementation and monitoring, and evaluation. At the same time, effective E-E requires skilled managers and producers. With training in E-E, creative directors, writers, and artists can convey educational content and positive values in an entertaining manner.
Audience research and participation are essential. Creating engaging E-E products requires thorough knowledge of the audience. As much as possible, members of the audience should assist in the design of E-E activities.
How to Use This ReportThis issue of INFO Reports discusses three aspects of entertainment-education to improve family planning/reproductive health and prevent HIV infection:
Managers of family planning/reproductive health programs and policy makers can use this report to become more knowledgeable advocates for E-E and better prepared to oversee E-E projects. Also, this report can help E-E managers with choosing formats and producing E-E products. For radio or TV dramas, a checklist includes the tasks that are the responsibility of the E-E manager. This report accompanies Population Reports, “Communication for Better Health,” and INFO Reports, “Tools for Behavior Change Communication.” |
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