I introduced the topic of using the radio to train community health workers in an earlier blog that was focused on how health broadcasting could support HIV/AIDS prevention. This topic was extremely interesting, so I have decided to explore the themes surrounding radio communication intervention that supports health workers, in more detail, focusing specifically on SMS texting as the new radio. In much of the developing world, physicians are scarce. The “brain drain” phenomenon describes the recurring removal of physicians from resource poor locations to resource rich locations. In many developing nations there is training for Doctors, however, once a Doctor has been trained there is a very low likelihood that they will continue to live in the resource poor location. For this reason, many health organizations, such as Partners in Health, have touted community health workers as the future for health in developing nations. However, although community health workers do provide a very compelling solution to the brain drain problem, they are still challenged to work at low-wages, without centralized support systems, and within scattered communities. Health communication technology must be paired with community health workers in order to improve their efficiency, support, and retention rates.
A good example of a health communication technological device that can support a health worker (other than the radio) is the cell phone. In sub-Saharan Africa, studies have shown that the rates of cell phone use have gone up by 60% for the last 5 years. Cell phones have pre-existing infrastructure (unlike the internet), are low cost, and have many benefits that can be used to support health workers. SMS texting has been called the new radio, because it can be used to transmit health information to many people. Text-for-Change is an example of radio as SMS. Text-for-change allows community health workers to send out mass texts informing people about things like HIV/AIDS testing sites and follow-up drug care. Radio as SMS has allowed health workers to improve drug adherence, communication with patients, and communication with other health workers. Like the radio, SMS allows the transmission of information to a recipient who would otherwise be unable to access health services and information. Unlike the radio, SMS texting allows the listener/audience to transmit information back. Unlike SMS texting, radio can send more extensive and detailed information to a wider audience, reaching hundreds of thousands of listeners. Radio and SMS texting can be paired together, to help maximize the efficiency of community health workers who are working in resource poor countries with scattered communities. This summer, I will be working with FACE AIDS to create a community health radio program and text-for-change hotline in Rwanda. The natural pairing of these two global health communication technologies, will hopefully, improve many rural Rwandan’s understanding of HIV/AIDS. I will be evaluating the efficacy of each of these health communication technologies independent of each other, and also together, to determine the best way to maximize the positive results of SMS texting and community health radio programs.
References
Booth, Isobel. “Radio soap for health education: lessons learnt by Health Unlimited Rwanda 1997-2003.” Health Unlimited (2003): n. pag. Print.
Serlemitsos, E. A., U. Bharath-Kumar, J. A. Nyambe, B. Mukwatu, and R. E. Carty. “Building community mobilisation skills at scale: The synergy of radio distance learning and the roll-out of a national curriculum for health workers in Zambia.” Proc. of International Conference on AIDS, Thailand, Bangkok. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Skuse, Andrew. Radio Broadcasting for Health: An Issues Paper. Issue brief. N.p.: Department for International Development, 2004. Print.