Abstract
Effective health communication design is one of the essential parameters for achieving better health objectives and eliminating public health disparities through the promotion and dissemination of health information. In developing countries like India, communication between health practitioners and patients is often difficult compared to developed countries due to socioeconomic, cultural, literacy and language differences. The problem of health communication is prominent among the population with low literacy levels. The likelihood of an individual understanding health information and making informed decisions is very low. Maternal health is one of the challenging issues around the World and in India. India accounts for about 33,800 maternal mortalities, one-fifth of the total maternal mortality across the world. Majorities of these mortalities are preventable and are reported from the rural region of India with poor economies and low literacy levels. Over the past decades, interventions in health and communication have been considering the use of graphic mediums, storytelling, testimonial, and educational entertainment to achieve better health outcomes for populations with low literacy. Health information in graphic-medium format has several advantages. Users can read and understand at their pace, images compliment the text and reduce reading fatigue, and individuals can mark and review material for future reference. This study aims to explore and develop a graphic-based design intervention to communicate maternal health to the semi-literate rural population of India. The evaluation phase of the study reports the assessment of readability, comprehension, and suitability qualities of the health guidebook (new design) for community health workers.
Presenters
Rohit KumarStudent, Ph.D, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India Shatarupa Thakurta Roy
Associate Professor, Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Uttar Pradesh, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
GRAPHIC DESIGN, HEALTHCARE INFORMATION, READABILITY, SUITABILITY, RURAL POPULATION, MATERNAL HEALTH
