Impact Data - Bolongodala
Date
Initiated by the Centre for Innovation Against Malaria (CIAM) Public Health Research & Development Centre in The Gambia, the 26-episode Bolongodala radio drama series, phone-in programmes, and listeners' groups were designed to disseminate key messages on malaria control and prevention, such as promoting preventive health practices - in particular, the use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs), especially among young children. The drama was broadcast first from July 2003 to February 2004 and then repeated in 2004/ 2005. In 2006, CIAM undertook a nationwide qualitative assessment of Bolongodala, which intended to add value and understanding to a previous quantitative study conducted in 2004.
Methodologies
A national cluster sample survey of media use was conducted to measure the "reach" of the radio series, and the use that listeners made of communicated malaria messages. After stratification by local government area (LGA), census enumeration areas were selected with probability proportional to estimated size, households were selected using random walk (a mathematical formalisation of a trajectory that consists of taking successive random steps; for details, see Wikipedia), and one respondent aged 15+ years was selected per household. Respondents were asked about radio listening in the previous week. 2,000 adults were interviewed.
Knowledge Shifts
According to the organisers, one major intended message about malaria prevention in the drama series is to persuade mothers to ensure that children, especially the very young and the most vulnerable, always sleep under ITNs. The evaluation suggests that the drama was successful in getting this information to the intended audiences.
Practices
According to the organisers, in one rural community, Julange, the percentage of children under 5 years sleeping under a treated or intact net increased from 49% (among 75 women interviewed before the radio broadcasts) to 69% (among 81 women interviewed after the broadcasts). The surveys showed that women were better informed about malaria transmission, treatment, and prevention after the broadcasts, with only 5% of women scoring low grades (defined as <60% appropriate responses) on the questionnaires when the responses were scored, compared to 40% with low grades on the same questionnaire among women interviewed before the broadcasts.
Access
According to the survey, 22% of respondents had listened to Bolongodala, (24% of men and 20% of women). According to the evaluation report, the programme's weekly reach was 10% of the adult population of the Gambia. 68% of those who had listened to the programme recognised that malaria was the major theme of the series, and 41% remembered specific themes about malaria prevention. Bolongodala was more popular among older listeners and among the Mandinka ethnic group. The reach of the programme was significantly higher among listeners who had no formal education or had attended Koranic school (25%) than those who had attended primary or secondary school (18%).
Source
The Power of Radio [PDF] and Qualitative Research into Malaria Prevention in the Gambia [PDF] on January 14 2008.
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