INTRODUCTION. Communities and small towns in rural Peru enjoy frequent opportunities for social interaction, e.g. Sunday market days, patron saint anniversaries, sports championships. These gatherings are also excellent opportunities to provide health information through entertainment activities. SETTING. The CARE health project was implemented in the provinces of Otuzco and Julcan to decrease child and maternal mortality among its 127,000 habitants. Family access to television is limited and adult literacy is low. STRATEGY. CARE, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Associations of Community Health Promoters (CHP) jointly developed "learning through entertainment" (LTE) activities in the grounds of these social gatherings. Traditional competition games were adapted to provide health information, e.g. a “health education roulette” was run by the MOH staff and CHPs. Additionally, drama, song and dance contests were organized during these social gatherings. Groups of community participants were assisted by CHP to perform drama plays, popular songs and dances with health messages. Winning performances were broadcasted by popular radio stations during peak hours. RESULTS. Exit interviews demonstrated improvements in knowledge and attitudes towards key healthy behaviors. In combination with other project interventions, LTE increased health-related knowledge and practices among families. For example, (a) the percent of mothers who recognized two danger signs during pregnancy increased from 4% (1996) to 51% (2000) and (b) the percent of newborns who received breastfeeding within the first hour of delivery increased from 26% (1996) to 57% (2000). This LTE strategy also provided an effective ground for collaboration between the CHPs and the MOH.
Learning Objectives: The objective of this paper is to document the impact of a “learning through entertainment” (LTE) strategy to improve maternal and child health (MCH) in rural areas, based on the experience of a CARE health project in rural Peru
Keywords: Communication, Maternal and Child Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.