Perceptions Regarding Healthy and Unhealthy Families: Formative Research to Inform Health Communication Interventions in Malawi

Background

This qualitative study was conducted to gain insight into Malawian men’s and women’s perceptions of “healthy families” and the “good life” in anticipation of designing effective health communication programs. Methodology

32 focus group discussions (FGDs) and 49 key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted in Chitipa, Nsanje, Phalombe and Salima Districts. Results

Community members pointed to the need for all family and community members to take action, including having fewer and well-spaced children, observing good personal hygiene and environmental sanitation, eating nutritious meals, and seeking medical attention at the clinic as soon as one falls sick. At the same time, they recognized that the main barriers to healthy families were structural -- poverty, food insecurity, and lack of access to hygienic conditions, education, and health services. These research insights helped the health communication team develop a communication campaign that resonates with this audience by modeling simple, doable actions they could take to remain healthy and, in so doing, get closer to their aspirations for a good life. Conclusions

Participants tended to be positive and focus on actions that could be taken at the community, family and individual levels even as they identified many structural factors that impede health and access to the good life.  These findings informed the design of communication interventions, which will be described in the presentation.