Message Development Guidelines
Analysis of the formative research that takes into consideration
current epidemiological knowledge and up-to-date studies on the
target population should provide sufficient insight into what types
of messages and activities are best suited for a given target population.
Also, whether your program stands alone or is part of a larger campaign
will also influence the specific messages you select. In general,
however, the following principles can be used to help guide message
development.
- Approach message development with the understanding that
they will not be used didactically.
IPC messages should serve as guidelines for discussions between
IPC agents and target group members, these messages should not
be conveyed in a didactic manner, but rather in a way that promotes
learning through sharing and thought provoking discussion. IPCs
should go into an interaction with a solid understanding of
the overall theme as well as specific messages and engage in
an open-ended interaction with target group members.
- Understand barriers to behavior change before message design.
Formative research findings will provide insight into the barriers
to behavior change. Program planners should understand which
of these behaviors are the most easily addressed by program
activities.
- Ensure target audience has the opportunities and/or resources
to carry out the behavior change.
Make sure that message content is appropriate given various
community resources. For example, if there are no VCT clinics
in the geographic area of implementation, developing a program
to increase HIV testing among sex workers in that area is not
likely to be successful.
- Messages should be convincing
Simply telling people to change is much less effective than
providing convincing arguments. For example, if formative research
showed that people avoided HIV testing out of fear, VCT could
be promoted as a means of reducing worry about a future with
or without HIV.
- Messages should highlight the cost/benefit of making the
behavior change.
This will serve to encourage the behavior change among target
group members.
- Appeal to emotion
HIV/AIDS can stimulate a wide array of emotional reactions.
Messages can play on these emotions of fear, worry, concern,
anger, love, hope, etc. in order to capture attention and inspire
behavior change.
- Use credible message carriers
The messenger must have credibility among target groups. In
checking the appropriateness of a messenger, consider age appropriateness
and cultural group/ethnicity identity, in some cases peers may
be good messengers, in other cases community gatekeepers would
be more effective.
- Messages should be linguistically and culturally appropriate
To ensure that the target population identifies with the messages,
it is essential that the local languages be used, materials
be easily understood, and that group members can identify with
the images and situations presented.
- Messages should be accurate
Formative research will often help identify misconceptions about
HIV that are prevalent in a population. It is important that
IPC and mass media messages be used to correct this misinformation,
as behavior change often starts with knowledge. The information
provided must be technically correct and truthful.
- Pretest [PDF] messages with target populations
Testing draft messages with target group members will help ensure
that they will be well understood, are culturally appropriate,
and convey the intended ideas once they are implemented in the
field.
|
