Project Lead(s): Julie Mutanda
Issue
Africa is faced with high rates of maternal and child mortality. In Uganda, 141,000 children die before their fifth birthday; 26% of these before their first birthday.
Lack of knowledge, poor attitudes and practices are key determinants of disease morbidities and mortality in any given community.
More than 50% of the districts in Uganda do not have village health teams (VHTs), which impacts negatively on the rural communities, reducing access, use and demand for health services.
Solution
This innovative project evaluated the feasibility of using locally-made videos by local community groups in local languages, as a channel for behaviour change to improve maternal, neonatal and child health among rural communities in Eastern Uganda.
These videos were used to communicate policy-related messages to rural, semi-literate postnatal and pregnant mothers.
The videos were shown using a projector, screen and a generator in selected public places, such as village public grounds, and were viewed as many times as possible.
More than 650 pregnant and postnatal mothers from 70 villages, two sub-counties and two districts in the Eastern region of Uganda viewed the videos as part of the project. Within the intervention areas, 99.3% women had the opportunity to watch the videos at least once.
Outcome
Results showed that using locally produced videos can improve knowledge gaps and attitudes, and create demand for services at the health service delivery centres for maternal, neonatal and child health.
The number of mothers who had increased knowledge concerning different aspects of maternal, neonatal and child health increased by 10%, on average.
The number of mothers who gave birth at the health facility increased from 42% during the baseline period to 51% during the intervention phase.
The team is working to have the videos translated into at least four languages that are commonly used in the five regions in Uganda. A strategy is also in the works to market the videos to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the media and community-based organizations.
The team is seeking potential partnerships with organizations that include the Ministry of Health, Uganda, World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Global Health Media project.