Promoting Rational Drug Use
in the Community
Developing a country plan
Objectives
1. To summarise the research
methodologies, problem prioritisation
process identified in the first week of
the course
2. To use this information as the basis for a
public education intervention
3. To develop a detailed intervention plan in
country groups
4. To practise communication skills by
presenting a country plan
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Steps in an effective communication
intervention
Step 1 Describe
drug use and identify
problems
Step 2 Prioritise
problems
sis
ve
ro
p
Im
aly
an
Step 7
Monitor and
evaluate
intervention
Step 3 Analyse
problems and identify
solutions
Step 4
Select and
develop
intervention
Improve intervention
v
pro
Im
Step 6
Implement
intervention
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
e
e
e rv
int
on
nti
Step 5
Pretest
intervention
WHO
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Key components of a communication plan
1.
Introduction
1.
2.
3.
Briefly describe rapid appraisal you have undertaken (methods:
sources of info).
List core problem and related factors & stakeholders involved
(problem analysis diagram)
Indicate which factor(s) will be addressed by this communication
intervention plan
2. Communication Intervention (3 pages)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Communication objectives
Target audience
Likely constraints and likely facilitating factors
Mix of communication channels
How materials will be pretested
Collaborating institutions/potential donors
Monitoring in evaluation
Documenting/disseminating results
3. Timeline & Budget (2 pages)
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Presentation of “country” plans
 Prepare a handout to be distributed among all
participants (max. 6 pages).
 Prepare presentation (max 10 minutes)- use slides mention main points - do not read everything you
wrote in handout - select a good presenter
 Criteria to judge the quality of proposal and
presentation:
–
–
–
–
–
–
overall clarity
internal consistency
awareness of limiting and facilitating factors
suitability of selected interventions of target audience
feasibility (money, time, staff)
application of good communication skills.
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Communication objectives
An objective should be:
 meaningful, based on the priority
behaviours to be changed
 realistic
 clear
 measurable
 ranked (because not all objectives are
equally important
 consistent over time
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Communication objectives continued
Objectives are best stated in terms of:
 access (to material or to a medium)
 exposure to a message
 awareness/knowledge (of a product, skill,
issue)
 trial of a behaviour
 adoption (continued practice of a
behaviour)
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Possible constraints/barriers






cultural
gender
geographical
financial
availability of trained staff
time
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Possible facilitating factors





political
financial
possible partnerships
new personnel/organizations
coverage by the media
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Mix of communication channels (media
mix)
Base on:
Audience : its level of education
its access to information technology
its media usage patterns
Communication objectives:
To inform/raise awareness
To motivate/change/reinforce behaviour
To teach specific skills
Channel characteristics:
To what extent does the channel allow for
dialogue exchange
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Mix of communication channels (media
mix continued)
Some possibilities:
Printed materials: posters, flyers, pamphlets,
brochures
Mass media: radio, television, newspapers
Interpersonal (face to face): shopkeepers,
clinics, schools, community meetings, women’s
groups
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Media mix continued
Media mix determines:
 Which channels will be used for each message and
for each target audience. Different media may
reach different segments of the audience
 What particular role each channel will play:
dialogue, credibility, coverage, reminder, educator
 With what frequency each channel will be used
 How channels are combined and mutually
supportive
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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How materials will be developed and
pretested
 Has the target audience been involved in
the materials development?
 Do they understand the material and
products?
 Do they feel that the materials are
relevant to them?
 Is there anything culturally offensive?
 Does the target audience find the
materials attractive/interesting?
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Possible partners/communication
resources
 Ministry of Health, Health Education Unit
 Government radio and TV stations and
other public sector expertise
 NGOs
 Universities
 Advertising agencies
 Market research agencies
 Long/short-term consultants
 International agencies, donor foundations
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Monitoring and evaluation
Monitoring
 Are the target audiences receiving
materials/ messages?
 Are they using the materials and learning
from them?
 Is the programme on schedule? If not, why
not?
 Will programme delays have implications
for other activities?
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Monitoring and evaluation continued
Evaluation
 What mix of quantitative and qualitative
evaluation will you use? (evaluation
indicators must closely reflect programme
objectives)?
 Reporting/publishing: how will you share
information gained?
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Timeline
Project
Activities
Required human
Resources:
Available human
resources:
___________________________________
Duration
Period
Budget
Funding will be needed for:
 Research (including baseline data on the
audience pretesting, monitoring, evaluation)
 Materials and development
 Broadcast costs
 Printing costs
 Distribution costs
 Interpersonal communication costs, eg.
training/supervision
 Technical assistance
Developing a country plan
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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