INFORMATION EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION:-
The Information, Education & Communication (IEC) strategy aims to create awareness and
disseminate information regarding the benefits available under various schemes/programmes
of the Ministry and to guide the citizens on how to access them. The objective is also to
encourage build-up of health seeking behaviour among the masses in keeping with the focus on
promotive and preventive health. The IEC strategy has catered to the different needs of the
rural and urban masses through the various tools used for communication.

DEFINATION AND CONCEPT:-

INFORMATION:-
Information is expressed either as the content of a message or through direct or indirect
observation. That which is perceived can be construed as a message in its own right, and in that
sense, information is always conveyed as the content of a message.

EDUCATION:-
It is the process by which behavioural changes take place in an individual as a result of
experience which he has undergone. Educational media refers to channels of communication
that carry messages with an instructional purpose. They are usually utilised for the sole purpose
of learning and teaching.

COMMUNICTION:-
Communication is the act of giving, receiving, and sharing information -- in other words, talking
or writing, and listening or reading. Good communicators listen carefully, speak or write clearly,
and respect different opinions.

TRAINING SCHEME:-
The information education and communication training scheme was launched by the Ministry of
health and Family welfare ,with financial assistance form USID on 17th November 1987 in four
Hindi speacking states of UP,MP,Rajasthan and Bihar in phased manner. Thus the ministry of
health and family Welfare aborathe scheme to continueas a plan scheme under the 8th plan
and made budgetary provision as part of the IEC division of the Ministry.
OBJECTIVES OF IEC
1. Increase the reach of services by making visit of worker and supervisor more predictable
and regular
2. Improve the quality of services through knowledge and skill development of worker.
3. Make supervision more oriented towards problem solving
4. Link supervision with training at various levels.
5. Concentrate on local field problems both for development of training material and their
users.
6. Combine interpersonal communication strategy with mass media approach.
7. Improve performance level through continuous with village community volunteers.

MAJOR COMPONENT OF IEC:-

1. Visit schedules
2. Training
3. Supervision
4. Monitoring and Evaluation

VISIT SCHEDULES:-
Under IEC scheme the tour programs of health worker one drawn as a weekly schedule rather
than date wise calendar schedule, new system attempts to make the visit regular, week days in
a fortnight of a particular village to establish a link between villager and workers. the village is
divided into units of twenty households.

TRAINING:-
Training should not only cover technical aspects of program but also focus on problem solving
skills of workers .This is possible only when the worker is given training in the work situation by
their immediate supervisor at regular intervals. Training in this project in conducted at sector
PHC level and district level according to a predetermined schedule.

SUPERVISION:-
Each supervisor during visit,

1. Records
2. Target achievements’
3. New Instruction are supervised
MONITORING AND EVALUATION:-

Success of any program depends on ability to monitor and evaluate program adequately
and accurately and take corrective action if necessary.

STEPS IN DEVELOPING IEC ACTIVITIES:-

The information gathered through the needs assessment provides the framework for the
development of suitable IEC activities and materials must always be culturally sensitive and
appropriate. These are major steps you should follow when designing an IEC activity.

1. Conduct a need assessment: Set the goal.

2. Establish behavioural objectives that will contribute to achieve the goal: Develop the IEC
activities and involve as many other parteners as possible.
3. Identify potential barriers and ways of overcoming them.
4. Establish an evaluation plan. The indicator should determine the level of achievement of
the behavioural objectives.

HEALTH EDUCATION:-

DEFINATION:-

 health education as a combination of learning experiences that are combined to

facilitate the voluntary actions related to health.
o (ACC. TO Lawrence Green)
 health education as the process of providing the information and suggestion related
to the healthy lifestyle. The WHO provides the health literacy by improving the
knowledge related to health, development of skills of life related to health at the
individual and community levels.

(ACC.TO WHO
 Objectives of Health Education and Promotion:-
There are two objectives;

INFORMING PEOPLE
Information is a basic right. It is also a prerequisite to proper awareness and assessment of
once duties and rights. Dissemination of information to the people regarding prevention of
disease and promotion of health. This creates awareness of health needs, problems, take
away the barrier of ignorance and misconceptions about health and Disease

MOTIVATING PEOPLE:-
People should be motivated to change their ill habits, way of living as many diseases can be
corrected by alteration of human behaviour or changes in health practices which are
detrimental to health.

GUIDING INTO ACTION:-

People should be motivated, communicated, and educated, to adopt and maintain health
practices and lifestyle practices.
Health Education should be made an integral part of Education, Which will enable to change
their life styles.

AREASE OF HEALTH EDUCATION

Health component. In practice, the content of health education may be divided in to the
following divisions for the sake of simplicity

1. Human education is as wide as community health. Every aspect of community

health has an educational biology; The topics which may be covered include the
structure and function of the body, how to keep physically fit ,the need for the
exercise ,rest and sleep; the effect of alcohol, smoking and drugs on the body and
first aid
2. Nutrition; Education in nutrition holds an important place in the fight against
malnutrition. They should be educated about the nutritive value of foods; storage,
preparation, cooking, serving and eating of food.
3. Hygiene; There are two aspects of hygiene –personal and environmental. both are
important areas for health education. Personal hygiene includes bathing, clothing,
washing hands, toilet, care of feet, nail, teeth; spitting ,coughing, sneezing ,personal
appearance and inculcation of clean habits in the young. Environmental hygiene has
 a 2 aspects –domestic and community. Domestic hygiene comprises that of the
home, use of soap and water, lighting, ventilation, food hygiene, control of rats and
mice etc. In community hygiene, we teach the desirability of safe water, the
benefits of drainage, good housing, town planning –in short, everything about the
environment in which people live.
4. MCH and family planning; The fears of the mother about pregnancy and
childhood can be dispelled only by health education

PRINCIPAL OF HEALTH EDUCATION:-

Motivation
In every person there is a fundamental desire to learn. Stimulation or awakening of this desire
is called motivation. The two types of motives - primary and secondary motives. The primary
motives are sex, hunger, survival; these are inborn desires. The secondary motives are praise,
love, rewards, punishment and recognition.

Interest
It is well -known psychological principle, that unless people are interested, they will not learn.
Health education should therefore relate to the interests of the people. All health teaching, in
order to be effective, must be based on the health needs of the people.

Learning by doing
Learning is an action process. The following Chinese proverbs emphasizes the importance of
learning by doing
“IF I HEAR, I FORGET IF I SEE, I REMEMBER If i do, i know”

Known to unknown
We must always go from “simple to complex”; from concrete to the abstract, from easy to
difficult and from known to unknown. These are the rules of teaching. One should start
educating people from what they know already and then expose them to new knowledge.
Credibility
It is the degree to which the message to be communicated is perceived as trustworthy by the
receiver. It must be based on facts. It must be consistent, compatible with scientific knowledge
and also with local culture, educational system and social goods.

Participation
It means taking part in or involving oneself or contributing towards something. It is one of the
active principles in learning. It is better than passive learning. Personal involvement is more
likely to lead to personal acceptance.

Reinforcement
Few people can learn all that is new in a single period. Repetition at intervals is necessary. If
there is no reinforcement there is a possibility that the individual will forget what is taught.

Leader
We learn a best from people whom we respect and regard in the work of health education. We
penetrate the community through local leaders. e.g. School teacher, Agents, etc. Leader
understands the needs and demands of the community and provides proper guidance.

Good human relations

The health educator must be kind and sympathetic. People must accept him as their real friend.
Good relationships that lead to good communication are of utmost importance in health
education.

Comprehension
In health education, we must know the level of understanding, education and literacy of the
people to whom the teaching is directed. The teaching should be within the mental capacity of
the people.
Setting an example
The health Education should set a good example in the things he is teaching. e.g. If he is
explaining the hazards of smoking, he will not be very successful, if himself smokes.

Feed back
It is one of the key concepts of the system’s approach. For effective communication, feed back
is of paramount importance.

COMMUNICATION:-

INTRODUCTION
Communication is a two way process which has both verbal as well as nonverbal components.
Most of us believe that we communicate more through verbal means but it is not so.
Concentrating more on the verbal content and ignoring the nonverbal means can make
communication less effective. A seemingly straightforward communication may become quite
challenging due to the complexity of the whole processes involved. This happens because the
interaction between a health care professional and a patient are influenced by the feelings
(emotions) and thoughts by both the parties which are at different levels surrounded by the
social context and the environment where the communication takes place. On the other hand,
a good communication can improve patient outcome, patient and physician satisfaction .

DEFINATION:-
communication in nursing is a “vital element in nursing in all areas of activity and in all its
interventions, such as prevention, treatment, therapy, rehabilitation, education, and health
promotion.”

.( According to the US National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH),

“Communication in nursing” defines exchanging information, thoughts, and feelings among

people using speech or other means. The patient conveys their fears and concerns to their
nurse to help them make a correct diagnosis. Thus, the benefits of nurses being able to
communicate effectively are overwhelmingly critical.

( According to Suresh k. Sharma)

PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION:-

1. Congruency. Make sure your words, tone of voice and body language all convey the same
message. If not, you will be sending a mixed message that lacks clarity.
2. Concise. Remove words that do not add clarity or value to a sentence. Eliminate
unnecessary modifiers.
3. Clarity. Be crystal clear about what you want to achieve as a result of
your communication. Know your point. There should be no ambiguity in the message. Say
exactly what you mean.
4. Consistency. Repeatedly expose the target audience to the same messages over an
extended period of time. This will help you assert your message and assist your audience
in retaining it.
5. Consider Your Audience. Knowing your audience allows you to tailor your message,
verbiage and tone to create a better experience for your target audience.
6. Content. Content is what creates user value. In order to engage your audience, you have
to deliver relevant information, and take cues from theirreactions to improve your
content.
7. Check for Understanding. It is not enough to just deliver the message. You have to make
sure the recipient understands it.
8. Choose the Right Medium for the Message. Email? Voicemail? A group meeting? One-on-
one? The choices are many, and the message should determine which medium you select.
Choose wisely.
9. Common Language. Only use slang or professional jargon if you are confident your
audience can understand their meaning

10. Principle of Attention:

In order to make communication effective, the receiver’s attention should be drawn

towards message. People are different in behaviour, attention, emotions etc. so they
 may respond differently to the message. Subordinates should act similarly as per the
contents of the message..

11. Principle of Feedback:

The principle of feedback is very important to make the communication effective. There

should be a feedback information from the recipient to know whether he has

understood the message in the same sense in which the sender has meant it.

12. Principle of Informality:

Formal communication is generally used for transmitting messages and other

information. Sometimes formal communication may not achieve the desired results,

informal communication may prove effective in such situations. Management should

use informal communication for assessing the reaction of employees towards various
policies.
CONCLUSION:-

The Information, Education & Communication (IEC) strategy aims to create awareness and
disseminate information regarding the benefits available under various schemes/programmes
of the Ministry and to guide the citizens on how to access them.Good

communication skills are essential for high quality, effective, and safe medical practice. These
skills are used for information gathering, diagnosis, treatment, and patient education.
Communication skills can be effectively trained but are best achieved through reviewing our
own style of communication.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:-
1. Basher SP SY Khan, a concise textbook of advanced nursing practice, emmess medical
publishers page no 110-115
2. Kaur Navdeep, textbook of advanced nursing practice, jaypee brothers medical
publisher, 1st edition. Page no. 451
3. S.Soni textbook of advanced nursing practice jaypee brothers medical publishers, 1 st
edition .page no.325
4. Sharma k. Suresh “Communication and Education Technology in Nursing,” Elsevier India
private limited . page no.
5. https://www.slideshare.net/PriencessBanashreeHawaibam/information-education-and-
communication-iec
6. http://www.nrhmhp.gov.in/content/iec
7. https://www.thevisualhouse.in/blog/role-of-information-education-communication
8. https://www.scribd.com/presentation/425211816/Information-Education-
Communication-Ppt
9. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/205344/B0224.pdf
10. https://getuplearn.com/blog/principles-of-communication/