Abstract
BackgroundIn Siem Pang, northeastern Cambodia, malaria transmission persists in remote forested areas populated by ethnic minorities. Engaging affected communities in health education campaigns is challenging due to language, access and literacy constraints. During 2018, a newly established medical research station conducted a health education programme in local villages harnessing traditional songs, arts and crafts, along with theatre, comedy and health talks and quizzes. Health education topics were proposed by community leaders and focused on maternal and child health and malaria. This article describes a process evaluation of these activities, the community's response and whether this was an appropriate form of health education in this context.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted with community members, leaders and performers. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and translated to English for thematic analysis.ResultsIn total, 65 interviews were conducted; 20 of these were follow-up interviews with respondents interviewed prior to the performances. Respondents were able to recall the key health messages about malaria, antenatal care and infant vaccination. They also showed good awareness of malaria transmission and prevention and described how they enjoyed the events and appreciated the efforts of the project team.ConclusionsIn isolated communities in Cambodia, a health education programme harnessing performance and arts engaged the whole community and its messages were readily recalled and prompted reflection.
Highlights
Of women received four or more antenatal care visits from a health professional during the course of their last pregnancy and that there had been a slight decline from 79%
The central research question focused on whether this was an appropriate form of health education in this context, the health messages that participants and communities could recall and their opinions of the overall approach and its various elements
To evaluate the process of health education and community engagement, qualitative research methods were used to elicit the perspectives of various stakeholder groups on the arts and drama–based programme
Summary
Cambodia has seen notable improvements in health outcomes in recent decades and, along with neighbouring countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), a large decline in malaria incidence and related mortality. More recently, progress in Cambodia has stalled, with malaria incidence rising between and 20182 and the mortality of mothers and children≤5 years of age continues to remain higher than that of neighbouring countries. The most recent Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) in 2014 highlighted that only 76%of women received four or more antenatal care visits from a health professional during the course of their last pregnancy and that there had been a slight decline from 79% (CDHS2010) to 73% of children 12–23 months of age who were fully vaccinated. There are notable rural–urban differences in maternal and child health across the country and the majority of malaria cases occur in remote forested villages.2In Cambodia and elsewhere, remote ethnic and migrant communities often have lower levels of health literacy and access to treatment and poor health outcomes.. Cambodia has seen notable improvements in health outcomes in recent decades and, along with neighbouring countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), a large decline in malaria incidence and related mortality.. Progress in Cambodia has stalled, with malaria incidence rising between and 20182 and the mortality of mothers and children. There are notable rural–urban differences in maternal and child health across the country and the majority of malaria cases occur in remote forested villages.. In Cambodia and elsewhere, remote ethnic and migrant communities often have lower levels of health literacy and access to treatment and poor health outcomes.. Engaging affected communities in health education campaigns is challenging due to language, access and literacy constraints. Health education topics were proposed by community leaders and focused on maternal and child health and malaria. This article describes a process evaluation of these activities, the community’s response and whether this was an appropriate form of health education in this context
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