Abstract
BackgroundHealth campaigns are an important aspect of preventive health work. They can aim to improve health literacy in rural areas where residents lack access to health information and knowledge, and to improve both local and global health through cross-cultural collaboration. In Tanga District, Tanzania, exchange students and local youths participate together with Tanga International Competence Centre (TICC) to plan and accomplish health campaigns in local communities. The aim of this study was to explore the participants’ experiences with the cross-cultural collaboration in the planning and delivery of TICC’s health campaigns.MethodsThis study used a focused ethnographic approach. Five weeks of fieldwork included four observations of health campaigns and nine interviews: three individual interviews with employees at TICC (all Tanzanians), two group interviews with nine Norwegian nursing students, two group interviews with five local youths enrolled in TICC’s Youth Program, one interview with a local village leader, and one interview with a local primary school teacher. The interview material was analyzed using systematic text condensation.ResultsAll participants experienced the cross-cultural collaboration as successful. Having enough time, adapting to local conditions, and understanding the needs of the target groups were perceived as essential to the campaigns’ success. Music and role-play, which are dominant within Tanzanian culture but not common among the Norwegian students, created excitement and motivation among the audiences. The interviewees identified changes in people’s health behavior in the aftermath of the campaigns.ConclusionAll participants in this study identified positive outcomes from the cross-cultural collaboration within TICC’s health campaigns. The health campaigns were considered beneficial because of the poor access to health information among residents in the local communities.
Highlights
Health campaigns are an important aspect of preventive health work
The current study focuses on cross-cultural collaboration between local participants and staff in a health campaign program (HCP) and Norwegian nursing students in Tanzania
Sample and setting Four groups were identified as the desired sample: Tanzanian employees of Tanga International Competence Centre (TICC) who were affiliated with the HCP, Norwegian nursing exchange students who had participated in the HCP as part of their 12-week internship at TICC, participants in TICC’s Youth Program who had taken part in the HCP, and TICC’s contacts in the local community who held key positions at relevant schools and villages where the campaigns were held
Summary
Health campaigns are an important aspect of preventive health work. They can aim to improve health literacy in rural areas where residents lack access to health information and knowledge, and to improve both local and global health through cross-cultural collaboration. The aim of this study was to explore the participants’ experiences with the crosscultural collaboration in the planning and delivery of TICC’s health campaigns. Health information is an important tool in preventive health work, whose aim is to influence a population’s behavior as well as to strengthen the individual’s motivation and to provide opportunities to make healthpromoting choices [1]. In an increasingly globalized world, cross-cultural communication and collaboration are often used in preventive health work. Collaborative and synergistic relationships require cooperation and an appreciation of cultural differences [5]
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