Low-literate Community Research Articles

Continuation of education after marriage and its associated factors among young adult women: findings from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017–2018

ObjectiveTo identify the individual and community-level variables associated with the continuation of education among currently married young adult women in Bangladesh.DesignCross-sectional data extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey...

Development of an educational intervention to reduce the burden of adult chronic lung disease in rural India: Inputs from a qualitative study.

BackgroundChronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are major causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide with a substantial burden of the disease being borne by the low and middle income countries (LMICs). Interventions to change health behaviour which aim to improve the quality of life and reduce disease burden due to CRD require knowledge of the problem and factors influencing such behaviour. Our study sought to appreciate the lived experiences of people with CRD, their understanding of the disease and its risk factors, and usual practice of health behaviour in a rural low-literate community in southern India.MethodsQualitative data were collected between September and December 2018 through eight focus group discussions (FGDs), five in-depth interviews and four key-informant interviews from patients and community members. Community engagement was undertaken prior to the study and all interviews and discussions were recorded with permission. Inductive coding was used to thematically analyse the results.ResultsMajor themes included understanding of chronic lung disease, health behaviours, lived experiences with the disease and social norms, attitudes and other factors influencing health behaviour.DiscussionPoor understanding of CRDs and their risk factors affect health seeking behaviour and/or health practices. Stigma associated with the disease and related health behaviours (e.g. inhaler use) creates emotional challenges and mental health problems, besides influencing health behaviour. However barriers can be circumvented by increasing community awareness; communication and connection with the community through community based health care providers can turn challenges into opportunities for better health care.

Seeing in Context

There is a risk that modern practices of information communication and visualization in human-computer interaction can sideline communities due to their prioritization of scientific rationality. Such ideological hegemony can complicate interactions with data and computers, especially for low-literate communities in the global south. Through a six-month long ethnographic study with Nakshi-Katha makers, Hindu Idol makers, and witchcraft practitioners, we investigated how rural practitioners use their own forms of representation and narrative in record keeping, social and religious storytelling, and information mediated decision making. We find that traditionally developed approaches towards presenting and communicating information often make use of concrete units to represent entities and connect to designers' cultural practices and the physical location. Further, we identify how medium has significant influence in meaning-making. Often these strategies and conventions are passed down through generations within the community. In this paper, we discuss how this rural tradition differs from the modern information communication practices, discussing how an understanding of traditional practices for representing information can be useful in developing more accessible, and culturally appropriate modern tools and technologies for the people of rural Bangladesh and similar communities.

Severe acute malnutrition treatment delivered by low-literate community health workers in South Sudan: A prospective cohort study.

BackgroundCommunity health worker (CHW)-delivered acute malnutrition treatment programs have been tested previously, but not with low-literate/-numerate cadres who operate in areas with the highest malnutrition burden and under-five mortality rates. The International Rescue Committee developed low-literacy-adapted tools and treatment protocol to enable low-literate/-numerate community-based distributors (CBD, the CHW cadre in South Sudan) to treat children for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in their communities.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study in March-September 2017, with 44 CBDs enrolling a total of 308 SAM children into treatment in their communities. Child treatment outcomes and length of treatment were documented. Uncomplicated SAM cases, defined for our study as children with mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) of 90 to <115 mm or bilateral pitting oedema, without any medical complications, were treated for up to 16 weeks, and were considered fully recovered when they reached MUAC≥125 mm for two consecutive weeks.ResultsThe recovery rate from the severe to the moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) cut-off of MUAC 115 mm was 91% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 88%-95%). The median length of treatment was five weeks. The recovery rate of children from SAM to full recovery was 75% (95% CI = 69%-81%). The median time to full recovery was eight weeks. The recovery rates reported here exclude children referred for care from the denominator, per standard reporting of acute malnutrition treatment recovery rates. When the data were compared against routine monitoring and evaluation data from nearby static clinics, children treated by CBDs appeared to have improved continuity of care and shorter time to recovery.ConclusionsThe recovery rate for SAM children enrolled in acute malnutrition treatment by low-literate CBDs shows promise that deploying CHWs to treat SAM in areas with high prevalence and low treatment access may lead to higher recovery, better continuity of care in the transition between SAM and MAM, and shorter treatment time. Proper adaptations of tools and protocols can empower CHW cadres with low literacy and numeracy to successfully complete treatment steps. Key questions of scalability and cost-effectiveness remain.

Conducting Ethnographic Research in Low Literate, Economically Weak Underserved Spaces: An Introduction to Iconic Legisigns-Guided Interviewing (ILGI)

This article introduces a methodology, “Iconic Legisigns-Guided Interviewing,” which aims at understanding and addressing communicative, cultural, and contextual gaps at the margins that have historically muted underserved populations. Grounded in the theories of visual and sensory research, this new method aims at overcoming the limitations of technology-dependent video-/photograph-elicitation research in geographically isolated regions and seeks to create an open and enabling dialogic environment for illiterate (and low-literate) politicoeconomically marginalized people. This method was developed with active participation of low-literate community members and iteratively tested in underserved spaces of rural Bengal. In this approach, organically cocreated images, more specifically iconic legisigns, were employed as prompts to make interview processes focused and inclusive and to complement conventional semistructured in-depth interviewing. This local-centric method helps research participants to cocreate knowledge, decide discussion pointers, and come up with respondent-generated questions/probes and also seeks to ensure inclusivity and discursive control of participants over the research.

Treating malnutrition in the community: feasibility study of low-literate community health workers treating severe acute malnutrition in South Sudan

Treating malnutrition in the community: feasibility study of low-literate community health workers treating severe acute malnutrition in South Sudan

Designing mobile based computational support for low-literate community health workers

Abstract Now days, mobile phones provide major computational support in many areas such as healthcare, education, financial and many more but the major issue is usability for illiterate, semi-literate and novice users. This article describes the design process of user interface (UI) development for low-literate and novice Community Health Workers (CHWs) to provide computational support for their major activity related to maternal healthcare in rural India. To understand what kind of mobile functionality they can use and how they have adopted it, a contextual inquiry based design process was followed. Based on the design process, two main activity UIs was developed and tested, one for data collection and information dissemination and second for digital signature for data authentication. In context of text-free interface, color-coded graphical interface along with pre-recorded voice instructions in local language was used to develop first activity while Indian traditional art based “Rangoli” concept along with nine dots pattern lock technique was used to design a unique interface for digital signature for second activity. This study was conducted in tribal area of Bastar district of Chhattissgarh, India. To understand mobile usability, 97 low-literate and novice users were selected and for testing of UI design 18 subjects for first activity and 24 subjects for second activity were selected from the same area. Our initial results show that the task completion with both the activities was high with very few errors. With pre-recorded voice instructions in various languages, the same application platform with color-coded graphical UI can be used effectively in countries like India where many regional languages are there. And digital signature interface can provide authentication mechanism and reduce issues related to fake data entries by community health workers (CHWs).

Getting the write message right: Review of guidelines for producing readable print agricultural information materials

Print agricultural information materials (PAlMs). such as leaflets. booklets and fact sheets. are used extensively to provide information to farmers. Such print materials can play a vital supportive role in extension. even to low-literate communities. Principles for repackaging technical and scientific agricultural information in print are reviewed to provide guidelines for producing PAlMs that are 'considerate' of the target audience's information needs. communication and language style. and level of reading and education. Criteria for choice of content include brevity. accuracy. appropriateness and relevance to the end user. An understanding of factors affecting readability. accompanied by readability assessment and pretesting materials on users. will ensure greater clarity of expression and aid comprehension. Important elements of the design and layout of PAlMs include logical organisation of content and arrangement of text on the page. legibility of the text as affected by colour and typography. highlighting. and the use of pictures to complement and reinforce the message. Such design tools should be used to attract and not distract the reader. It is concluded that a collaborative effort of communicators and audience in the development process will aid the production of PAlMs that contribute effectively to the diffusion of agricultural and development information in rural areas.

Environmental Literacy: A System of Best-Fit for Promoting Environmental Awareness in Low Literate Communities

Environmental literacy has been defined in various ways: from acquisition of scientific knowledge to addressing environmental concerns through indigenous knowledge. Program planners and educators need to identify and employ strategies for inclusive program development where all stakeholders are given an equal opportunity to share their opinions as well as constraints. The barriers identified through such a process can then be negotiated in a more meaningful way by all involved. If participants can be encouraged to be actively involved not only in the planning processes but also in the implementation design of environmental programs, then this involvement could lead to better and longer lasting results for sustainable management of resources.

Adult Literacy Education and Community Development

SUMMARY This article responds to the concern that low-literate community residents often are marginalized in community development processes. They are unable to give voice to their concerns, interests and their vision for their community. Perspectives and approaches in the fields of adult literacy education and community development are explored to determine how adult literacy education might be used to further the goals of community development. While there are parallels between these two disciplines, there are also barriers to overcome if an integrated approach to dealing with community issues is realized. This article reflects an interest in advancing a comprehensive approach to community development in communities with limited economic resources, low-level literacy and limited access. It seeks to address the issue of whether adult literacy education programs have a meaningful role to play in community development. The strengths of participatory approaches such as community-based literacy, and community development principles such as collective action, shared values, participation, social justice, political awareness and action, comprehensiveness, empowerment, and learning and reflection, facilitate an interdisciplinary approach.

Merancang Media Hiburan Buku Cergam Menjadi Media Belajar untuk Alat Bantu Komunikasi

For the sake of reinforcing the local knowledge (that seems to be abandoned by local community of West Lampung themselves) and to make corrections against agroforestry malpractices as well as of accommodating to the poor performance of extension programs on recharge area of West Lampung (including of media lacking of extension), we have developed the entertainment media of pictorial story books of coffee agroforestry. The media were designed especially for the low literate community (Nurhaida et al., 2004) to affirm the tao of knowledge of the four tribes dwell in the recharge area: Lampungese, Semendonese, Sundanese and Sundanese of villages of Way Mengaku, Sukananti, Sidomakmur and Gunung Terang respectively (see Nurhaida et al., (2005). There are four languages edition in accordance with the locally mother tongues of the four tribes plus Indonesian to accommodate the other tribes exist in West Lampung. Desk activities were conducted at the Laboratory of Multimedia, Departmentof Communication Science, The University of Lampung Indonesia. Media pretesting were conducted twice in August-September 2005 to measure the variables of attraction, self involvement, acceptability and comprehension of the media in accordance with Bertrand’s suggestion (1978). Between the two and the second of the media pretesting, there had been conducted the media improvements. The research showed that the entertainment media have been used up to be a learning media for the propose of extension program in the recharge area successfully. This claim is supported by the high effectiveness of the five editions: (Lampungese, Semendonese, Javanese, Sundanese and Indonesian of 85, 89, 88, 89, and 86% repectively) that brookthrough aggaints the severely heavied barrier of low litteracy : 27, 44, 39, 77, dan 88 words per second respectively. It is strongly recommended that: (1) reproduce the media and disseminate into community dwell on the recharge of West Lampung to reinforce the tao of knowledge, and (2) conduct the similar research on other recharge areas.

Environmental literacy: the ultimate goal for environmental education

More than half of the world population has a number of common environmental problems related to such factors as their ecological conditions, lack of economic vitality, and poverty. Although these factors also exist in industrial countries, their magnitude and impact are more severe in the agrarian world. These less–privileged communities face environmental degradation through detrimental management of their natural resources. Almost 800 million people are also non– or low literate. However, they are natural resources manager in their communities which involves decision making, critical thinking, and problem solving - goals of education. This paper focuses on the need for exploring levels of environmental literacy in low literate communities of the world, leading to appropriate programme planning and development.