Efficacy of Mobile Phone based Information and Communication Technologies in delivering Behavioral Change Communication among the Under Served Communities in Jharkhand

Abstract

In the last decade, mobile phones have quickly evolved from being a tool of communication to a key agent of social development because of its widespread reach in urban as well as rural areas. Mobile phone-based information and communication technologies (ICTs) have proven to be significantly beneficial for the lower strata of society and communities - those living in remote and media-dark areas, and people who mostly remained under-served and deprived of information - by spreading awareness, facilitating interaction and engagement, which in turn leads to adapting of healthy practices, and strengthening a health-seeking behaviour among the target communities. The secondary effect of this change is clearly reflected in economic and social development as well as health indicators of these families. This paper evaluates the efficacy of the mobile phone-based intervention in spreading awareness about maternal and child health, during the time of COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when physical outreach by health workers to contact pregnant women and lactating mothers was significantly hindered due to restrictions in movement and face to face meetings. The digital media outreach mechanisms aided by ICTs proved to be a strong alternative in this scenario, which can be demonstrated by the wide uptake of this service among the target communities. This thesis provides analytical information on the effectiveness of the social and behavioural change communication (SBCC) intervention for improving the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) among the rural and tribal communities of Jharkhand, as well as tests various approaches to improve these processes for improving the health outcomes. Finally, this analytical information may also serve as guidance for Government, as well as non-government agencies which are regularly involved in implementing such behaviour change campaigns among the under-served communities. newline