Journal of Development Communication And Applied Theatre

Maternal health has been an issue of priority to nations across the globe for years now. Communication is a vital component of healthcare delivery. It has long been invaluable in health promotion which, in the last few decades of the 20th century, became a critical part of public healthcare delivery programmes. This study assessed the health communication strategies adopted by ‘Society for Family Health’ (SFH) in maternal healthcare enlightenment in rural communities in Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The study further explored the effectiveness and challenges of the communication strategies used by Society for Family Health concerning maternal healthcare. The study was guided by the Persuasive Communication Theory by Carl I. Hovland and Health Belief Model by Irwin Rosenstock. Data were collected through the Focus Group Discussion method. Data were analysed using Braun and Clark (2013) method. Finding revealed that Society for Family Health employed various communication strategies such as town hall meetings with stakeholders, engagement of town criers, community theatre, use of traditional and religious worship centres, and use of billboards, pasting of information on walls, and other strategic locations and use of banners. Others are the use of conventional mass media like television, radio, newspapers, magazines; use of social media such as Facebook, Whatsapp, X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok; and distribution of leaflets, flyers, pamphlets otherwise known as information education communication materials. The study also found that the communication strategies have not been effective; and that there were some challenges such as communities held beliefs to traditional ways of doing things and attitudes of some of the respondents. The study concludes that despite the awareness of the various communication strategies such as town hall meetings with stakeholders, engagement of town criers, community theatre, use of traditional and religious worship centres, and use of billboards, pasting of information on walls, among others, by ‘Society for Family Health’ regarding maternal healthcare, the communication strategies have not been on regular basis. The study recommended among others that Society for Family Health should intensify the use of its various communication methods or strategies to increase the knowledge of the people regarding maternal healthcare.

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