[{"command":"add_css","data":[{"rel":"stylesheet","media":"all","href":"\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_hFIn1TNf-iZCqF_y_3Cy-Rn2vlmakigze9mg47DOLh4.css?delta=0\u0026language=en\u0026theme=ect_theme\u0026include=eJwtyWEKgDAIBtALjQ260BD9IsEU0oLdPoL-vsebzDpwYuwKk8ZGmWt4CBq4_oOX1uqfdiYPX0w2n7DbC7gmcWn4FE1Q4gVWuSDs"}]},{"command":"insert","method":"html","selector":"#ajax-container","data":"\n\n\n\n\n\u003Carticle class=\u0022node node--type-volunteer-action node--promoted node--view-mode-ajax\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cdiv class=\u0022node__content\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022ajax-response\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cdiv class=\u0022title-box--title\u0022\u003E\n        \u003Ca\n          class=\u0022mini-pdf-icon\u0022\n          href=\u0022https:\/\/epidemics.ifrc.org\/pdf\/148\u0022\n        \u003E\n          \u003Cimg\n            src=\u0022\/themes\/custom\/ect_theme\/images\/svg\/pdf.svg\u0022\n            alt=\u0022pdf-download-icon\u0022\n            width=\u002224\u0022\n          \u003E\n        \u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden\u0022\u003E03. Communicating with the community\u003C\/span\u003E\n\n      \u003C\/div\u003E\n      \u003Cdiv class=\u0022content-container\u0022\u003E\n                \u003Cdiv class=\u0022content-container-rest\u0022\u003E\n          \n\n\n\n            \u003Cdiv class=\u0022clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-description field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item\u0022\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EOverview\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunicating during an epidemic can be difficult. Disease outbreaks, especially new ones, can cause uncertainty, fear and anxiety that can result in circulation of rumours, disinformation and misinformation. People may not trust the authorities, the health system or organizations including the Red Cross Red Crescent. They may not listen or may not believe the information they receive from people or organizations they do not trust. People may also be overcome with grief for those who are sick or who have died.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESometimes, communities have strong beliefs that are different from the preventive and protective social measures promoted by the authorities and healthcare providers. They may believe strongly in their own cultural practices, traditional medicine, or other methods that might not prove effective against the disease. They may not accept certain treatments (including medicines and vaccines).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn many countries messages take the form of directives and one-way-communication. However, community engagement and participation have played a critical role in successful disease control and elimination campaigns in many countries\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring a disease outbreak, trusted communication with the community is vital. To build trust, two-way communication is important. \u201cTwo-way\u201d means volunteers should both \u003Cem\u003Egive messages to\u003C\/em\u003E AND \u003Cem\u003Ereceive messages from\u003C\/em\u003E the community. Community members must feel respected and listened to and should have the opportunity to share their beliefs, fears and concerns. To accept volunteers\u2019 messages, community members must be able to trust you and have confidence in what you say. Once you understand the beliefs, fears and concerns of community members, you can provide them with truthful and accurate messages.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EProviding health messages that are consistent, clear and easy to understand also helps to build trust. Giving accurate information to the community is critical, especially when it is necessary to persuade people to adopt safe practices (which might be different from what they would normally do). Some changes in behaviour that may be promoted are things such as:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EAccepting vaccinations or other medical treatments\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EWashing hands with soap at crucial times\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EWearing personal protective equipment\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EBurying loved ones in ways that are different from what they would normally do (safe and dignified burials)\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EPractising social distancing\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EWearing insect repellent or sleeping under bed nets\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EAgreeing to be isolated from others to avoid infecting them\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EPreparing food and water differently (often by cleaning, boiling or cooking thoroughly)\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EQuarantine and culling of animals (which in the case of livestock animals, is often a main source of food, nutrition and livelihood and may be difficult to accept by the farmers who own them)\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EAnd other recommended public health measures\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EWhat to do and how to do it\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommunicating in an epidemic\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EEngage and involve community leaders and community members\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EFind out where the community obtains its information: Who do they trust to give them health information (for example: health authorities, community or religious leaders, doctors, traditional healers)\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EWork with communities to identify, choose and plan appropriate solutions for stopping the spread of disease\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ETalk to members of the community about their ideas, fears, beliefs and actions\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ETry to understand how much they know about the disease and its transmission\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ETry to understand beliefs and practices that might impact the spread of the epidemic\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ETry to understand what motivates or helps them to change behaviours\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ETry to understand what stops them from changing their behaviour\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EUse different methods of communication\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EUse two-way communication when possible\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EWhen you understand the community\u2019s beliefs, fears and concerns, try to address these in your own messages\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ESometimes, one-way communication methods are used to spread health messages to large numbers of people quickly\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EOne-way communication methods should always be accompanied by two-way communication methods to ensure the community perspectives are known and listened to\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EPeople learn and retain information differently. It is important to use different methods\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ECommunities are composed of different people and groups who may have different communication preferences or needs.\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EThink about how to target different groups, especially those who are hidden, stigmatized or considered \u201cdifferent\u201d because of their religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, illness, or for any other reason:\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EThink about where you will go to reach them\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EFind out if they trust the same or different sources than other groups within the community\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EDiscover if they have different access needs, such as language translation or in case of a disability \u2013 a different method of communication \u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EWhen choosing methods of communication, consider what people prefer, trust and can access easily\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EThink about the characteristics of your target groups (for example, do they have access to media, such as radio or television? Can they read if they receive pamphlets of information and in what language? Are they accustomed to getting information from social media? Etc.)\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EThink about the resources you have access to (for example: do you have access to poster printing? Is there an appropriate location within the community where you can offer to answer questions or give out information? Etc.)\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EConsider the content of your message(s) and think about the most appropriate way to share that content in the specific context (for example: targeting men and women separately)\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ECommunication should be:\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESimple and short\u003C\/strong\u003E. People should be able to understand messages easily and be able to remember and repeat them accurately and without difficulty.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETrusted\u003C\/strong\u003E. Delivered by people the community trusts, by a method the community trusts (for example: radio, television, posters, town-hall discussions, market meetings etc.).\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAccurate and specific\u003C\/strong\u003E. Always provide correct and precise information. Messages should be consistent and should not be cause for confusion. \u003Cem\u003EIf \u003C\/em\u003Emessages must change (due to new and advancing information about the epidemic), be honest and clear about what has changed and why.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFocused on action\u003C\/strong\u003E. Messages should be action-oriented and should advise members of the community about what they can do to protect themselves and others.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFeasible and realistic\u003C\/strong\u003E. Make sure that people have the capacity and resources to carry out the actionable advice you give.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EContext-specific\u003C\/strong\u003E. Information should reflect the needs and situation of the specific community. In all your messages, take account of social and cultural factors that might encourage community members to adopt safer behaviours (such as accepting vaccines) or prevent them from doing so.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDifferent ways of communicating\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are many, many ways to communicate with communities. The following one and two-way methods of communication are some examples you might consider. Methods can (and should) be combined to ensure accessibility to as many community members as possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EOne-way communication methods\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EVideo, films, television commercials\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ESongs, poems, drama, role-play or theatre, or other edutainment methods\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ECommunity announcements such as: community town-criers, loud-speaker announcements, SMS or WhatsApp, mass messaging, social media messages, radio broadcasts\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EPosters, billboards\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ETwo-way communication methods\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EDoor-to-door visits\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EMeeting with key informants such as: community or religious leaders; traditional healers or midwives; teachers; elders, etc.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ECommunity discussions encouraging participatory methods such as: three pile sorting, voting charts, mapping, polling, barrier analysis, community planning\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EUse of feedback and suggestion boxes or presence of trusted focal persons to receive anonymous feedback or messages from community members.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPay attention to rumours\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERumours can cause panic and fear or can promote unsafe practices. Under the influence of the rumours, communities can lose trust in the health authorities, and they may lose belief in the ability to stop the epidemic. Rumours sometimes cause people to reject interventions that could prevent the spread of disease. Volunteers must:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EListen for rumours or incorrect information.\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ENote when and where a rumour was heard and report it to your volunteer supervisor or National Society focal point immediately\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ETry to understand why the rumor is spreading fast and of what importance it is to the community. For example, is it just based on lack of knowledge or fear of the unknown, or is it associated with certain socio-cultural beliefs or associated with the stigmatization of a certain demography of people? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ECorrect the rumour\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EGive the community clear, simple facts about the disease\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EReiterate and explain clearly what they can do to protect themselves and others\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n      \n        \u003C\/div\u003E\n      \u003C\/div\u003E\n    \u003C\/div\u003E\n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/article\u003E\n","settings":null}]