Institutional Review of Educational Radio Dramas: Introduction

Introduction

The development and production of radio serial dramas and soap operas [1] that entertain as well as educate the public about positive reproductive health behaviors relating to HIV/AIDS, STDs and family planning, inter alia, is becoming a more prominent form of behavior change intervention. A blueprint, one-size-fits-all approach to radio drama behavior change communication projects is impractical and unrealistic. Instead projects must adapt according to implementing countries' context and capacities.

While successful experiences in terms of the impact of radio serial dramas on behavior change are fairly well documented (e.g., Piotrow et al, 1997; Vaughan et al, 2000; Soul City, 2001), the organizational and institutional features that contribute to this success and can be replicated or adapted to developmental media projects in other contexts are less well understood. Commentators have tended to concentrate on either the technical/creative process (see for example, Adam & Harford 1998/1999, Brooke 1995, de Fossard 1997, Rasovsky 2001), the theoretical side (Bandura 1977 and 1997, Mody 1991, Nariman 1993, Singhal and Rogers 1999), or the impact of individual campaigns (Piotrow et al 1990, Rogers et al 1997, Storey et al 1999, Yoder et al 1996). This report attempts to fill some of that gap in knowledge about the organizational and institutional features of behavior change radio dramas.

T.E. Backer and E. M. Rogers (ed. 1993) and A. Singhal and E.M. Rogers (1999) provide some useful pointers on institutional aspects of entertainment-education. The latter identifies four key factors that contribute to the organizational effectiveness of entertainment-education programs, namely the "presence of champions, availability of start-up capital, consensus and collaboration between stakeholders, and quality of technical expertise" (Singhal and Rogers, 1999: 206).

Although Backer and Rogers' study consists mainly of American - rather than developing country - cases,[2] it points out that large-scale health communication campaigns typically involve many and diverse organizations at a number of levels, and that most such campaigns require the formation of an 'inter-organizational network.' The bodies that make up this inter-organizational network represent five main functions: funding, messages, target audiences, outcomes, and evaluation of the campaign.

This report summarizes and categorizes the experiences of fourteen entertainment-education projects that use radio as a component, and analyzes the successful and replicable features. It also includes projects that have not resulted in significant impact, in order to assess institutional or organizational features that may have contributed to the lack of success. The research was conducted in 2001 and details about individual programs are current as of that year. However, observations about how such programs can be successfully implemented are not time bound.

This report was commissioned and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The views expressed are the author's and not necessarily those of CDC or its staff.