Participation guide: involving those directly affected in health and development communication program

Participation in health and development communication programmes can strengthen the voice of ordinary citizens and ensure their involvement in decisions that affect them, their families, and their communities. Those directly affected by the issue addressed in a health and development program have wisdom, abilities, and experience the programme can and should build on.

This guide presents a simple set of guidelines to design and implement participatory health and development communication programmes. It provides examples of how to include those most marginalised that a health or development communication programme is meant to empower. These people could include low-income women of reproductive age, youth, orphans and vulnerable children, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA), or staff from organisations working with affected individuals or groups.

This guide is intended for programme officers, programme staff, and development practitioners interested in effectively involving those directly concerned in the health and development communication programmes they support.

The structure of the guide follows the P-Process’s five stages:

• analysis
• strategic design
• development and testing
• implementation and monitoring
• evaluation and replanning

The first part of the guide answers some common questions that apply to all stages of communication programme design. The second part addresses participation in each specific stage. Each stage includes a brief description followed by a list of steps on how to involve affected individuals and groups. A list of additional resources is also provided.