COMMUNITY ORGANISATION

AND DEVELOPMENT

FUO-PHE 204
 Course outline
• Concept of community- basic human needs
• Community organization
• Community diagnosis
• Community development resources
• Planning for community engagement
• Evaluation
• Planning cycle
• Community development
• Community participation
• Methods of data collection in the community
• Communication
• Diffusion of innovation
 Concept of community
• A community is the location (i.e. city, town or village)where
people live

– When community is defined through physical location, it can be

defined by precise boundaries that are readily understood and
accepted by others.

• Communities can also be defined by common cultural heritage,

language, and beliefs or shared interests.

• An individual can belong to more than one community.

– For example, an individual can be part of a neighbourhood
community, a religious community and a community of shared
interests all at the same time.
 Concept of community
• Surviving strategies of community members should be
incorporated into any development plans to be designed for them

• Each community has a way of life i.e. customs that regulate

– way decisions are made,
– how certain events such as births, marriages, deaths etc. are to be
celebrated.
 Basic Human Needs
Basic Human Needs of a Community
-FOOD: Sufficient nutritious food to eat.
-WATER: Sufficient and safe water supply.
-SHELTER: Houses that are strong and that will last and protect
people
-SECURITY

Other needs:
• ENVIRONMENT: Safe and clean environment.
• HEALTH CARE: Health services must be available, accessible and
affordable.
• EDUCATION: Education to improve lives and to get better jobs
 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
• Seeks to empower all community members, often with the end
goal of distributing power equally throughout the community

• Seeks to build groups that are democratic in governance, open and

accessible to community members, and concerned with the general
health (issues) of the community rather than a specific interest
group

• The three basic types of community organizing are

– grassroots organizing,
– faith-based community organizing, and
– coalition building.
 Grassroots Organizing
• build community groups
– from scratch
– develop new leadership where none existed
– organize the unorganized.

• it is a strategy that revitalizes communities and allows the

individuals to participate and incite social change

• It empowers the people directly involved and impacted by the

issues being addressed

• It is a values-based process where people are brought together to

act in the interest of their communities and the common goal
 Faith-based community organizing
• A methodology for developing power and relationships throughout
a community of institutions such as congregations, unions, and
associations

• philanthropic in nature

• constituted as a charity or non-profit

• aligned with one of the world's major religions

• plays major roles in society

– delivering a variety of services to the public
– caring for the children and elderly
– advocating justice for the oppressed
– playing a major role as NGO's in humanitarian aid and
international development efforts.
 Coalition Building
• A coalition is an alliance among groups, during which they
cooperate in joint action, each in its own self-interest, joining
forces together for a common cause

• Seeks to unite existing groups (churches, civic associations and

social clubs) to more effectively pursue a common agenda

• This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience

• The most common purpose of coalition is to combat a common

threat or to take advantage of a certain opportunity

• The common threat or existence of opportunity is what gives rise

to the coalition and allows it to exist.
 Coalition Building Elements
• Members must view the issue that brings them together with a
common interest.

• Members’ trust in each other and believe that their peers have a
credible commitment to the common issue(s) and/or goal(s).

• The coalition must have a mechanism(s) to manage differences in

orientation, tactics, culture, ideology, etc. between and among the
members.

• The shared incentive to participate, consequently, and benefit.

 Community Diagnosis/Situation Analysis
An in-depth study of the following aspects of the community is
necessary
• Leadership structure
• Current political and economic conditions
• Administrative and social structure
• Existing problems/needs of the community
– Health, Social and other problems
• Socio cultural beliefs and practices
• Available resources
– Natural, infrastructural, human, materials etc
Community Diagnosis/Situation Analysis
• Factors inhibiting or promoting community participation

• Channels of communication

• Communication barriers

• Geography situation– (climate, topography, seasonal variations)

• Major occupation / people sources of income

All these can be classified under 6 broad categories

Community Diagnosis/Situation Analysis
1. Geographical features

2. Demographic information

3. Administrative structure

4. Socio-cultural aspects

5. Channels of communication

6. Community resources
 Geographical features
• Physical derivation of the community

• The climate

• Vegetation

• Location of resources

• Housing patterns

• Sources of drinking water

• Areas of disposing human and solid wastes Etc

 Demographic Information
This helps the planner to know the following about the community:

• Composition, sex and age

• Structure of the population in the community

• The tribal and ethnic composition of the population

• Religion, educational and occupational status

• Family structure

• Marital status

• Rate of migration/emigration
 Power or Administrative Structure
The power structure of a community may be traditional, non-
traditional, socio-cultural in nature.
1. Traditional
a) Paramount chiefs
- Kabiyesi
- Sectional chiefs
- Village Heads
- Tribal Heads

b) Opinion Leaders
- Religious leaders
- Head of traditional institution
- Youth leaders
- Local business people
- Retired officers
 Power or Administrative Structure
2. Non-traditional
- Member of parliament
- Heads of government and
- Head of non-governmental organizations
- Teachers, Civil servants
- Retired government officials
- Etc
 Socio-cultural Aspects
A good knowledge of the socio-cultural aspects of the
community will provide you with an in-depth knowledge of some of
the following:

– Cultural information about a community

– Taboos
– Sickness/Illnesses/diseases
– Family size
• The family as a biological unit
• The family as a social unit

A good knowledge of the socio-cultural aspects of the community

cannot be achieved in one day
- It takes time and you cannot rush it
 Channels of Communication
Some of these channels include:
• The town Announcer (crier)
• Community theatre
• School children
• Teachers
• Religious leaders
• Radio /Television ??
• Etc
 How to conduct Community diagnosis
Interview people
– Questionnaire / Survey instrument
– Key informant interview using guide (KII)
– In-dept interview using guide(IDI)
– Conduct of Focus Group Discussion using guide (FGD)
• Record review
– From Hospitals/Clinics/Maternity
– From Schools
– From Police Station
– From published Articles, reports etc
• Transient walk through the community
• Observation
– Using Observational check list
– Participatory observation

More details during your research methodology

Community Development
Resources
 Introduction
• The term ‘resources’ is used in many contexts
It is often understood to mean money; however, in the context of
community development it can mean far more than that
Community resource includes
1. Natural
2. Human
3. Financial and
4. Infrastructure resources
 Human resources
• Human resources are about people
• People are at the heart of all community matters and, as such, they
are critical to success
But just having people involved is not enough.
In community development, it is important to have
the right people
in the right jobs
with the right skills,
knowledge and abilities
•
This is not an easy matter as often we are not sure who should be
doing what, what the required skills are, or where to get the
necessary skills if they are missing
 Human resources
• Placing people into the right roles and building skills or
developing human capacity is called human resource
development

• Occasionally it is referred to as building or increasing social

capital
• Either way, it acknowledges the value of people and their talents
and recognizes that this type of development is as important as
natural resource development

• Unlike many of the natural resources on the planet, people are

renewable and should be treated as the most valuable resource in a
community
 Human resources include things such as:
• Healthy families and lifestyles;
• Skills building, education and training;
• Career planning and employment;
• Workers compensation and pensions; and
• Human rights and Labour laws.
 Financial resources
• The term financial resources is well understood
• We know that it means money and it often implies having the
ability to acquire it
• What gets complicated is how to locate and successfully attract
amount of financial resources to community development
initiatives
• Just like having the right people doing the right jobs, it is
important to have the right money at the right time.
• Traditionally, community development is funded (in part or in
total) through economic development channels, taxes or
government grants
 Financial resources
• This leaves little power or control in the hands of the people who
want or need to do things that are not on the government or private
sector agenda.

• Fundraising and the seeking of grants have become full-time jobs

for many organizations and groups involved in community service
and development e.g. ????
 Financial resources include things such as:
• Banks and other financial institutions
• Fundraising and grant-seeking
• Community loan/funds
• Access to capital and investment funding;
• Government loans and program funds;
• Cooperatives and other forms of investment;
and
Policies and guidelines related to finance lending and reporting
 Infrastructure
Infrastructure is part of the resources needed to be effective in
community development and includes such obvious things as:
• Physical buildings and structures;
• Transportation;
• Communication systems; and
• Electrical, hydro, etc
 Infrastructure
• However, infrastructure also refers to the political systems and
leadership needed to support a community, as well as the policies,
standards and laws established in the community

• Without infrastructure there would be no physical community

• When considering resources for a community development

initiative it is important to consider
– what infrastructure is required, and
– whether or not there are policies or existing support
systems to which contact or adherence are required.
 Community Resources
• Before starting any project, it is necessary to have a good idea
about the kinds and quantity of resources from within the
community and outside the community.
• Knowledge of resources will effectively guide the planning of
strategies.
• Note that it is not possible for all the resources to come from
within the locality.
The types of resources needed depend on the type of project
activity.
 Community Resources
• As a programme planner, it is your duty to assist the community to
seek and channel resources for the intended activity
• Usually one identifies the needed local resources before looking
for resources from outside the community
• There are benefits in the use of local resources
Apart from the fact that local resources may be cheaper it also
promotes community involvement in the activity.
 Planning for Community
Engagement
STEPS
• Selection of the area/site/Community
• Community entry
• Community diagnosis
• Committee system
• Monitoring and Evaluation of the process
 Selection of Area
• Before any Programme can take placed, the area
must be selected. Selection can be based on
i. Survey for clinic data indicating particular needs or
problems
ii. the assumption that our field practice area should be
arranged in such a way that they will provide enough
learning experience.
 Community Entry
• The field worker or the health educator having
identified the field area makes contacts with
i. Leaders of the community
ii. Groups
iii. Field workers
iv. CBOs
v. NGOs etc.
These contacts are necessary to establish a good working
relationship and to create rapport with community people
 Community diagnosis
• To work with the community people effectively, we
should try to know the community in terms of its
Physical environment and other special features,
which may affect the success of community
participation programmes
These could be geographical and social features.
It is important to know what previous programmes the
community has been involved whether or not such
programmes were successful.
 Community Diagnosis
• Existing and extent of health problems,
the local resources,
communication network
leadership structure and
the community’s felt needs.
It is possible that community may not agree on their
needs.
 Identification and Working with Local
Leaders
• There are people of special influence in any community
• The people wield a lot of influence and are sometimes
called opinion leaders
• Opinion leaders may or may not be formal leaders
• Opinion leaders may be Chiefs, Pastors, Teachers or
Retired Civil Servants or Soldiers etc
 Identification and Working with Local
Leaders
• It is important to find out who the opinion leaders are
and what they think the needs of the communities are
• These people are capable of influencing the opinions of
others about any issue in the community
– Working with local leaders/community
OR
– Working for local leaders/community
 Committee System
• Building up community participation involves working with
large groups
• However, it is usually NOT possible to work with everybody in
the community- Why?
• If everybody in the community has to participate in planning
meetings, it will probably take forever to arrive at a consensus
• A small group, which is a cross section of the community, is
chosen to take decisions on behalf of other members of the
community
• This small group is called committee
 Committee System Contd.
• This committee is usually charged with the responsibility of
defining
community problems
mobilize the community for action
link the community with external resources
• The committee also determines the felt needs of the community and
takes actions for their solution
• The health workers or the health educator is to advise the
committee to have clear and achievable objectives
• The achievement of the initial objectives leads to further
community activities that will promote the health status of the
community
 Evaluation
• This is a process that involves showing clearly that the set
objective have been achieved in the most effective manner
possible
• In community participation, we look for whether or not there
are changes in processes in the community such as critical
consciousness,
confidence and self-reliance.
• Evaluation should be based not only on achievement of
specific health and behaviour changes
• but also on these processes (the means justify the end, and not
the end justifies the means).
 Importance of Periodic Evaluation
• It helps both members and leaders of the community to
understand how well they are meeting their set goals and
objectives
• Avail them the opportunity of knowing whether or not
they are moving ahead in the direction they want
• To find out what are the existing problems that need to be
solved and what kind of outside assistance they need to
forge ahead
 How
• Periodic evaluation need not be complex
• It can be very simple
• A community leader or Community Development Committee
could be assigned to periodically discuss the progress of a
community development project with members while the leader
or the committee record on a simple form such things as:
– activities that have been carried out
– difficulties encountered which can prevent achievement of
expected goals and objectives
– what further actions must be taken
– when and who is/are to take these actions?
 Note
• Community participation should not stop with the
involvement of community members in planning and
implementation
• The community should also participate in the evaluation
of the programme as well
• This is a learning experience particularly for the
community members in which they can look at what has
been achieved and decides what more needs to be done
 Programme Cycle
•

Monitoring and Planning

evaluation

Implementation
 Community Development
• Community development is the planned evolution
of all aspects of community wellbeing (economic,
social, environmental and
cultural)
• It is a process whereby community members come
together to take collective action and generate
solutions to common problems
 Community Development 2
• It is a "grassroots" process whereby communities:
i. becomes more responsible
ii. organize and plan together
iii. develop healthy options
iv. empower themselves
v. reduce ignorance, poverty and suffering
vi. create employment and economic
opportunities; and
vii. achieve social, economic, cultural and
environment goals
 Community Development 3
• Community development helps to build community
capacity to address issues
i. to take advantage of opportunities,
ii. to find common ground and
iii. to balance competing interests.
Note
It does not just happen — it requires both a conscious
effort to do something (or many things) to improve the
community
 The Scope of Com. Dev. Should be:
• A long-term endeavours
• Well planned
• Inclusive and equitable
• Holistic and integrated into the bigger picture
• Initiated and supported by community members
• Of benefit to the community
 Importance of Community Development
• empower themselves
• become more responsible
• organize and plan together
• develop healthy options
• reduce ignorance, poverty and suffering
• create employment and economic opportunities
• achieve social, economic, cultural and environment goals
 Community Development process (CDP)
• CDP is a series of steps directed toward effectively
solving community problems
i. Is a problem-solving process
ii. It involves the identification of what ought to be in the
community (the ideal), what can be (alternatives), and
what shall (actions).
 Community Development process (CDP)
• CDP provides the opportunity of involving and
motivating people of the community
i. to define or identify,
ii. analyze and
iii. solve problems that they feel is important
 The Steps in the CD Process*
• 1Start with people’s concern • Determine consequences of
• Identify basic community alternative solutions
goals • Diffuse knowledge from
• 4Become aware of gaps decision makers to the
between reality and desires public community
• 2Identify problems • Determine community
• 5Identify and organize choices of development
leadership alternatives
• 6Identify resources and their • 7Formulate detailed plan to
limitations implement projects
• 3Analyze problems: Identify • 8Carry out action steps
priority problems and • 9Evaluate the results,
solutions methods and decision-
making procedures
• Continue the process
 Community Participation
• Community participation is the involvement of people in a
community in projects to solve their own problems

• People cannot be forced to ‘participate’ in projects which affect

their lives but should be given the opportunity where possible

• Participation, here, does not simply mean being involved in the

construction of facilities, it means contributing ideas, making
decisions and taking responsibility.

• It is a condition for success

– more resources
– more results
– more holistic and beneficial development in a more holistic and
ultimately
 Levels of Community Participation 1
1. Manipulation: Communities are manipulated
2. Decoration: Communities are used as needed
3. Tokenism: Communities are used in a merely symbolic
way to give the appearance of real participation
4. Communities are assigned but informed
5. Communities are consulted and informed
6. Communities participate in project implementation
7. Communities initiate and direct decisions
8. Communities initiate, plan, direct and implement
decisions
 Levels of Community Participation 2
1. Self-planning: The user generates alternative plans within
available parameter and has the responsibility and decision-
making power
2. Choice: The user chooses between alternative plans generated
by professional or government officials
3. Feedback: The user is asked for his or her ideas and opinions
about a plan
4. Indoctrination: Indoctrination is the process of telling people
what to do. e.g. Environmental Sanitation Days in Nigeria
5. Self-help: e.g. when the community provides labour to build a
school or a pit-latrine
• are they doing it because they need to do it themselves?
• are they doing it because they have been told to do it?
• could this be genuine community participation or not?
 Approaches of Community Participation
1. Top-down” approach : decisions about health matters
of communities made by health staff or experts within
the health services.
– decisions are coming from above and passed down to
the people-grassroots.
2. Bottom-up approach: members of the community
make the decisions and involve the governments and
other relevant individuals and groups in the community.
3. Professional dominance: This is an approach of leaving
the decisions to health professionals
 Elements Of Community Participation
• Many people: The first and most obvious principle of
participation is that many people are involved e.g. men, women,
professionals, non-professionals etc
• open and Advertised: The business of participating
communities is open to all and widely publicized by a variety of
means
– Secrecy – which only leads to suspicion, distrust and
ultimately to the death of community involvement is strictly
avoided.
• Open to all ideas: There is no such thing as a bad idea.
• Inclusive and Diverse: In a participating community, no
distinctions are drawn among various groups and types of
personalities who offer themselves to community involvement.
• Open Mind, open Process: clear to all that they are not
controlled by any one group of people, are not limited to any
one philosophy or way of doing business
 How to Build Participation *
• The most important action one can take to encourage citizen participation
– Requires opening the process to newcomers and inviting their active
participation in the business at hand.

Some actions that can be taken are:

1. Be glad for the opportunity for new contributions despite any resentment
that they were not present to help with already completed jobs
2. Explain where things stand, so participants can fit into the process easily
3. Offer a variety of job opportunities (ROLES), so newcomers can find
roles that fit their talents and interests
4. Take newcomers’ ideas seriously even when they represent view points
that have previously been considered and rejected
5. Don’t leave the newcomers out by making decisions among the ‘old-
timers’
Benefits of Community Participation and
Involvement in Community-Based Health Project
1. Develops citizen sense of belonging and feelings of
importance
2. Local resourced utilization and development
3. Local leadership development
4. Makes acceptance of project possible
5. Maximizes programme service utilization
6. Encourages services maintenance and sustainability
7. Promotes consumer’s health knowledge and technical
know-how
8. Helps to pull the people together for sell-help projects
9. Makes community more self-reliant
 Key benefits of Community Participation
• Drawing on local knowledge: People who live in a local
environment know their local area much more than health worker
coming to work there.
• Improve utilization of health services: if the communities who are
the users of these services are involved in the planning and decisions
over the kind of services, the services will probably be more
appropriate and relevant and therefore may likely be used by people.
• Developing self-reliance: People are often happy and feel proud to
be involved in the decision making process of things that affect them
directly. This enthusiasm generated from being involved can lead to
greater sense of self-reliance for the future.
• Self Confidence and Problem Solving Skills: offers opportunity to
community people to build up their confidence and that they can take
decision over things that affect their lives.
– Problem-solving skills will be learnt during the process of
participation so we can also see participation as educational
approach, which builds the confidence and self-reliance of people up.
 Problems with Implementation of Community
Participation
• Conception of Health Workers: Professional such as sanitary
engineers, medical doctors, nurses and planners may feel that their
roles cannot be performed by anybody else since they are the experts.
– dictate to the communities what should be done.
– Health education materials are often produced without adequate
involvement of people who will be
using these materials
– communication experts find it difficult to accept that others can
contribute
– health worker in the community feel threatened by allowing people
in the community to make
decisions.
• Concept of Needs:
– Felt needs
– Expressed Needs
– Agency-determined Needs
– Health and Other Needs
 Factors that may Adversely Affect
Community Participation
1. Divisions in Community: When people live with one another
there is the tendency for disagreements on issues and this can
cause divisions in the community.
– Difference in needs
– Politics
– land disputes can cause disagreement among people
2. Little Community Attachment: length of time a person has
lived in the locality, whether or not he has friends and relatives or
business in the locality will determine the level of attachment
and their participation in community developments projects
3. Time Scale for Community Participation: Community
participation cannot be achieved in a very short time. It requires
enough time to mobilize people to join hands and work together
Methods of Data Collection
in the Community
 Introduction
• Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring
information on variables of interest, in an established
systematic fashion that enables one to answer stated
research questions, test hypotheses, and evaluate
outcomes.
• Various methods of collecting data are employed by social
scientists
• The task of data collection begins after a research problem
has been defined and research design/plan mapped out
 Types of Data
• Primary Data (PD): are those which are collected a fresh
and for the first time and thus happen to be original in
character and known as primary data.

• Primary data collection is the process of gathering

data through surveys, interviews, or experiments.

• A typical example of primary data is household surveys

 Types of Data
• PD can be divided into two categories: quantitative and
qualitative.
• Quantitative data are data about numeric variables (e.g.
how many; how much; or how often).
• Qualitative data are measures of 'types' and may be
represented by a name, symbol, or a number code.
• Both are equally important. You use both types to
demonstrate effectiveness, importance or value
 Collection of Primary Data
• Several methods of collecting primary data particularly in
surveys and descriptive researches
• In descriptive research, we obtain PD either through
observation or through direct communication with
respondents in one form or another through personal
interviews
 Methods of collecting PD
Qualitative Quantitative
• Focus Group Discussion • Use of survey
(FGD Guide) questionnaire
• Key Informant Interview • Observational checklist
(KII Guide) • Sample collection for
experiments
• In-dept Interview • Records and Documents
(IDI Guide) review
• Participatory Observation • Online forms
• Online tracking
• Transactional tracking
• Social media monitoring
 Types of Data contd.
2. Secondary data is data collected by someone other than the
actual user.
It means that the information is already available, and someone
analyses it
Secondary data (SD) may either be published or unpublished
data
Collection of Secondary Data (SD
These are already available i.e. they refer to the data which have
already been collected and analyzed by someone else
• Researcher must be very careful in using SD, because the data
available may be sometimes unsuitable
 Examples of SD
Sources of secondary data includes
• journal articles that • political commentary
comment on or analyse • Biographies
research project • Dissertations
• Textbooks • newspaper
• magazines, editorial/opinion pieces
• newspapers, • organisational annual
• raw data from NDHS, report- WHO, UNICEF,
• Dictionaries UNDP
• Encyclopedias • Technical and trade
journal
• Publications of central,
state, local government
 Factors to be considered before using SD
• Reliability of data- Who, When, which methods, at what
time etc
• Suitability of data- object, scope and nature of original
inquiry should be studied
• Adequacy of data- Level of accuracy
• Area differences then data is not adequate for study
 Selection of proper Method for Data
collection
• Nature, Scope and Object of inquiry
• Availability of Funds
• Time factor
• Precision Required
 Methods of Data collection
1. Self-administered method
2. Face-to-face Interviewer administered
3. Electronic means (Use of Google form)
4. Telephone method

Note: If interviewers are used, be sure to make the

questionnaire booklet is easy to use. Leave enough space to
write in the answers in open-ended questions
Communication
 Introduction
• Communication is a two-way process that involves the
exchange, transfer and understanding of information.
• It demonstrates clearly that the process is open.

• Encourage community members to become involved and to

ask questions. Never assume everyone knows what is going on
or that communication is unnecessary.

• Time spent on communication is never wasted.

• Remember to use a variety of communication modes to be as

clear and as straightforward as possible.
 Definition
• Communication is a process whereby ideas, thoughts, feelings
and beliefs is transferred from one person to another or to a
group through verbal or non verbal means.

• Communication is the process of sharing and exchanging

meanings, ideas, feelings, information and thoughts among
human beings through a mutually understood set of codes
 Types of Communication
• Verbal Communication –This is the exchange of ideas
through spoken expression e.g. talking, singing, whistling
etc.
• Non-Verbal Communication- This involves the expression
of ideas, thoughts or feelings without the spoken word.
This is generally expressed in form of bodily language
that includes gestures and facial expressions, eye contact,
foot or toe tapping, drumming, writing notes etc
 Process of Communication
• Message- This is content, the idea or thought that the sender
transmits to another person or group of persons

• Sender-The person who creates and or sends the message. For

communication to be effective, it must be kept simple and
sensible

• Channel- The path chosen for the transmission of the message

e.g. speech is a verbal medium whilst facial expressions or hand
movements are visual signals
 Process of Communication
• Receiver-the person who gets the message sent to him/her
and acts on it

• Effect- the impact of the message on the receiver

• Feedback-if the receiver acts in line with the expectation

of the sender, feedback is said to be positive and if
otherwise it is negative
 Communication is an important tool
• create awareness of community development and
encourage participation;
• develop support and momentum for the activities;
• enable community members to contribute their
knowledge, skills and abilities;
• advocate for a particular option or decision;
• receive information and feedback; and
• avoid and resolve conflict
 Skills Required in Effective
Communication
• Listening skills
• Observational skills
• Attending skills
• Questioning skills
• Maintenance of eye contact
• Be open and respond to feedback
• Speak and write effectively
 Communication Barriers
• The message is not interesting to the receiver
• It is too long and with many details
• Has many technical and unfamiliar expression
• Receiver is distracted at the time of receiving the message
• Relaying the message too fast for the receiver to grasp
• Wrong target group
• Wrong message
• Wrong timing
 Communication Barriers 1
• Sender-related barriers
– Speed of speech
– Manner of speech
– Complexity of message

• Listener-related barriers
– Poor listening skills (Non-listening)
– Inattentiveness
– Lack of interest in the subject

• Noise – physical, psychological, linguistic

(Okuta)
• Information overload
 Overcoming Communication Barriers
• Use simple language
• Respect the personality of the other person
• Talk slowly
• Be brief
• Avoid distracting mannerism
• Make frequent eye contact
• Clarify what has been said
• Assure the other person that you are listening by nodding,
smiling or presenting any other sign of approval
 How to Communicate Better
• Be a good listener
• Display empathy
• Encourage prompt feedback
• Speak and write effectively,
• Create a safe environment where people can open up
• Speak clearly and use familiar language to the target
group
 How to Communicate Better contd.
• Avoid unnecessary preambles
• Be aware of non-verbal ways of communication,
• Avoid intimidating behaviour – threats, shouts, beating,
• Facilitate conversation or discussion, and
• Be open and respond to feedback
 Health information
• Health information can be communicated through many
channels to increase awareness and assess the knowledge of
different populations about various issues, products and
behaviours
• Channels might include
-interpersonal communication (such as individual discussions,
-counseling sessions or group discussions and community
meetings and events)
OR
Mass media communication such as radio, television and
other forms of one-way communication, such as brochures,
leaflets and posters, visual and audio visual presentations and
some forms of electronic communication)
 Health information
• Although the advent of electronic communication
vehicles means we can communicate across the globe
instantly, effective communication depends on more than
technology. It requires:
i. an understanding of the people and groups with whom
we wish to communicate;
ii. clarity of thought and word;
iii. the creation of opportunities for input, and our
willingness to hear and respond to this input; and
iv. the selection of an appropriate mix of communication
channel