The Impact of Government’s Communication Interventions on the Prevention of Tuberculosis in Kenya: The Case Study of Mghange Dawida Village in Taita Taveta County

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the impacts of government’s communication interventions towards the prevention of Tuberculosis in Kenya. The broad objective of the research was to identify the different communication channels that the government of Kenya uses towards the prevention of Tuberculosis and how effective these channels are in combating the disease. The study went further to investigate whether these communication channels have had an impact in Mghange Dawida village when it comes to Tuberculosis prevention. The study used both behavioural and communication theories for the purposes of analysis and interpretations of both field and library data respectively. The theories are; The Health Belief Model and the Two -Step Flow Theory. The study employed qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative approach focused on obtaining numerical findings while the interviews provided qualitative approach of the study. This focused on personal accounts, observations, descriptions and individual insights of the respondents. The research employed the combined approach for triangulation purposes. The population size of Mghange Dawida village is 3,968 and the sample size for this project is 100 villagers and 10 community health workers. The study interviewed 4 key informants; Medical doctor, county health commissioner, nurse and the chief. Therefore, the total number of respondents was 114. The study was conducted in Mghange Dawida village in Taita Taveta County. The data was collected using questionnaires and key informant interviews. The data was then analysed using descriptive statistics and presented in tables, graphs, and pie charts. A qualitative analysis was also conducted and presented in narrative form. The study revealed that the residents of Mghange Dawida village are indeed aware of the communication interventions used by the government towards the prevention of TB. Further the study revealed that the communication interventions have had a positive impact in the fight towards Tuberculosis as some of the respondents mentioned that they have sought medical attention after getting information on Tuberculosis. The study also found that the communication interventions used by the government are effective and residents of Mghange Dawida had a preference among the available channels. The radio and door to door campaigns topped the list of preferred communication channels. From these findings, the study set out some recommendations that include: 1) the government could provide adequate, detailed information on Tuberculosis by maximising the most commonly used communication channel which is the radio 2) more campaigns on Tuberculosis prevention using Kidawida language be undertaken and 3) to replicate this research to other areas outside Taita Taveta County.