9.2  Planning a communication activity

A communication strategy should be included in your annual EPI action plans. There are likely to be many possible barriers to effective communication between Health Extension Practitioners like you, carers, the community and stakeholders. It is important that you identify these barriers and do your best to eliminate them. The aim is that your messages will be understood and will result in changes in behaviour, which will increase EPI coverage rates and decrease dropout rates.

The planning process involved in communication for improving immunization coverage can be summarised in a series of four steps as outlined in Figure 9.2; this is a simplified version of the six-step diagram you have already seen in Study Session 8 (Figure 8.3).

Figure 9.2  Planning process for effective communication.