Impact of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Activities on Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Communication strategy and its application is a good means of creating awareness about a disease, its causes and treatments, change a person’s or group’s attitudes about a disease, advocate policy changes in favour of prevention and control, and create social norms that favour healthful living. A lot of emphasis has been given in the recent past to enhance the reach of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities on social and health issues. The crux remains to explore the quality and quantity of such activities in disseminating the information and making an impact on the masses. Although efforts have been made to address the health issues of Malaria, Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS in India on a vigorous mode, no specific research paper on IEC activities addressing them has been developed or published after missing the Third Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in 2015. The gap is still evident, despite the fact that several health organizations like WHO, UNICEF, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), Population Services International (PSI) among others have joined hands in executing the campaign to its full potential to overcome these diseases and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) by 2030. It is noted that communication interventions hold a vital and indispensable place in prevention and treatment. Studies conducted in different countries, including Ethiopia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand and India revealed that patients with low knowledge about the symptoms of these diseases are more likely to delay the testing and treatment. And, there is a possibility of these patients visiting traditional healers and worsening the case. In all the programmes to overcome these diseases, the main content revolves around advocacy, behaviour change communication and social mobilization and IEC plays a vital role. Thus, the mission cannot be accomplished without any research papers on the IEC activities. This systematic review of literature identifies the gap, and aims at provoking more research papers to strengthen the IEC activities to overcome Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS so as to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal by 2030.