Outbreak: Polio Communications Global Guide

This resource is Part 2 of a four-part Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)/United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) guide, which is a how-to manual for planning and building effective mass media and interpersonal communication (IPC) strategies with the ultimate goal of eradicating polio. "Outbreak" is here defined as one or more cases of polio in an area that had previously been polio-free for a minimum of six months.

The resource is arranged as follows:

• Outbreak Communication Phases
  • Immediate Response Communication (IRC) - focuses on building, or rebuilding, caregivers' critical awareness around key variables. Within this phase, communication should be straightforward and clear. The primary goals are to urgently raise awareness of the outbreak, its progression, the disease, the vaccine, vaccination dates, and health workers and to reach a threshold of at least 90% campaign awareness at national level and in highest risk areas as quickly as possible. Key actions are outlined.
  • Adaptive Phase Communication (APC) - involves adapting communication to address the specific barriers that impede or limit vaccine coverage within remaining high-risk areas. Uncovering these barriers requires research and analysis of caregivers and their knowledge, attitudes, and practices about polio that should be conducted as IRC progresses. As barriers are identified, new communication will be required to address them. Again, key actions are outlined.
• Strategic Overview - illustrates main actions that should take place immediately after the outbreak begins.
• Communication Planning Process - outlines the steps and key decisions to make when developing a communication plan. Each step has a corresponding component in this guide for reference. The reader is invited to follow the steps, beginning with understanding the nature of the outbreak and the intended population, to systematically plan the communication necessary for the unfolding scenario and then to document the decisions made and the information used at each step.
• Audience Analysis - designed to help the reader understand the fundamental audience groups that communication should target. There are three audience groups: Accepters, Rejecters, and Transit Populations. Key considerations and factors for each group are listed; for example, rejecters might actively distrust the institutions, organisations, and individuals that polio communication come from, including their national government, Ministry of Health, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), or other international organisations.
  • Audience Types - includes: caregivers and influencers (secondary audiences that influence caregivers. The INFLUENCER CHARTS section outlines the influencer audience types and common profiles to provide an overview of how they can be included in the outbreak communication effort).
• Barrier Analysis
  1. Situational barriers, meaning there is an externalised challenge to overcome, such as lack of awareness, or a complicated security environment;
  2. Attitudinal barriers, when the challenge is internalised on the part of the caregiver and requires a nuanced approach to motivate behaviour.
• Communication Planning Worksheet - applies the principles discussed in previous sections and contains the key questions necessary to plan a strategic communication campaign that is aligned with the global strategy. After completion, the worksheet serves as a point of reference for the development of new messaging for all communication tactics, including social mobilisation and IPC. The worksheet's sections correspond with sections of the guide, and more information and analysis about each of the section's focus area can be found there.
• Media Channel Selection - provides guidance for identifying an intended population's preferred channels and media use, the objectives for using each channel, and their capacity for passing on information within their social networks. As noted here, information and communication technologies (ICTs), including social media, are effective for spreading messages in real time to members of the population (if they have access to the means for receiving social media messages), for reinforcing messages, for enhancing service delivery through the receipt of feedback, and for building social networks that can be activated to mobilise communities. The two-way or reciprocal nature of digital or ICT platforms allows for feedback loops and engagement of members/populations in dialogue. Each type of communication channel has benefits and drawbacks for conveying certain types of messages to specified populations.
• Creative Concepts - provides examples of mass media communication, which needs to quickly create awareness and urgency for polio immunisations in the initial stages while still being able to adapt to a more nuanced approach focusing on community building and social norms for later stages. Drawing inspiration from UNICEF's commitment to children's rights, including the right to a life without preventable diseases, this concept takes on the visual language of a children's movement; examples of posters and other communication tools are provided.
• Measurement, Monitoring, & Evaluation - allows for adjustments to message, materials, or activities to be made in a timely manner.