My experience of preparing IEC material for a field training course.

Introduction

Information, Education and Communication which is abbreviated as IEC is a strategy to create awareness regarding public health and nutrition through various communication mediums to a particular audience to achieve a desired positive behavioural change.

Kolam community which is recognised as one of the ‘Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group’ PVTG remains a neglected and a majorly under-researched community in Maharashtra. There is a severe dearth of information about their nutritional status, eating habits, dietary pattern and dietary intake. In that capacity, it was aimed at developing IEC material for the vulnerable groups (pregnant, lactating and mothers/ caretakers of 6 months to 6 years child) of the Kolam community. Therefore, to educate and communicate healthy eating we made ‘Posters on Food Pyramid, General Dietary Guidelines and Food Groups’. To convey this information easily and make it understandable, local language i.e., Marathi was used.

Why Posters?

Posters are one of the effective forms of Information, Education and Communication. It allows spreading the message to a wide audience. It strikes and catches people’s eyes which aids in awareness. These posters were made on the Canva website.

Poster Content

1. The guidelines and information were put forth in a layman language so the overall concepts would be easily understandable by everyone.

2. The posters are quite informative, evidence-based and with a good flow of information.

3. In food sources, only locally available foods were included so that the viewers from the tribal community could relate to them. These sources were added after talking to the local person who works with the NGO which works in that area.

4. No difficult and technical words were used in benefits and other important information.

5. After every food group poster, a poster with the same title and blank spaces was kept where the people from the community could mention the locally grown foods and foods included in their diet. This would help in understanding their dietary diversity versus how it should ideally be.

Poster layout and readability

1. The posters are overall appealing with a balanced composition and catchy title.

2. The Colour combination was such that it does not distract and contribute to understanding.

3. High-quality visuals i.e., graphics and pictures were used.

4. Space in the posters was effectively used with blank spaces in between to overcrowding of sentences and pictures.

5. The font size and style were readable. All the keywords were highlighted. Benefits mentioned in bullet format.

6. The poster will stimulate interest and discussion after observing or if explained by the educator.

Conclusion

Feedback for posters was taken from the team members of the SATHI organisation and members from other organisation having grassroots knowledge. Feedback received for the posters was overall acceptable with few minor changes. These posters would help in achieving behavioural change with better dietary choices. I personally got lessons in developing effective IEC material, using the creative website with ease, improving in written communication skills, and improving my ability to put information concisely and clearly. Grateful to the SATHI-CEHAT organisation team for their constant guidance and cooperation during the IEC material development.