Health education in rural Subinam: use of videotape in a national campaign against schistosomiasis.
A videotaped program on schistosomiasis, coordinated with a wide range of other campaign activities, was shown at schools, clinics, and other gathering places in the rural Surinam district of Saramacca. The usual procedure was to have two showings, the first for teachers and the second for pupils in grades four through six. The children were then asked to answer simple questions about the disease in writing. Booklets were also distributed to teachers and children, and in a number of instances follow-up activities were carried out such as classroom exercises and in one case an art contest. By and large the tape was a success. Viewer attention was best when the audience was comfortably seated and undistracted. It was found that the viewing by itself was not enough to ensure basic understanding of the schistosomiasis problem. Writing about the event afterwards helped for it to be taken seriously, reinforced the information conveyed, and allowed children to relate the ideas presented to their own experiences. It also gave the campaign workers a basis on which to estimate the degree of success achieved. At the same time, follow-up projects such as the art contest enlisted the active participation of children, community members, and educators and added greatly to the overall educational effect.
D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D012423:Rural Health; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012574:Schools; D013532:Suriname; D014743:Videotape Recording