DECODING COMPLEXITIES IN DESIGNING HEALTH COMMUNICATION: LESSONS FROM FIELD CASE STUDIES

Health communication influences the health choices of populations, informs decision makers, and is recognized by the WHO as a “best buy.” The current age is often referred to as a digital age of healthcare and a post-COVID world has accentuated the benefits of digital health because of increased stakeholder awareness and involvement and limited physical access to health setups. This paper aims to understand and evaluate the complexities that arise in the field when designing and delivering mobile-based healthcare interventions by discussing case studies of three programs currently running in India: 1) TAMA/Maitra – an interactive voice response system for people living with HIV/AIDS; 2) mMitra – an automated voice call service for pre- and post-natal women; and 3) Saathealth – a mobile application for sending nutrition messages to families with young children. The paper critically evaluates these programs based on learnings from the field, examines issues that affect program efficacy such as sociodemographic and psychosocial factors, and focuses on the change in perspectives toward health communication in the context of COVID-19. The analysis suggests the importance of self-regulation and self-responsibility as significant contributors to health promotion strategies, indicating possible directions for building a social communication model based on health behavior frameworks.