One of the biggest target of the culture of the information technology is to effectively play the role of information, education, and communication (IEC) in a bid to disperse messages that will widen the horizon of the public or society generally.
It is strategically placed basically to reunite all data that will be responsible for the overall development and growth of the social culture. This however is done through steady dissemination of information and education of the concerned quarters. A communication strategy for influencing behavior which emphasizes information and education and combines strategies, approaches, and methods that foster common progress.
Specifically, IEC refers to a public health approach aiming at changing or reinforcing health-related behaviors in a target audience, concerning a specific problem and within a pre-defined period of time, through communication methods and principles.
Roles of IEC:
With the major goal of the role of information, education and communication being to disseminate valuable and viable data to the right quarters where it is ultimately needed, below are some of the roles to justify that fact:
Social Change and Growth
The government and social organizations, coupled with the health agencies, have extensively used IEC as an integral medium for social change and development, especially in the rural areas. In the rural areas, the dire need for resources, unsuitable economic conditions, lack of awareness and illiteracy have made these communication programs inevitable.
Read Also: The Key Features of Information Security
Popular Disillusionment
IEC has become an effective medium for bringing awareness, providing information, eradicating mythical beliefs, and championing the cause for health and development.
Revamping National Health Sectors
IEC has played a pivotal role in spreading awareness and taking preventive measures. Through radio jingles, phone in programs, TV slots, and printed materials, people have been made aware of swine flu, malaria, and infectious diseases.
Awareness on hygiene and sanitary, nutritional diets and programs have been generated among the vulnerable sections in the rural areas through the IEC materials.
Polio vaccination and immunization programs are widely posted and distributed in public spaces for spreading awareness. One of the most remarkable achievements of the IEC strategy is the campaign against stigmatization of HIV affected patients.
Aid to the Government
Through the IEC programs, the government and health service agencies have orchestrated a much needed campaign about some serious health conditions and its vulnerabilities, which is instrumental in eliminating preconceived notions and quenching rumors.
The IEC programs are one of the inevitable ways of taking government policies to the grassroot level. They are pivotal in spreading awareness regarding various programs and policies to the beneficiaries, especially in the rural areas.
Welfare programs undertaken by the government requires extensive participation of the rural masses. This is possible only through an extensive dissemination of the message.
The importance of IEC lies in its consultative and specific research on the target groups, thus comprehending their needs and requirement.
