Sudeep Uprety, RU and Communications Officer, HERD ResUpMeetUp workshop, Nairobi, Feb 2015

Strengthening the media’s response to urban health issues in Nepal

About us: Health Research and social

Development forum (HERD)

Based in Nepal – working in the health, environment

and social sectors

The

“3Ds”

are our

assets

DYNAMIC DARING DEDICATED

(led by young professionals)

(change the perception towards NGOs)

to big change (contributing to policy level

interventions)

In this advent, we are:

Serving the underserved

Building human capital

Contributing to policy change

10 years and moving on…

HERD and COMDIS-HSD:

3 current projects

1. Developing a behaviour change intervention on smoking cessation

2. Improving supervision and patient support for drug resistant TB patients in Nepal

3. Delivery of Essential Health Care Services in urban areas of Nepal

• Urban Health Policy and Strategy Development and Media and Urban Health projects fit into this

Why focus on journalists?

raise the issues pertinent to urbanisation

increase the capacity of journalists to understand and report health issues

improve the quantity and quality of media coverage on urban health issues

bring together government staff, public health specialists and media professionals

discuss how to cover urban health issues in a better way

52 journalists

Workshop components

Phase 1:

introductions, opening remarks by minister,

discussion on urban health issues on day 1

media monitoring evidence, introducing the media

guide on day 2

field visit to Manohara Clinic and recap on day 3

Phase 2:

more participatory, include written assignments, field

visit on day 1

writing assignments on day 2

reflection and assessment on day 3

Monitoring the media

Methodology

• Title, Date, Category, Author, Placement (Page Number)

• Issue Dealt With

• Sector Covered (Urban or General Health)

Analysis Framework

• Manual Screening

• Hard Copy Storage

• Information Recorded in MS EXCEL

Data Collection

• Findings Generated in terms of Priority Based, Issue Based and Sector Based Coverage

Data Analysis

Report Writing Final Documentation of all the processes

Evidence from Nepali media monitoring

• Patterns across 4 English papers:

– Articles typically from foreign agencies, foreign

correspondents and foreign researchers (lead

poisoning, thinning hair, maternal health, CVD,

sleep, waste, health insurance)

– Use of evidence = reports are quoted and

described, eg WHO, FAO, UN, INGOs, NGOs,

Universities

Conferences covered in different ways, long articles,

description of events and facts, Q&A with delegates

Where there is a focus on policy, it is about what the

government proposes

I am a typical reader,

what do you want me

to do when I read

your story?

We asked the journalists:

Evidence from Nepali media monitoring 2

Summary of findings

• Media instrumental in “Agenda Setting” – so health issues can be sensitised through media

• Evaluation of 450 circulations doesn’t provide a composite picture but does present a preliminary picture

• CA elections could have affected “under-coverage” of health issues

• Some encouraging signs: THT’s Medical Board; Rising Nepal’s Pg. 5. last section; TKP’s Health and Living

Post-phase 1 workshops

Success story

Mr. Benup Raj Bhattarai – receiving Mental Health Media Award from

Honourable Minister for Health and Population in October, 2014 for his 2

articles on stigma related to suicide. The articles were published with

HERD’s technical support.

Additional workshop components

Tools for journalists:

• media monitoring guide

• editorial board

• access to facts from HERD

Media guide used at workshops

REPORTING TIPS

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS NAT’L HEALTH SYSTEMS GLOSSARY OF HEALTH TERMS

USEFUL LINKS

journalists outside the capital

are not specialist enough to

concentrate specifically on

urban health

lack of focus by the

government towards

addressing the burning

urban health issues

Limited time and

resources for

extensive coverage

Impact to date

• Phase 2 is well developed based on our learning from phase 1

• HERD is gradually developing its strength as a trusted development partner of MoHP, working in close coordination

• Our engagement with the media sector has also strengthened with the project’s scale-up to four regions outside the capital

• Our success stories with visible impact promise better engagement with the media and the health sector at both the implementation (journalists and health officers) and policy (media houses and ministry officials) level

• Media Guide officially endorsed by the Primary Health Care Revitalisation Division of the government

Way ahead

• More sensitisation required on UH issues

• Post workshop – better coverage expected

• Media coverage would be substantially improved through

‘public health’ or based on ‘health promotion’ rather than

‘health prevention’

• Better coordination among media and health sector

• Plan to develop a generic guide in English to share with

COMDIS-HSD partners and beyond

• Planning to write this into an academic/learning paper

Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal

www.herd.org.np

Linked In – HERD Nepal

Twitter – @HERDNepal

Email: sudeep@herd.org.np

COMDIS-HSD is funded with UK aid from

the UK government