Using creative methods for public health messaging

The Action Against Covid-19 Transmission in Nairobi (ACT Nairobi) project utilized community 'champions' to create murals, comics, music, puppetry, and digital stories to communicate health messages. The project found that messaging from trusted local sources tailored to the local context is more effective at combating misinformation. The initiative resulted in long-term capacity building, including the formation of the Zindua Creative Organisation.

• The ACT Nairobi project successfully used a variety of creative channels to integrate scientific public health data with local knowledge, producing outputs such as murals, comic books, puppet shows, music videos, 'cellphilms', video diaries, and digital stories.
• Public health messaging is more effective when delivered by trusted community members who share a common understanding with the recipients, allowing messages to be tailored to the local context to fight rumours and conspiracies.
• The project's visual arts component produced a 32-page comic book titled 'Mukuru Komesha Korona' (Mukuru Stop Corona), with 4,250 copies distributed to schools, libraries, and health centres. Additionally, murals were placed in prominent public spaces, with an estimated reach of half the population of Mukuru.
• Musical interventions, including the songs 'You Can Get It' and 'Kaa Rada', reached an estimated 10,000 people via social media, YouTube, and radio, leveraging the trust placed in local musicians to reach difficult groups like youth.
• The use of digital storytelling, cellphilms, and video diaries (totalling 79 pieces of media) allowed community champions to document lived experiences, highlighting critical local issues such as water shortages and overcrowding at handwashing stations.
• The project established a lasting legacy through the formation of the Zindua Creative Organisation, a community-based non-profit, and the integration of creative teaching methods by local teachers in classrooms.
• The virtual delivery of workshops during the pandemic fostered a greater sense of local ownership and independence among community champions compared to previous in-person projects.

APA

Bowyer, C., Collins, S., Gray, C. M., Hughes, E., Kairu, C., Loh, M., Netter, L., Smith, M., Warwick, M., & West, S. (2024). Using creative methods for public health messaging. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/using-creative-methods-for-public-health-messaging-1.pdf

Chicago

Bowyer, Cressida, Sophia Collins, Cindy M. Gray, Erika Hughes, Cynthia Kairu, Miranda Loh, Louis Netter, et al. Using creative methods for public health messaging. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2024. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/using-creative-methods-for-public-health-messaging-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{bowyer2024using, author = {Bowyer, Cressida and Collins, Sophia and Gray, Cindy M. and Hughes, Erika and Kairu, Cynthia and Loh, Miranda and Netter, Louis and Smith, Matt and Warwick, Melaneia and West, Sarah}, title = {{Using creative methods for public health messaging}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/using-creative-methods-for-public-health-messaging-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }