This is not the latest version of this item. The latest version can be found here.
Implications of High-/Low-Context Communication for Target Audience Member Interpretation of Messages in the Nimechill Abstinence Campaign in Nairobi, Kenya
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2017-03-13
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Health Communication
Abstract
Although it ran on multiple mass media for the better part of a year, end line
evaluation of the Nimechill youth abstinence campaign in Kenya indicated that exposure to
the campaign had no relationship to youth decisions to defer sexual debut. One possible
explanation of this lack of association could be that target audience members derived
inconsistent and confusing meanings from visuals as opposed to text in the campaign.
Employing Hall’s concept of high- and low-context communication, we assessed target
population interpretation of four campaign posters via twelve focus groups discussions and
four individual in-depth interviews with Nairobi youth. We found that although
participants endorsed and recognized campaign objectives, contextual cues in some
campaign visuals were interpreted by participants as being contradictory to the abstinence
message in the poster texts. In addition noticeable differences arose between the
low-income and middle-/high-income groups in interpretation of one of the posters. We
conclude with recommendations regarding use of visuals in high-context cultures and
involvement of youth from various socio-economic strata in campaign planning.
Description
Journal Article
Keywords
HIV, Youth, Abstinence, Health Communication Campaigns
Citation
Muraya, J.G., Mjomba, L.M. & Miller, A.N. (2017). Implications of High-/Low-Context Communication for Target Audience Member Interpretation of Messages in the Nimechill Abstinence Campaign in Nairobi, Kenya. Health Communication. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51038944_Implications_of_High-Low-Context_Communication_for_Target_Audience_Member_Interpretation_of_Messages_in_the_Nimechill_Abstinence_Campaign_in_Nairobi_Kenya?enrichId=rgreq-e402d3e1c64cc1a8f5938b8f368e9520-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzUxMDM4OTQ0O0FTOjQ3MTUwNjM0Mjk0NDc2OUAxNDg5NDI3MjgwMjA0&el=1_x_2&_esc=publicationCoverPdf