From On Air - Spring 2003
The First Step
Meet Mario, a barber who lives outside Manila.
At age 40, he likes to be known as strong and virile. He says,
“What could be better proof than having plenty of children?
The more the merrier!” He points out that God instructed
man to “Go forth and multiply.” Mario prefers
the withdrawal method to using contraceptives like condoms.
While Mario is not his real name, he is
real and representative of the local beliefs about male virility,
large family preference, misgivings about modern contraceptives,
and low risk perception for diseases. He was recently interviewed
by local consultants engaged by PCI to conduct formative research
in the Philippines.
Formative research is the first step PCI
takes to uncover a community’s educational and health
needs, local beliefs, and potential for change. Once identified,
these local needs become the basis for developing key themes
when writing scripts.
Formative research is academically rigorous,
and adds authen-ticity to the characters and stories. Using
interviews, focus group discussions, and a review of literature
and statistics, the final report provides a roadmap for producers
and scriptwriters, identifies the intended audience, and clarifies
the issues facing the target audience. The report also helps
identify local partners, suggests a medium of broadcast, and
offers other essential logistics.
For example, in the Philippines, the formative
research report states that natural resources are quickly
being depleted, child labor is common as a result of the pressures
of poverty, and a growing number of sexually active teens
have little access to information or guidance. Radio remains
an important source of news and music, particularly in remote
areas where the need for information is the greatest.
And the research for a new program in the
Andean highlands of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru revealed
low perception of sexual health risks like HIV/AIDS, low male
involvement in reproductive health decisions, increased adolescent
sexual activity, and lack of adolescent reproductive health
services. The report outlines options for a range of media
projects for PCI and its local partners.
These reports are the foundation on which
each local program is built.
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