Jordan Health Communication Partnership (JHCP)

Overview

The Jordan Health Communication Partnership (JHCP) worked with a broad variety of public and private partners to implement a comprehensive national health communication strategy. A nine-year project funded by USAID, JHCP carried out cross-cutting strategic, integrated behavior change communication activities under a unified national brand, “Our Health, Our Responsibility.” Communication activities fostered health competence by empowering individuals, families, communities, and institutions with the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to improve and sustain health.

Accomplishments

• JHCP promoted women’s empowerment through its innovative “Arab Women Speak Out” (AWSO) community and training sessions. Using role models, JHCP promoted positive behaviors and increased self-efficacy. Nearly 30,000 women were reached in the governorate of Irbid through a unique two-tiered approach of AWSO message dissemination. 98% of AWSO Participants reported that they had benefitted from participating in AWSO, in the form of increased self-confidence (43%); improved relationships with their spouse (32%), their families (29%), and their communities (23%); engaging in discussions about family planning with relatives (21%) as well as with friends and neighbors (23%); and speaking with someone about FP as a direct result of participation.
• Religious Leaders program worked to build the capacities of male and female religious leaders in advocating for family health according to the Laws of Islam through six-month plans of action including Friday sermons, religious lessons, and other public awareness activities such as lectures and seminars to constituents. 6 months after-training, religious leaders identified a greater number of FP methods deemed to be acceptable according to Islamic Law, expressed more positive attitudes toward FP and preached and/or counseled more about RH/FP and gender equity compared to pre-training. JHCP’s Religious Leaders Program reached a total of 218,500 individuals. The Family Health Program at the MAIAHP helped religious leaders advocate for family health according to the Laws of Islam and included various mass media activities, institutional activities, and community-based activities through mosques and religious entities.
• Through its “Mabrouk” (Congratulations) Initiative, JHCP forged an innovative partnership with the Civil Status and Passport Department to reach married couples at critical decision-making points including marriage and first birth. The “Congratulations” and “Congratulations... You are a Mom and Dad Now” booklets were provided to the CSPD annually for distribution to newlyweds and first-time parents. 85% of those who received both packages reported having read the booklets. Studies reveal that the readership of the Mabrouk packages is significantly associated with going to the health center for FP services among newlyweds and for postnatal care among first-time parents. JHCP also developed a Mabrouk the Engagement Kit to help guide engaged couples to build a successful marriage based on Islamic principles.
• “Consult and Choose” counseling package: To improve interpersonal communication and counseling between providers and clients, JHCP developed a package that simultaneously addressed issues on the supply and demand sides. Client satisfaction with clinic visits was strongly and positively associated both with the use of the Consult and Choose materials and with having a provider who followed the Consult and Choose counseling protocol.
• Health Competent School Initiative: empowered students, teachers, and communities to sustain healthy lifestyles, and built school capacity to model healthy living. Research showed that more exposure to the initiative led to greater positive self-reported behaviors.
• 5-10-15 Tool: an electronic planning tool helped youth make short-, medium-, and long-term goals in the areas of career, finances, family planning and healthy lifestyles. Evaluation results of the planning tool showed an increased proportion of end-users who had an appropriate approach towards finding a job after using the tool and a more long-term vision towards their careers by specifying that they intended or started to plan for the coming 5 and 15 years.
• Winner of the Pan Arab Golden Web Award, Sehetna.com was the first Jordanian Arabic health-based web portal and is currently considered one of the largest internet based Arabic health information sites. Its content versatility and richness attracts more than 120,000 visits each year, of which almost 80% of them are considered new. The Sehetna Facebook fan page has over 55,000 likes and hundreds of likes and comments being received on daily posts.
• “The Ninth Circle”: This 12-episode serial situation comedy from 2006 centered on a restaurant and its two owners as they tackled health issues such as obesity, healthy eating, the hazards of smoking, and family planning. Of viewers, 24% started practicing physical activity; 19% stopped smoking in front of pregnant women and children; and 22% increased their intake of vegetables and fruits in their diets.
• TANMIA Strategic Planning Tool: JHCP developed a tool to assist decision-makers at the local government and the national level to create, implement, monitor, and evaluate developmental projects and strategies for the country.
• Using an integrated communication approach, JHCP worked to create norms for small family size, appropriate birth spacing, and modern contraceptive use. The national family planning and spacing campaign used the slogan “Hayati Ahla” (My Life is More Beautiful) in its mass media, mid media, counseling materials, and community sessions. Among survey respondents, recall of the slogan was as high as 61%.
• All health efforts were united under a national health brand, "Our Health, Our Responsibility,” (OHOR) which was officially adopted by the government as the national symbol for trusted, credible, and accurate health information. Approximately 60 percent of those who reported seeing or hearing OHOR messages say they initiated at least one new behavior in family planning, exercise and diet, smoking, and/or dental hygiene as a result of those messages. Move More: The Healthy Lifestyle campaign focused on physical exercise including a first-ever health-based Ramadan competition, a 6K run called “Run for Your Health” and an indoor walking campaign called “Walk in the Mall.” The Your Smoking or Their Lives campaign focused on the health hazards of passive smoking on pregnant women and children. JHCP’s technical assistance facilitated incorporation of the new, mandatory, visual warnings on cigarette packs in 2006.
• Together with the Jordanian Ministry of Information Communication and Technology (MoICT), JHCP developed (1) an e-Gov mHealth Service mobile application and the national number “94444” - JHCP provided SMS health tips to 1,525 registered subscribers three days each week. An additional 1,750 local users accessed these health tips via a smart phone app; and (2) a Health Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) menu with Umniah - JHCP sent on-demand health content and weekly health tips to almost 1,000 mobile subscribers.