Impact of a theatre for development communication intervention on knowledge of childhood obesity among women in Nigeria

Abstract

Background:  Although researchers agree that women are essential in the fight against childhood obesity, very little attempts, from developing countries like Nigeria, have been made to examine how to educate women on childhood obesity prevention.

Objective: We attempted to fill this gap by testing the effectiveness of a theatre for development based communication approach.

Method: We carried out a quasi-experiment, exposing the treatment group to a 30 minute recorded drama with members of the community as part of the cast.

Results: We found that rural women who were exposed to recorded drama reported higher knowledge of childhood obesity than their counterparts who were not.

Conclusion: Theatre for development is an efficient communication tool for health promotion

Unique contribution: The study has provided empirical evidence on how to communicate obesity information to rural women in a less developed country like Nigeria.

Key recommendation:  Theatre for development should be utilized as an instrument for public health education, especially among women.