The importance of participatory communication for the voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) project in Alexander township in Gauteng, South Africa
Date
2017
Authors
Bhengu, Charity
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Abstract
The research set out to investigate how the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision
(VMMC) programme in South Africa facilitated stakeholder participation in its
communication processes to improve the uptake of services in the context of national
targets. Studies reviewed have highlighted challenges in the implementation of the
participatory model to achieve communication goals. This qualitative study used
document analysis, in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) for data
collection. The research has revealed other limiting factors including unequal
opportunities to influence decisions as a result of varying levels of authority and access
to mediated public spheres. While those with power end up being further empowered
through participatory approaches in terms of voice and visibility, the representation of
the inputs of the lower level stakeholder group is limited to head count. A five-day visit
to a VMMC clinic in Alexandra Township attributes marginalisation by exclusion from
decision-making processes as one of the reasons for people’s inability to translate
knowledge into the positive public response. The study was inconclusive about the
influence of the model on the actual service uptake because the purpose was to provide
a textual description of the participants’ experiences and not the impact.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2016
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Citation
Bhengu, Charity (2017) The importance of participatory communication for the voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) project in Alexander township in Gauteng, South Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24814>