Highlights of session presentations. TSS / CST population IEC meeting

PIP: The great deal of documentation which was prepared for the recent TSS/CST Population IEC (information, education, and communication) meeting from research, field experiments, and action projects will be useful to TSS/CST advisors and individual countries undertaking IEC and population education work. This article summarizes the 12 sessions held during the open forum. To illustrate some of the latest trends in population and health communication, the "enter-educate" approach and use of the interactive computer software called SCOPE (Strategic Communication Planning and Evaluation) were discussed. Next, ways in which to apply research effectively in IEC and population education were considered. Examples were provided of 1) a workshop methodology used to help a multidisciplinary group design a problem-solving communication strategy in Malaysia and Dominica; 2) the counseling training evaluation technique based on the GATHER (greet, ask, tell, help, explain, and return for follow-up) model; and 3) four types of evaluation of population education in schools. The third session was concerned with the program approach used in IEC and population education. Session 4 dealt with the implication of UNFPA support to family planning (FP) IEC. Counseling skills training and interpersonal communication were next on the agenda, followed by a consideration of how knowledge and policies are applied in the area of youth. The seventh session concentrated on ways to involve men in FP and reproductive health and included a discussion of a case study on the attitude and behavior of men with regard to FP which had IEC implications. The next session described the need to reconceptualize population education and what such a reconceptualization would entail. Session 9 was devoted to a consideration of gender issues and the education of girls. The tenth session covered the use of participatory approaches and community involvement in population communication programs. Innovative methodologies for school-based population education were described next, and the last session was concerned with new information technologies such as navigating the Internet and using new software for establishing databases.