The rural market: a unique communication medium.

PIP: In January 1990, the Health Secretary asked the Technologies for Primary Health Care (PRITECH) project to facilitate access to the many small villages with 500 people in Mexico since PRITECH had assisted the diarrhea disease control program. 1st PRITECH had Ministry of Health staff train trainers which would eventually spread the information to the rural areas. This strategy was effective only for those people who did not live in remote areas. The same reasons for remote people being at high risk of disease also limited this strategy: isolation, lack of education, limited diets, lack of access to services, and limited fluency in Spanish. PRITECH hired a local consulting organization, CICLOPE, to develop a new strategy. CICLOPE limited its activities to the states of Hidalgo and Vera Cruz for 8 months. 1st CICLOPE staff provided proper diarrhea management training including emphasis on oral rehydration therapy (ORT) to rural health auxiliaries. They used a gourd painted to look like an infant with holes and other modifications to depict the workings and results of diarrheal dehydration. The staff then sent the auxiliaries to their own communities to use the gourd dolls to teach mothers about ORT and correct diarrhea management. The staff conducted follow-up activities to monitor the auxiliaries' progress. This training approach allowed the auxiliaries to realize the abilities of the mothers and their active role in learning. The auxiliaries conducted the training at markets where women living in remote areas came weekly. The local radio announced market day events in which the auxiliaries participated and aired dramas about diarrhea management. CICLOPE staff and the auxiliaries sat up a booth at these markets to promote proper diarrhea management. They used a flip chart, comic books, a lottery game, and entertainment to impart education messages.^ieng