Medics Urged to Embrace Media for Information Dissemination
Lorna Sempele, the program coordinator of the Women. (Photo/ Courtesy) Journalisim. (Photo/ Courtesy)
By Kalama Mshomi
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
Health department heads have been urged to collaborate with journalists so as to disseminate public health information.
Apart from its conventional roles of entertaining, educating, and informing, the health workers can use the media for reachout programmes especially those dealing with primary healthcare.
Lorna Sempele, the program coordinator of the Women Journalists’ Union in Kenya (AMWIK), says the USAWA project aims to foster collaboration and streamline the work between journalists and relevant stakeholders.
Sempele noted that when health department leadership refuses to divulge crucial information or assist in verifying health-related issues, facts and figures to media; it becomes a challenge reaching the large public in the country.
“For the USAWA project, it’s important for health journalists to have access to information from various health departments, including health center directors and communication officers.
“Knowing how we can collaborate effectively is crucial for them to carry out their work without unnecessary obstacles. Sometimes journalists call these officials seeking essential information, send emails to find critical health-related news, but they lack assistance – they are told the person is unavailable or simply receive a negative response,” she said.
She added that citizens relied on journalists to access health information, therefore, urging journalists to verify their information before airing or printing it to avoid being blamed for disseminating false information.
Through the USAWA project, the ongoing training for journalists aims to enhance their understanding of health issues and enable them to perform their duties more professionally when reporting news.
“Ensuring that the health information you write is accurate and not misleading is essential. We must prioritize fact-checking.”
Additionally, writing health reports often requires thorough research, and specialised language used that can be challenging for journalists who lack such know-how.
According to Sempele fostering collaboration between health leaders and journalists is crucial for accurate health reporting and effective communication with the public.
“By providing support and promoting fact-checking of facts and figures, we can ensure reliable health information reaches the community.”
