Rabies Education Tools - a collaborative process

Rabies education at its best is an integrated process, rather than a one-off production of materials.

The most effective campaigns are collaborative, and incorporate all the people and institutions involved in rabies prevention in a locality.

Most of all, everyone needs to know they have a stake in it, that their participation is necessary and valued. This is one of the secrets of sustainability.

A recently published book aimed at Innu school children in Labrador, Canada, is all these things. It was produced with the children and the community. Dr. Hugh Whitney, Chief Veterinary Officer for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, has been involved in long-term outreach with remote communities in this Canadian province, where dogs are working animals are an important part of community life.

The rabies outreach involves contributing to a series of books on “learning about life”, and this edition features a little girl named Uapikun (“Flower”). A poster will also be developed based on the images in the book, and focusing on the key elements of rabies prevention and control.

Dr. Whitney worked with the teachers, the children and the community, and learned how things were done there before working on the book with them.

Uapikun’s family dogs are bitten by a fox with rabies, but they have been vaccinated, and are not in danger. The story is beautifully illustrated, and the messages in the images are as striking as those in the text. Images of dogs are positive ones, with the responsibility for their welfare placed firmly in the hands of family and community.

“Will my dogs die?” asks Uapikun at one point. “Are the dogs hurt?”

Importantly, the One Health theme is present throughout. The nurse is a prominent character in the story, and we know her by name, Mary Pia. She is approachable and understanding, and takes time to explain why rabies prevention is important.

It is Mary Pia who alerts the community by radio message, takes rabies prevention messages to the school, and takes charge of ensuring an unvaccinated dog is tested after it behaved strangely and died.

A little boy who did not tell his parents the dog had bitten him is introduced to tell the other side of the story - what could happen with the wrong information - but again there is a happy ending, and he is vaccinated in time.

The children know how to prevent rabies, and the consequences of not doing so, but nowhere in the story is the word “preventable” used. Prevention is an adult concept.

Real communities are mentioned by name, and the book will be published in two dialects of the local language (Innu-aimun), as well as English, with a version to follow in French.

Stakeholders are personally present in the book, through their language, names, the local imagery and, most importantly, their involvement in its production. The rabies messages are now their messages.

This should tell us something about producing materials. Is a “one size fits all” really enough?

The personalisation of “Uapikun” is effective, and involves much more than modifying the language and the images. Other regions of Canada have asked to use the book but Dr. Whitney is not going to simply translate it. He will begin a new collaborative process in the region concerned.

How can we duplicate this type of effort? In other parts of the world, authorities may not have the resources to do so.

In some places, children may not even have access to schools, and teachers may not be used to “collaborating” with their pupils.

We cannot change the infrastructure we work with, but we can change our approach into two-way learning processes rather than one-off delivery.

Instead of simply providing information and answering questions, perhaps we now need to learn how to ask them. The visual, localised content, targeted language and interactive process of “Uapikun” ensure that this community will have a personal stake in rabies prevention for many years to come.

Contributed by Jane Coutts, a member of the World Rabies Day team at GARC. Dr. Whitney is happy to discuss the book with anyone who might like to adapt the concept. His contact is: [email protected].