Production, distribution and problems experienced with health education materials in two districts of Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe.

Objective: To identify the production, distribution and problems experienced with health education (HE) materials in two districts of Mashonaland East (Mash East) province of Zimbabwe.

Design: A descriptive survey conducted in the rural districts of Mutoko and Murewa within the Province.

Methods: The researcher interviewed four doctors, 30 nurses and 10 allied health workers who had been conveniently sampled.

Main Outcomes Measures: The types of health education materials available, whether field-testing and distribution of materials had been done locally, the problems experienced and unmet needs.

Results: It was found that most of the HE materials were printed on paper, and that 93.2% of the health workers indicated that the materials had not been field-tested in their local areas and did not address local problems. While all the respondents commented that the materials were always few, 77.3% noted that the materials were in English. Most of the health workers (90.9%) indicated that they needed print materials, radio and video cassettes. All of them desired to have materials in the local languages and addressing local problems. It was also noted that in almost 73% of the health facilities, the materials were being kept in the storerooms. The majority of the HE materials in the two districts were print materials that had not been field-tested in the local areas, were not in the local languages, did not address the local problems and were kept in storerooms. Material production protocols need to be followed and the management should ensure that HE materials reach the intended audience.