Anthropological Researches and Studies (Jun 2016)
Where is the prevention? Incomplete public campaigns about hepatitis in Romania
Abstract
Objectives. The aim of the present paper was to analyze the impact of Romanian public campaigns about the incidence of hepatitis B and C. Material and methods. The analysis used the triangulation of three methods of research: the content analysis of the Romanian NGO’s websites about preventing and fighting against hepatitis, an online survey carried on 155 respondents and a set of interviews made with eight executives (NGO’s and public institutions ‘representatives) who are involved in such public campaigns and, at the same time, are also infected with hepatitis B and C. Results. The findings can be summarized as follows: 1) 46% of the Romanian respondents to the online survey did not know anything about a public campaign on hepatitis, and one quarter of them did not intend to know more in the future. 2) The NGO’s websites on fighting against and raising awareness about hepatitis B and C in Romania were full of medical languages and neologisms and, as such, they addressed only to a targeted public. 3) The set of interviews made with hepatitis infected respondents showed that in case that someone gets ill he or she understood the importance of public campaigns about health and became involved in this type of social action. Conclusions. The basic conclusion of the study is that the success of public health campaigns in Romania depends in a high degree on a network of factors (funds for financing it, involvement of state’s institutions and media and public awareness of the topic among Romanians).
