An explorative investigation into the communication media used by the government departments of Health, Social Welfare and Labour in Lesotho when communicating with local communities

Abstract

The words “communicate” and “communication” are familiar and frequently used in our everyday lives. Yet, these words are difficult to define and they imply a complex process. This study investigates one element that is crucial in the communication process, namely the channel or medium that is used to transfer messages. Its focus is on information disseminated by the government departments of Health, Social Welfare and Labour in Lesotho when communicating with local communities. A qualitative research method was employed in this explorative study. A purposeful sample of three participants from each of the Departments under study was selected. Data from the respondents was collected by means of in-depth face to face interviews. From the collected data, the study found out that the use of the traditional media of communication (radio, print, interpersonal and television) was common in all the three Departments, except that the Department of Health also use other media such as videos and audio-visuals. Based on the above observation, the study concluded and recommended that, the Departments need to improve the means of communicating with the local communities, and should consider the use of different types of media so that they can reach different types of audiences. The study further recommends that a follow up study on the effectiveness of the types of media that are currently used, should be considered in future.