September 27 2004

The purpose of this paper is to assess how audience members’ health literacy influences the impact of Taru, a radio soap opera in India, on a number of health literacy-related outcomes, including improvement in health-related knowledge, attitudes and motivation toward family planning, and HIV/AIDS-related health behaviours. Health literacy, a key outcome of health promotion, is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as "the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand, and use information to promote and maintain good health" (Nutbeam, 2000, p. 264). Literacy is a functional component of health literacy; low literacy is therefore a major barrier to improvement in overall health literacy. The relationship between low literacy and health problems is well documented (Kickbusch, 2001; Parker et al., 1995; Pfizer Inc., 1998; Williams et al., 1995), but relatively little research has been conducted on the relationship between literacy and activities related to health promotion, health protection, and disease prevention (Rudd, 2001). This study attempts to fill this gap in research by analysing the impact of an entertainment-education intervention on a number of health literacy measures for individuals at varying levels of literacy.


The radio soap drama Taru was aired in Bihar, India beginning in February, 2002. In addition to other goals, it was designed to promote small family size and HIV/AIDS prevention. The narrative nature and aural format of the programme should aid in overcoming barriers to literacy, thus improving the general health literacy of listeners across varying levels of literacy.