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Adolescent Health: Participation, Community, and Communication as the Key for RKSK Programs in Rural Gujarat

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Narratives and New Voices from India

Part of the book series: Communication, Culture and Change in Asia ((CCCA,volume 8))

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Abstract

The present chapter draws from field experience in rural Gujarat to reflect on adolescent participation and decision-making as key elements in their wellbeing and empowerment. In 2014, The Government of India has launched Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) as a strategic approach to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of adolescent population. The emphasis of RKSK is on promoting behavior change communication through convergence among departments, collective action, community participation, and leadership. Most frequent practice of health communication strategies at the grassroots level, however, relies on one-way dissemination of information without taking into context the social and cultural settings, community participation, social norms, beliefs, etc. The chapter examines adolescent participation in the behavior change communication in the context of community-based interventions of RKSK and discusses evidence from the field study in four districts of Gujarat. Findings of the field-based qualitative research in rural Gujarat confirm that one-way power dissemination of information does not holistically bring empowerment in development initiatives; people's participation and ownership of the program is important. The chapter will assess the possibilities of strategic communication around RKSK in creating a multidirectional flow of communication with adolescent participation and engagement at the core.

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  1. Center for Development Management and Communication (CDMC), MICA, Ahmedabad, India

    Manisha Pathak Shelat & Priyanki Choudhury

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  1. Manisha Pathak Shelat
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Correspondence to Manisha Pathak Shelat .

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  1. Regional Campus, EFL University, Shillong, India

    Alankar Kaushik

  2. Regional Campus, EFL University, Shillong, India

    Abir Suchiang

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Shelat, M.P., Choudhury, P. (2022). Adolescent Health: Participation, Community, and Communication as the Key for RKSK Programs in Rural Gujarat. In: Kaushik, A., Suchiang, A. (eds) Narratives and New Voices from India. Communication, Culture and Change in Asia, vol 8. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2496-5_17

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