29 April 2013

Who is hard to reach and why?

"....... ‘hard to reach’ is a term sometimes used to describe those sections of the community that are difficult to involve in public participation. It is useful to take a step back and look at the usage of the term in the literature more generally....... 

....... The problem with using the term ‘hard to reach’ is that implies a homogeneity within distinct groups, which does not necessarily exist. Thereby ‘it defines the problem as one within the group itself, not within your approach to them’ (Smith 2006) ....... 

....... Hard to reach is often used in the context of social marketing (Beder 1980). The aim of many social marketing initiatives, especially in the field of health, is to affect change in behaviour using marketing tools and techniques adopted from the private sector (Walsh et al. 1993). Social marketing is a consumer focused approach that believes nobody is impossible to reach; it just depends on the approach taken. Paul Vittles commented that ‘no-one is hard to reach, just more expensive to reach. It is important to put more effort and creativity in reaching these groups’ (Wilson 2001: 1)....... 

....... it is not surprising that hard to reach is a  potentially stigmatising terminology. Freimuth and Mettger (1990: 323) offer an illustrative summary of prejudices: ‘Hard-to-reach audiences have been called obstinate, recalcitrant, chronically uninformed, disadvantaged, have-not, illiterate, malfunctional, and information poor’....... "

Read this article here: Who is hard to reach and why?

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