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Health Policy and Planning; 8(1): 57-60
© 1993

research-article

Communicating coverage data with non-literate communities: beans, sticks or pie charts?

BETH RINK1, SALLY SWAN1 and SALLY K STANSFIELD2,

1International Eye Foundation, Malawi
2International Development Research Center, Canada

Correspondence: Dr Sally Stansfield, Senior Program Officer, Health Sciences Division, International Development Research Center, PO Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario KIM 0B6, Canada.

A study was undertaken by staff of a health project in Malawi to identify the optimum strategy for reporting information to beneficiary communities regarding project coverage and effectiveness. Three candidate methods for presentation of coverage data to this non-literate or semi-literate population were selected, based on preliminary qualitative research: (1) a two-colour rotating pie chart; (2) a set of sticks cut in varying lengths relative to a ‘full length’ (100%) standard stick and; (3) measures of beans, with ten measures representing a full (100%) measure of beans.

Data were presented to 60 individual participants, using two examples for each of the three methods. Questions requiring interpretation of the data were then asked of each of 60 individual participants, using two examples for each of the three methods. Questions requiring interpretation of the data were then asked of each of 60 participants and responses recorded as correct or incorrect. All three methods were more than 80% effective in communicating concepts of proportion, as measured by the percentage of correct responses. The 'pie chart' method appeared least effective, and the ‘beans method’ most effective in presentation of the information. The effectiveness of the ‘beans method’ was significantly greater than that of the ‘pie chart’ method (P=0.02). This study provides information which may be of use to programme managers in selecting strategies for communication of health service data to the communities in which they work. It also demonstrates a simple methodology for identifying and assessing the relative effectiveness of presentation methods.


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