Efficacies of 2-D Animation in Health and Security Communication

Abstract

Health is categorized as a security issue as its lack causes individuals to fall ill, be disabled or die. Being deficient of health can therefore disrupt entire populations, economies, and governments. The Copenhagen School proposed the Securitization Theory that could be applied in the identification and response to given health threats. Part of the theory’s strategy is the use of effective communication in mobilizing groups that would combat identified health threats. Other studies have reported the use of 2-D Animation, a type of ICT-based solution, as gaining currency in situations where it is important to get the message through to communities and have it correctly internalized. This paper puts a case for the utilization of 2-D Animation for effective communication in society for health and security. It reports a study that sought to establish whether 2-D Animation was effective in communicating good hygiene practice messages to children in Githurai Location, Kiambu County, Kenya. The study first identified how good hygiene practice messages were being communicated in the area. An experimental target group was then treated with a 2-D animation developed for study before psychometrics were applied to determine its efficacy in effectively communicating the messages. Data obtained was analyzed using independent t-tests and a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings showed a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group that had not been treated with the animation (t (292) =5.031, p ˂ 0.001). The findings further indicated a significant difference in all the thinking skills of the Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives of the Cognitive Domain except evaluation. The results therefore put a case for 2-D Animation’s consideration as an ICT mitigator for effective communication in society for health and security.