Policies In Action: Understanding Media’s Role As A Stakeholder In Healthcare Interventions

Arushi Pathania

Introduction

It is safe to say that public policy is not just rooted in theory but is surrounded by actual negotiation and compromise. Policy formulation is never the work of government alone and involves stakeholder engagement and mapping which constitutes the role of multiple key actors at every stage of the policy cycle and that every actor brings their own priorities and influence to the process of policy-making. This just does not involve implementers or beneficiaries of the policy but also the inclusion of communities at large in order to help build realistic and acceptable solutions.

The Importance of stakeholder mapping

Stakeholder analysis while designing development interventions plays a significant role in the domain of public policy where having a multi-sectoral approach enhances buy in of stakeholders. Designing effective development interventions requires an efficient use of resources which are relevant to the community that the policymakers wish to reach out to, assessing the needs of the community and setting the objectives of the policy accordingly. Such designing also emphasizes upon the coordination of various other actors in the field to ensure that there is no duplication of interventions.

Media as an active stakeholder in development interventions

Where traditional models placed media as government instruments to disseminate information to the public, contemporary approaches have actually positioned media as invested stakeholders with their own interests, audiences and social obligations. It often plays a pivotal role in exposing policy failures, highlighting social bottlenecks and bringing the voice of citizens to the forefront. Media interventions have helped facilitate agenda setting for policy makers, informing the public, shaping narratives, generating accountability, influencing the design and implementation of policies and legitimizing policy changes.

It is also adept at narrative construction, converting broad policy objectives into engaging personal human stories. In today’s day and age, social media, especially platforms like Twitter and Instagram have also been identified as essential mediums for public mobilization, quick information dissemination, and creating channels for a two-way communication between health organizations and the general public.

Though media acts as a crucial component in policy-making, it does carry certain demerits along with it too such as:

Commercial motives often clash with developmental objectives since media outlets generally emphasize more on attracting viewership and increased advertisement revenue rather than effective public health communication.
At times, even over exaggerated media reports highlighting shortcomings of certain policies can actually diminish public faith and confidence.
Technology gaps or “the digital divide” can also pose a significant challenge especially for interventions aimed at marginalized groups and communities
Large policies and interventions often face a serious issue of message distortion as the information passes through multiple intermediaries starting from the policymakers through the media outlets to then the targeted communities which creates spaces for misinterpretation and skewed understanding of the policies. social media, however, has offered solutions to this issue by letting policy makers interact with the public without the need for middlemen

Media in Health Policy making: The case of the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)

Media interventions can play a significant role in health policy-making and this was evident with the coverage of the government initiative of the Janani Suraksha Yojana. JSY was launched in the year 2005 under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The JSY program sought to incentivize women, especially those from disadvantaged and economically vulnerable or below poverty line families, to opt for institutional deliveries through cash assistance and financial incentives.

The initiative sought to eliminate economic obstacles, improve access to government healthcare services, and engage accredited social health activists (ASHAs) as local facilitators connecting families with medical institutions. Certain studies have actually pointed out that as a result of this program, around 50% of women who earlier had home births opted for healthcare facilities.

Research reports revealed a striking rise in hospital-based births climbing from 50.4% before the JSY program to 93.0% afterward, and this improvement was especially notable in rural areas and women belonging to marginalized communities. Research findings from Bihar’s Nawada and Araria districts demonstrated that the JSY program had created favourable social and economic outcomes with 61% of the population experiencing enhanced social mobility and 78.9% felt an improvement in their economic conditions

Despite being a government funded initiative, its achievements and effectiveness were heavily influenced by media coverage. During JSY’s initial phase, government agencies depended extensively on mass media campaigns to spread awareness about the scheme. Media coverage of JSY operated at multiple levels:

National media outlets analyzed broad policy implications and the program’s influence on maternal health outcomes and budget utilization.
Regional media focused on administrative performance and service delivery quality. Village billboards, radio announcements on local stations and advertisements in regional newspapers were designed to educate pregnant women about this scheme.
News coverage from local media of states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh often featured stories of women from disadvantaged communities receiving hospital-based care via the JSY program.These personal accounts highlighted secure deliveries, along with the monetary assistance from the program’s rewards.
Today, the use of WhatsApp groups to link ASHAs, benefit-tracking mobile apps and social media initiatives for public outreach are progressively enhancing program outcomes

Media debates and editorials have also influenced the way JSY is evaluated, revealing systemic flaws such as:

Eligible mothers experiencing late or withheld payments
Healthcare staff corruption occurring through bribe demands to process paperwork
Stories published in prominent newspapers and broadcast on television uncovered scenarios where hospital overcrowding forced women to give birth on hospital floors, alongside failures of ambulance services to timely reach isolated areas.

The program clearly illustrates that media functions as far more than a simple information disseminator in health policy implementation and is critical in determining the success or failure of such programs.

Conclusion

Media today operates as an influential stakeholder that can affect recognition, authority, transparency and results and thus policymakers should embrace a more nuanced view of media engagement going forward, one that takes into account its financial imperatives while utilizing its social power.

About the author: Arushi Pathania is an aspiring policy analyst passionate about public policy, global security, diplomacy, international relations, and gender studies. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in Political Science. Guided by a curiosity to understand the interplay of diverse actors and institutions, she aims to contribute to shaping impactful policies and fostering inclusive governance in the global landscape.

Acknowledgment: This article was posted by Aashvee Prisha, a Visiting Researcher at IMPRI.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.