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In olden days, people believed that diseases like chicken pox are visitations of goddesses. They wouldperformvariousceremonies to propitiatethedeities.They usedto resist inoculationmeasures organized by government.
What approach could government adopt in order to persuade parents to inoculate their children?
1. Spread modern knowledge among villagers by arranging lecture tours of professors of medicine in rural areas.
2. Show audio clips of celebrities recommending inoculation of children.
3. Persuade some parents first to inoculate their children and employ them to spread the message to other parents.
4. Arrange discourses by well-known religious preachers.
The first alternative is unsuitable because the villagers will not be able to understand what the professors are saying. Professors are used to addressing medical students and not villagers.
The second answer choice is incorrect. Since the reluctance to inoculation is a superstition, appeals of celebrities may not work.
The third option is the most appropriate one. Once a few villagers are persuaded to have their children inoculated, and as the benefits are seen, other villagers will be convinced. Word of mouth from fellow villagers will carry great weight. This approach depends on actually demonstrating the benefits of inoculation. Villagers tend to relate to others in the rural community as their reference group.
The fourthalternativemay not workby itself.Thepreachersare usedto givingreligiousdiscourses. Explaining the mechanisms of infectious diseases and the needed preventive measures are not in their line.