Peer-reviewed article
Co-creating an arts-based eye health education strategy in Zanzibar: process, outcomes and lessons learnt
Chan V, Belluigi D, Yong A, Mulewa D, Poonsamy-Govender P et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study describes a co-creation process in Zanzibar to develop an arts-based eye health education programme for children. Researchers held a stakeholder workshop with 34 participants and a music competition to design the ZANZI-ACE intervention, which uses music performances to improve uptake of eye health services. The process identified cultural and social barriers to eye care and identified music as the most effective art form for health education. The research demonstrates the value of involving diverse local stakeholders in designing relevant health programmes.
Key points
- Barriers to eye health service uptake were primarily cultural and social rather than technical
- Music was identified as the highest-ranked art form for health education among proposed alternatives
- Three music pieces were selected through a Zanzibar-wide competition to serve as intervention materials
- A theory of change and key performance outcome indicators were developed as part of the co-creation process
- Engaging diverse stakeholders is critical to developing locally relevant health programmes
Limitations
This is a process description and co-creation study, not an evaluation of the ZANZI-ACE intervention's effectiveness. The document does not report on whether the music-based eye health education actually improved children's eye health outcomes or service uptake in practice.
Abstract
Introduction Published examples of health programme co-creation are scarce and we found none in the field of eye care. We described the outcomes and lessons learnt from the ZANZIbar Arts for Children’s Eyesight (ZANZI-ACE) eye health programme co-creation process. Methods We used a 2.5-day stakeholder workshop (number of participants=34) to develop the ZANZI-ACE intervention, which aimed to use music performances in eye health education to improve child eye health service uptake in Zanzibar. A Zanzibar-wide music competition was then launched to encourage local participation, followed by a judging session to select three pieces as the ZANZI-ACE eye health programme intervention materials. Results The barriers to the improved uptake of child eye health services raised by the participants were mainly cultural and social. Sensitising parents, teachers, children and community members with proper eye health knowledge was the key to addressing these barriers. The goal of sensitisation is to improve children’s vision so that they can achieve their fullest potential. Music and song ranked highest among the proposed art forms, so three music pieces were chosen as the ZANZI-ACE eye health programme intervention materials. A detailed ZANZI-ACE implementation strategy, a theory of change and key performance outcomes indicators were developed. Conclusion The co-creation process and outcomes of the ZANZI-ACE eye health programme show that engaging a diverse group of stakeholders is critical to developing locally relevant health programmes. The lessons learnt from the process will prove useful to researchers who aspire to design innovative health programmes.