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to produce the best research results. The research has to be consumer focussed – quantitatively to produce data that can be generalised for a larger target group and qualitatively to understand the nature of people’s attitude and behaviour both to the health issue involved as well as to the health services provided to them.

Social marketing is a process of continuing development and testing. It has borrowed many of its techniques like focus group discussions, consumer marketing databases and intercept surveys from commercial market research, the difference being that social marketing sells ‘public health’.

Issues that have to be examined are what the consumers feel they have to know, how they would like to know this and what are the barriers to change potentially harmful behaviour. Before any new educational material is launched, prototype materials have to be pre-tested with consumer focus groups

Social marketing has been used for health promotion in various fields like smoking, drinking, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, breast cancer and mental ill health. Other issues like environmental pollution, education and human rights have been most effectively addressed by this process. Social marketing involves many different stake-holders – the funding agency requires outputs in terms of gains made and the target group gain the health outcome, but apart from these obvious stakeholders, there are many others involved in partnerships for the social marketing of health education. This partnership helps to maximise limited resources, promote consistent messages and also help to reach diverse audience thus maximising impact of the program.

This has been shown to function well in the case of HIV/AIDS. A nationwide strategy has been organised by many developing countries. The funding agencies are international bodies that work in collaboration with local governments. Non governmental or charity organisations are identified and trained by an initial training workshop. These agencies then conduct focus group discussions and key informant interviews with those most likely to benefit from the health education program. These target groups could be those at high risk for HIV/AIDS due to sexual contact – women in prostitution, youth and adolescents. The groups are identified and their key concerns are discussed. Barriers to their seeking healthy behaviour are identified. The groups also discuss the best health education methods and techniques suitable for their unique situation. Concerns of time and place of the health education session are detailed. Target groups from conservative societies did not prefer being given information about HIV/AIDs in public places or in the presence of the opposite sex or their family members. They were more willing to listen to health messages that were non judgmental or coercive. All these suggestions are incorporated into the health education strategy. Along with the health education campaign, local and international agencies are involved to provide essential health services in the form of cheap but reliable condoms, doctors trained in counselling and diagnosing HIV/AIDS as well as reliable referral and treatment centres. A small sample is then identified and a pilot project is undertaken to do a field trial of the health education tools. Further changes are made as required and a large scale program is put into effect. Mid term participatory evaluation is conducted regula