Developing a Culturally Appropriate Eye Health Promotion Strategy for Northern Nigerian Communities

Culturally appropriate health promotion is indispensable for addressing the distinct social, religious, and linguistic contexts that shape eye health behaviour in northern Nigerian communities. This study develops and validates a culturally appropriate eye health promotion strategy for communities in Kano State, North West Nigeria. A participatory action research design will be employed across four phases: situational analysis, strategy development, pre-testing, and refinement. Phase one involves focus group discussions and key informant interviews with community members, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and health workers to identify existing knowledge, attitudes, and cultural practices related to eye health. Phase two develops a strategy incorporating local language radio messaging, Islamic health education framing through Quran study groups, community drama (wasan kwaikwayo), and trained community volunteers. Phase three pre-tests materials with representative community audiences and phase four refines based on feedback. Northern Nigerian communities present culturally distinct contexts including high rates of traditional remedy use, religious interpretive frameworks for illness, and gender norms limiting women's healthcare access. Existing standardised eye health promotion materials designed for generic national application often fail to resonate in these communities. This study generates a tested, context-specific strategy that can be piloted and scaled by the Kano State Ministry of Health and implementing partners. Recommendations will address integration into community health worker activities and partnerships with religious institutions as trusted health promotion channels. Keywords: health promotion, cultural appropriateness, eye health, northern Nigeria, Kano State