Participatory communication approach for sustainable solid waste management: a study of Migori county, Kenya.

Abstract

Globally, community participation and stakeholder collaboration have been proposed as a way of improving SSWM. However, little remains known on how to structure collaborative communication for SSWM. The main objective of this study was to investigate participatory communication approach to SSWM so as to design community communication network for participatory communication of SSWM. The study was guided by four specific objectives namely; to investigate community involvement in dialogic communication of sustainable solid waste management in Migori County; to determine community access to media used in the communication of SSWM; to assess strategic messages communicated for SSWM in Migori County; and to design communication network for improving community participation in the communication of SSWM. The study was grounded on Participatory Communication theory which emphasizes use of dialogic communication for peoples’ empowerment and social change. Communicative Ecology theory was used to structure community communication networks for participatory communication of SSWM. The study was informed by pragmatic philosophical paradigm and was conducted using mixed methods approach where 399 respondents from Migori, Isebania and Rongo urban areas in Migori County were sampled using Yamane’s sampling formula. Purposive sampling was used to obtain 23 key informants: seven (7) from the department of Environment and Natural Resources, eight (8) from municipalities of Rongo, Migori and Isebania and eight (8) were community representatives. 144 members of the community were sampled using snowballing while another 233 were obtained by simple random sampling. Qualitative data was collected using semi structured interview and focus groups discussion guides while questionnaires were used for quantitative data. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically to produce themes and codes which were then used to construct scales and variables in questionnaires. Quantitative analysis was done using descriptive statistics. Data was presented using themes, quotes, tables, percentages and figures. Findings showed limited and uncoordinated community involvement in dialogic communication of SSWM; limited community access to media used in communication of SSWM; lack of focus on SSWM strategic messages and lack of appropriate communication structures for community participation in communication of SSWM. The study concluded that limited communication of SSWM and lack of participatory communication structures limit community participation in communication of SSWM and collaboration in SSWM. Lack of focus on strategic messages communicated for SSWM also contributes to inadequate knowledge of SSWM among the community. This thesis argues that limited community participation in communication of SSWM limits community understanding of SSWM, their involvement in decision making on SSWM, and empowerment needed for responsible SSWM. The study recommends the use of the proposed community communication networks to improve community participation in communication of SSWM. It also recommends community involvement in the construction and communication of strategic SSWM messages to make the messages more impactful.