OBJECTIVES: Communicating health information (CHI) plays a major role on campaigns and disease control programs to raise population awareness and effectively change the scenario of a health condition, especially on developing countries due to economic and social challenges. This study aims to identify different methods of CHI to patients and the general public through experiences in low or middle-income countries (LMICs).

METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted to evaluate studies reporting experiences and insights on CHI to patients in developing countries. The search was performed on January 2020 on Medline via PubMed with no time or language restrictions, using controlled vocabulary and MeSH terms. Eligible studies evaluated experiences with methods of CHI in real-world settings or reviews including those type of studies.

RESULTS: The search identified 18 publications, and 11 met eligibility criteria. Studies ranged from 2011 to 2018 and addressed campaigns that took place on different countries, such as Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Mozambique, Nigeria, Fiji, Malawi, China, India, and Russia. Campaigns were themed as family planning programs, child nutrition, immunization, vaccine misinformation, HIV/AIDS prevention, infectious diseases among pregnant women, cardiovascular disease and antitobacco use. Campaigns’ designs were very diverse, ranging from in-field interventions to multimedia communication (like radio, television and internet). Studies had heterogeneous designs, such as behavior change communication (BCC), public awareness and social marketing, with evaluations of direct effectiveness of the program, persistence of knowledge, identification and categorization of communication methods utilized and problems of campaign designs on assertive information delivery and follow-up. Some authors proposed theoretical models of ideal effective CHI specific to the regions studied.

CONCLUSIONS: CHI can lead to effective behavioral changes and might prevent several diseases. Multidisciplinary approaches adapted to region and culture, at intrapersonal and interpersonal levels, might give insights to campaign stakeholders about which type of communication interventions to implement for better effectiveness.