Episodic Dramatics as a Tool for the COVID-19 Pandemic, and Post-Pandemic Public Health Communication in Uganda

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of episodic dramatics like songs, skits, and performance-based storytelling as a culturally grounded strategy for strengthening the uptake of COVID-19 preventive behaviours in Uganda’s pandemic and post-pandemic contexts. Departing from predominantly cognitive, instruction-based risk communication models employed by the Ministry of Health, the study adopted a practice-led, mixed-methods research design combining creative production, participatory workshops, and qualitative audience observation. Data were generated through collaborative artists workshops, iterative script and lyric development sessions, videography, field-based performance testing, and reflective documentation of audience engagement and behavioural responses. Behavioural objectives were embedded within narrative, musical, and performative elements to ensure clarity, cultural resonance, and emotional accessibility. Empirical findings indicate that episodic dramatics significantly enhanced message retention, facilitated embodied rehearsal of preventive practices, and fostered positive shifts in attitudes toward mask-wearing, social distancing, and self-isolation. Audience members demonstrated improved recall of key health directives and expressed greater willingness to adopt recommended behaviours. The study concludes that episodic dramatics function as an embodied communication model that integrates sensory-motor engagement with cognitive processing, thereby deepening behavioural learning and transforming public health directives into culturally meaningful, lived practices. These findings contribute to performance-based health communication scholarship and offer a replicable framework for culturally responsive public health interventions in Uganda, in particular, and other low and middle-income countries in general