1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Substantively this research is confined to the use communication to combat roadside drugs selling in Cameroon.

Geographically, the study shall be limited to Buea, because the researcher has easy access to it and can easily communicate with the population. By choosing this frame the researcher believes that enough information would be gathered to make appropriate recommendations.

1.8 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORK

This study will be relevant to the following stakeholders

This study will be a stepping stone to creating awareness on the adverse effects of roadside medicine and the need for individual to stay away from it.Since the study will be limited to some rural areas in Buea municipality, the researcher intends to educate the rural population who shall respond to these questionnaires on the effects of roadside drugs in Cameroon.

To the Research Community

• To the body of knowledge, this piece of work will be a great contribution to the body of knowledge especially in the area of roadside medicine, and to those carrying out research in this field of study, this piece of work might serve as a spring board for more investigation.
• Bases of literature review, this piece of work might serve as a source for consultations for reviewing.

1.9 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

Communication:

The communication is the set of interactions with others that transmit any information. We distinguish between interpersonal communication, group communication and mass communication that is to say all the means and techniques allowing the dissemination of the message of a social organization to a large audience. Daniel Bougnoux (2001)

  Roadside Drugs

Roadside medicine refers to drugs that are sold by roadside drug vendors to the general public in various forms, and include common drugs like pain-relieving tablets and cough syrups (Egboh 1984; Snow et al. 1992; Mwenesi et al. 1995).

Such medicines are to be sold in their original packets as they come from the manufacturer. That package must not be altered, and drugs must not be extracted from the package and sold in lesser or greater number, as this constitutes dispensing (Twebaze 2001). Ironically, selling a chloroquine base product such as Nivaquine in its packet is patent medicine vending, while counting generic chloroquine tablets from a tin is considered dispensing (Egboh 1984).

Government communication

Government communication can be defined as all the activities of public sector institutions and organizations that are aimed at conveying and sharing information, primarily for the purpose of presenting and explaining government decisions and actions, promoting the legitimacy of these interventions, defending recognized values and helping to maintain social bonds.

Communication stratégies

A communication strategy is “the selection of appropriate communication objectives and the identification of the specific brand awareness and brand attitude strategy” (Google Web Definition). This general strategy has to be linked to the roots of the organization and must be treated seriously. All of the employees and people involved in the organization must commit to the strategy 100%. There is no way that an organization can function well with the outside world if it does not have a sound plan for how to inform the public of what they do. A communication strategy can take on many different looks, ranging from a one-on-one interaction to a worldwide campaign.