Diffusion of innovations theory applies directly to the case presented in this dissertation in an important way. Breast cancer screening is an innovation to the target audience in that the policy was developed by the department to reach a specific group that had the best chance of early cancer detection and to offer the service for the first time in a centralised fashion to all within that group.

However, the direct application of the theory falls short in this particular case. This is due to the target audience's high rate of illiteracy. Those that miss out on the information due to their lack of understanding of the method of communication cannot go through the stages of diffusion. The first stage of the theory is the knowledge stage. Right at that stage the group that is the focus of this dissertation, those whose level of literacy is not high enough to handle the communication, fall to the side.

It is the synthesis by Windahl et al (1997) of the factors of a successful communications campaign as described by Rice and Aitkin (1989) and Rogers and Story (1987) that is most applicable. Application of these factors directly guides the examination of the case and permits insight into the challenges of the planners, the areas where the planners planned well and perhaps where the planning fell short.

Additionally, the theoretical codas described at the conclusion of this chapter offer guidance to those attempting to meet the challenge of the problem examined in this work: communicating to illiterate populations.

THE CASE

The following is a chronological description of the central case of this dissertation, that of the attempt by the Department of Health and Community Services (DHCS) of the province of New Brunswick, Canada, to communicate with a largely illiterate audience.

The objective of the description of this case is to provide a focus for this dissertation, illuminating the dissertation's subject, communicating to illiterate populations, through an example. The analysis of the case, which follows, provides a context for the application of theory to an attempt to communicate to an illiterate population.