Chemiati, Rebecca Chemutai2026-03-102026-03-102025Chemiati, R. C. (2025). A pragma-semiotic analysis of communication strategies in vaccination campaigns against Mpox in Kenya (Master’s thesis). Chuka University, Chuka, Kenya.https://repository.chuka.ac.ke/handle/123456789/22520A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language and Linguistics of Chuka University Supervisors: Prof. Humphrey K. Ireri, Dr. Emise KirimiThe success of any public health campaign is dependent on its ability to strategically utilize various modes of communication to effectively convey complex health messages. Meaning-making in public health campaigns is dependent on the strategic integration of language and other modes of communication. Integration of these two linguistics fields provides a comprehensive understanding of how public health campaigns navigate through the complexities of effective communication in a multi cultural society. The motivation behind this study is based on the need to understand how semiotic and pragmatic elements collaboratively work to create meaning. The study focused on analysis of meanings and the functionality of speech acts in vaccination campaigns against Mpox in Kenya. This study adopted a descriptive research design guided by the Multimodal Theory by Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen and John Searle’s Theory of Speech Act. The study population comprised all publicly available communicative materials used in the vaccination campaigns against Mpox in Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to identify campaign materials that possess linguistic elements only relevant to the study. A total of thirty campaign materials were sampled. However, the final sample size was dependent on the point of saturation. The data was sourced from official websites of institutions of public health and digital media platforms. An integrated pragma-semiotic approach was utilized during data analysis where visuals were classifieds as icons, indexes and symbols to examine their communicative functions while speech acts were analysed according to Searle (1976). This document is made up of six chapters; chapter one, two and three comprise the introduction, literature review and research methodology respectively. Chapter four highlights meanings in vaccination campaigns against Mpox in Kenya. The study finds that the campaigns made use of various semiotic resources such as icons, indexes, symbols, spatial arrangements, layouts and colour schemes which carried multiple meanings. The icon of a vaccine bottle for instance connotates hope through the administration of the vaccine which is a lifesaving substance. This reinforces the idea that the relevant authorities are concerned with the protection and preservation of life. Symbolically, this icon is a representation of defence and immunity.Chapter five engages speech acts in vaccination campaigns against Mpox in Kenya. The findings of the pragmatic analysis reveal the use of five types of speech acts as categorized by Searle (1976) and hierarchical structuring which operate as complex illocutionary arrangements. Chapter six contains the summary of findings, conclusions and recommendations. This study has validated that the union of pragmatic and semiotic elements in the campaigns against Mpox generated an integrative communicative power which not only informed the population regarding Mpox pandemic but also advocated certain preventive methods, primarily vaccination among high-risk groups. The study demonstrates how verbal and visual elements interact dynamically to produce persuasive messages that impact behaviour change. This study advances the theoretical frameworks utilized by demonstrating how various illocutionary acts are reinforced and modulated through semiotic resources to inform, create awareness and promote vaccination uptake. It bridges the gap between theory and applied communication practices. The integration thus provides a comprehensive understanding of the process of meaning-making. It offers insight on the role of communication strategies in the design of more effective public health campaigns.enPragma-semiotic analysiscommunication strategiesvaccination campaignsMpoxpublic health communicationspeech actssemioticsiconsindexessymbolsmeaning-makingmultimodal communicationKenyabehaviour changehealth promotion.Thesis