Can gossip change nutrition behaviour? Results of a mass media and community-based intervention trial in East Java, Indonesia (Tropical Medicine & International Health article 2016 March 21:3)
This paper presents the the effect of a behaviour change intervention, Gerakan Rumpi Sehat (the Healthy Gossip Movement), on infant and young child feeding practices in peri-urban Indonesia. The pilot intervention was designed based on the principles of a new behaviour change theory, Behaviour Centred Design (BCD). It avoided educational messaging in favour of employing emotional drivers of behaviour change, such as affiliation, nurture and disgust and used television commercials, community activations and house-to-house visits as delivery channels. The evaluation took the form of a 2-arm cluster randomised trial with a non-randomised control arm. One intervention arm received TV only, while the other received TV plus community activations. The intervention components were delivered over a 3-month period in 12 villages in each arm, each containing an average of 1300 households. There were two primary outcomes: dietary diversity of complementary food and the provision of unhealthy snacks to children aged 6–24 months.Click here for full paper ...
A Step-by-Step Guide to Applying Communication for Development (C4D) to Counter-trafficking Activities (IOM X Toolkit 2016)
Guided by other C4D tools in existence, IOM X created its own toolkit for developing content and activities to aid counter trafficking. The toolkit will help readers understand C4D and Behaviour Change Communication (BCC), as well as develop a C4D strategy for counter-trafficking initiatives. The toolkit is a practical resource for programme managers and officers, research officers and communication specialists working on information, awareness-raising and/or behaviour change communication campaigns in the counter-trafficking sector ...
‘Global Mechanism: Communication, Media, Social and Behaviour Change?’ Discussions from a C4D consultation meeting, November 2016
Could a global advocacy mechanism add value to the C4D field? Similar movements have been seen in other areas of development – from the Global Partnership on Violence Against Children to ‘WASH For All’ – so how might this work in our sector? This was among the key issues discussed at a C4D consultation meeting in London on 10th November 2016. Hosted by BBC Media Action, a group of C4D professionals based in the UK came together to share their opinions and ideas on four primary questions: “Would a global mechanism bring added value to communication and media (for) development, social and behavioural change?” Almost all participants agreed that it would, and pointed out that the central question is therefore one of definition – under which name should the field incorporate these strands? “What overall goals and themes would you propose as the focus of such a mechanism? What strategic approach should such a mechanism take to work towards those goals?” The ideas proposed included: developing an evidence base (to then establish gaps within it); aligning organisational agendas to minimise duplication; establishing a recognised focal point for the mechanism; developing an accreditation for staff and academic training; creating university modules ...
What drives behavior? Key factors for handwashing in Bangladesh (Alive & Thrive Case Study 2015)
Designed for practitioners, trainers, and students of behavior change or social marketing, this case study shows how to take the guesswork out of two critical decisions: What behavior will you promote? What key factors will you address to motivate people? Use the case study kit to teach or learn about methods for behavior change and view A&T’s final TV spot on handwashing + child feeding. Click here for full details ...
Coming of age: communication’s role in powering global health (BBC Media Action Policy Briefing 2016)
Communication has been a consistent current running through many major health developments of recent years. And yet, despite the demonstrated promise of communication as a tool for improving public health, not enough has been done to date to capitalise upon its potential, particularly in the poorest parts of the world. Through a careful review of the evidence, this briefing offers a spirited case for why donors, practitioners and developing country governments need to pay more attention to the role of communication in tackling global health. The briefing finds that: Communication has been central to public health developments from Ebola to polio and from HIV to child survival. While health policy officials recognise the importance of health communication, it often remains poorly funded, under-utilised and badly planned in public health programmes. Even when it does prioritise communication, public health programming often fails to reflect best practice around the role of social and behaviour change communications (SBCC). Progress has been stymied by the complexity of social and behaviour change communication, debates around “what counts” as evidence, and the learning and capacity-strengthening gaps within the health communication field. Donors should ensure that their staff are familiar with the health communication evidence base and ...
Incorporating Net Care into Malaria Social and Behavior Change Communication Strategies: A Step-by-step Guide (Vector Works Project 2016)
This publication provides a practical guide to integrating net care behaviors as a component of overall net use messaging in existing ITN social and behavior change communication (SBCC) strategies or other platforms. This guide is intended for use by those involved in distribution of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) or organizations that conduct communication activities related to ITN distribution and use. Click here for full guide ...
Malaria Social & Behavior Change Communication National Strategies (collected and mapped by HC3 2016)
HC3 has analyzed, collected and mapped a number of national malaria communication strategies. A number of countries are updating their malaria communication strategies as they prepare concept notes for the Global Fund. The strategies include those written both and after 2010 as well as current strategies. Click here to access this resource ...
Handwashing with Soap Toolkit (WSP 2014)
Improving handwashing with soap practices can save children’s lives by reducing preventable diseases like diarrhea and acute respiratory infections. Despite its effectiveness in reducing disease, handwashing with soap is uncommon in many countries. The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) conducted research with local partners in Peru, Senegal, Tanzania, and Vietnam to understand the factors that affect an individual’s decision to practice handwashing with soap. The research informed the implementation of handwashing project activities in the four countries. Following national and local government implementation, WSP and its partners gathered valuable lessons, which inform this handwashing with soap toolkit. The toolkit, intended for practitioners interested in behavior change, is organized into four modules, each with reports and presentations about the lessons learned from the projects, as well as mass media, direct consumer contact, and interpersonal communication tools used throughout the project. Click here for full toolkit ...
Integrated Communication Campaigns to support citizen behaviour change: A Practical Guide (WPP 2016)
This report is for people in the public sector who commission or manage communication programmes to support behaviour change programmes. It aims to help people to make choices that will maximise the chances of their communication programme successfully influencing citizen behaviour. The report is organised around the WPP Government & Public Sector Practice model of integrated communication. This report aims to offer an understanding of the cycle of an integrated communication campaign, how to structure and manage an effective multidisciplinary team of experts, and how to set behavioural objectives and how to measure progress against them. The report is a practical guide for practitioners. The models and approaches are based on a detailed understanding of behavioural science and the academic literature on the topic. However, readers do not need to have a background in behavioural science to apply the guidance in this report – rather, it should help to work effectively with behavioural scientists and other experts ...
Strengthening behaviour change communication in western Nepal: how can we do better? (Waterlines 34:4 article 2015)
The Government of Nepal aims to achieve full water and sanitation coverage by 2017. The bilateral Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Western Nepal (RWSSP-WN) works with local governments in 14 districts, aiming to declare them open defecation free. This behaviour change communications evaluation explored how to improve RWSSP-WN’s present practices to reach the diverse target population in the Terai districts, where more than 1 million people still defecate in the open. The study reviewed RWSSP-WN’s present behaviour change triggering tools and related communications strategies. The findings suggest that availability of subsidies seems to change how people think about sanitation and tends to eliminate willingness to pay for a latrine. The authors recommended strong advocacy for a no-subsidy policy, and more attention paid to alternative financing options with targeted support to the poorest of the poor. The present behaviour change triggering tools do work as intended, but there is a need to develop pre-triggering and post-triggering strategies to increase the overall impact. The pre-triggering strategy would ensure that potential barriers to change are identified and addressed before the actual triggering event, and that the key stakeholders are prepared for the actual triggering event. The post-triggering strategy is needed to ...
Shifting Social Norms to Tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) (DFID Guidance Note 2016)
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is the most widespread form of abuse worldwide, affecting on average one third of all women globally in their lifetime. VAWG undermines the mental and physical health of women and girls, violates their human rights and can have a negative impact on long-term peace and stability. In line with its international and national commitments, preventing VAWG is a top priority for the UK Government and DFID. Although the development community has long recognised the importance of attitudes, norms, and beliefs that justify violence and gender inequality in perpetuating violence against women and girls (VAWG), there has often been a lack of clarity about the definitions of and relationships between these constructs and the practical implications for programme design and evaluation. This Guidance Note therefore aims to clarify these constructs, summarise the role of social norms in sustaining harmful behaviours and contributing to VAWG, and provide practical guidance and advice for DFID advisors and programme managers on how to identify and address harmful social norms in the context of programming to prevent VAWG ...
Methods and approaches to understanding behaviour change (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1,389 University of Birmingham 2016)
There are a large number of theories and approaches towards behavioural change derived from disciplines such as psychology, sociology, communication and political science. These theories focus on a number of different levels: the enabling environment; the community; the interpersonal; or the individual. What matters is not only which behaviour change intervention or policy is implemented, but how it is implemented. Key findings of this rapid review include: Evidence suggests that behaviour and behaviour change can be best understood when an open theory approach is adopted. This approach acknowledges that the translation of theoretical methods to specific contexts, populations, and cultures is complex. Information alone is insufficient to support behaviour change. Influencing healthy behaviours and creating a supportive social environment requires the stimulation of learning and participation through regular dialogue with, and within, the target community. Relationships with partners, families, the wider community and society more broadly, can substantially affect how an individual behaves. Examples of behaviour change approaches in international development are drawn from UNICEF, ActionAid and FHI360. Efforts to affect behavioural change within the context of Karamoja have focused on nutrition, health and hygiene interventions ...