Community-based distribution of insecticide-treated nets: A short guide based on recent experience (VectorWorks Project/Tropical Health 2016)
The ‘Community-Based Insecticide-Treated Nets Distribution Guide’ provides a practical guide to community-based insecticide-treated net (ITN) distribution. It takes readers through the different steps that planners should consider when implementing this channel and aims to ensure that planners considering community-based ITN distribution benefit from the lessons that have been learned though experiences in the the four countries examined in the report: Madagascar, Nigeria, South Sudan and Zanzibar (Tanzania) The document aims to present information that will help planners decide whether community-based distribution is an appropriate option for their setting, and to offer practical recommendations for developing a system of community-based distribution ...
Wumen Bagung: Communication for Development and Social Change Bulletin (RMIT Bulletin issue 1)
“Wumen Bagung Ngang-gak ba Boorndap” translates as “Come Gather, Listen and Respect”. Gathering to share stories, learning from one another, respecting one another and the land that sustains us all, are experiences that unite everyone. The Wumen Bagung bulletin will further facilitate learning, sharing and strengthening ties between participating communities ...
Evidence of Effective SBCC Approaches to Promote Breastfeeding Practices (section 3.2 of ‘Evidence of Effective Approaches to Social and Behavior Change Communication for Preventing and Reducing Stunting and Anemia: Report from a Systematic Literature Review’ SPRING 2014)
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends three primary breastfeeding practices: initiation of breastfeeding within one hour after birth (also referred to as immediate breastfeeding), exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) through six months of age, and continued breastfeeding until 24 months of age (Dyson et al., 2005; WHO, 2008). Evidence associated with the recommendation for immediate breastfeeding is limited and likely operates through the effect of exclusive breastfeeding (Bhutta et al., 2013). The Lancet, therefore, includes only EBF and continued breastfeeding in the modeling of optimal breastfeeding practices cited above. Despite the promise of optimal breastfeeding practices, rates for the three WHO recommended breastfeeding practices remain low, and negligible progress has been made to increase these rates over the past two decades (UNICEF, 2013). According to an analysis of data from 78 low and middle income countries, rates of immediate breastfeeding range from a mean of 36% in Eastern Europe to a mean of 58% in Latin America, and the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in children one to five months of age is just 30% (Black et al, 2013). According to the UNICEF global database of national surveys from 2007-2011, the current rate of breastfeeding at one year is 76%, while the rate ...
SBCC I-Kit to support faith-based organisation led breastfeeding interventions (The Health Communication Capacity Collaborative 2014)
The Supporting Breastfeeding Interventions for Faith-Based Organizations Implementation Kit (I-Kit) provides SBCC practitioners with straightforward guidance and interactive tools to assist in developing breastfeeding SBCC programs. While this I-Kit was designed with FBOs in mind, any type of organization seeking to improve breastfeeding practices can use it. Click here for full kit ...
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and early initiation: target groups and influential messages (ORIE Research Summary 2016)
This briefing outlines findings from operations research on exclusive breastfeeding and early initiation - such as engaging with senior religious leaders, and identify Qu’ranic teachings that support EBF. The study supports refinement of the infant and young child feeding (IYCF) strategy implemented by the Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN) programme. Summary of key recommendations: Strengthen messages on the water content in breastmilk. Integrate the showcasing of healthy EBF babies into IYCF advocacy. Increase the targeting of men and develop specific IEC materials for this. Engage with senior religious leaders, and identify Qu’ranic teachings that support EBF. Develop an advocacy approach for older women, including songs and participatory approaches Provide practical support on breastfeeding within mothers’ support groups. Further research to develop a Hausa term for EBF that better encapsulates the full meaning. Consider the need to develop a Hausa term for ‘late EBF’ Clarify that EBF is not dependent on the mother’s consumption of the recommended foods. Click here to view briefing ...
HC3 Landscaping Summary Report on Zika Coordination and Communication in Four Countries: Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic and Guatemala March – April 2016 (HC3 2016)
In response to a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) request, the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3) – based at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) – conducted a social and behavior change communication (SBCC) landscape for Zika in four Central American countries: Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic and Guatemala. Due to the urgent nature of Zika, HC3 moved quickly to conduct the four landscaping visits in March and April 2016. These were not lengthy situational analyses, but rather agile observation visits to quickly take the pulse of the Zika situation and the local response. This report is the culmination of that landscaping exercise. Below are the observations and impressions of the HC3 team, as well as concrete recommendations for USAID to consider as it formulates its strategy to support neighbors to the south in continuing to combat and prevent Zika. Click here for full report ...
Correlates of Intra-Household insecticide-treated mosquito net use in Liberia article (PLoS ONE 11(7) 2016)
A study by the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3) published in the latest version of the journal PLOS ONE, Correlates of Intra-Household ITN Use in Liberia sheds light on ways to increase net use among those with net access. The results reveal a great deal of useful information for those involved in social and behavior change communication (SBCC) malaria interventions in Liberia. This study found that only about one-third of survey respondents had one or more insecticide treated nets in their household. Far fewer had a net for every sleeping space or one for every two people in the house. The proportion of household members sleeping under a net increased dramatically if the household owned two nets, or three or more nets. This means, first and foremost, that Liberians need more nets. Another finding was that female caregiver ideational characteristics were a significant predictor of whether or not nets were being used. If a female caregiver perceived malaria as a severe disease, or felt she was able to recognize signs of severe malaria, members of her household were more likely to have slept under a net. Interestingly, a female caregiver’s perceived susceptibility (whether or not she thinks her family will ...
Estratégia de Comunicação para a Mudança Social e de Comportamento para a Prevenção da Desnutrição em Moçambique 2015-2019
A Estratégia de Comunicação para a Mudança Social e de Comportamento (CMSC) para a Prevenção da Desnutrição em Moçambique constitui uma ferramenta valiosa para orientar os implementadores de programas de Comunicação para a Mudança Social e de Comportamento (CMSC) para prevenir a desnutrição e promover as práticas-chave de nutrição prioritárias para o País, seguindo uma abordagem harmonizada e as melhores práticas de nutrição e de CMSC a nível global. Após uma breve contextualização da situação do País, o documento explica os conceitos da abordagem de CMSC. De seguida ele oferece, em primeiro lugar, o conteúdo técnico-chave que serve de base para a elaboração de mensagens de comunicação e, em segundo lugar, orientações para a contextualização dessas mensagens, de forma a reflectir a realidade de cada programa, tendo em conta o contexto socio-cultural específico de onde as intervenções de CMSC serão implementadas. Por fim, os anexos que oferecem alguns recursos para a consulta durante a planificação e implementação dos programas de CMSC em nutrição. (FANTA provided support to the Mozambique Ministry of Health to develop a national Strategy for Social and Behavior Change Communication for the Prevention of Malnutrition. The strategy (in Portuguese) serves as a tool to guide implementers of social and behavior change programs to prevent malnutrition ...
Addressing AMA and HP Pregnancies – A Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy (HTSP) Implementation Kit (HC3 2016)
Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy (HTSP) is an under-utilized approach to family planning (FP) and maternal and child health (MCH) education, counseling and services to help families have planned pregnancies at the healthiest times of their lives for the best outcomes for mother and child. Although many FP and MCH programs promote birth spacing, HTSP elevates the role of spacing between pregnancies, rather than births, and stresses the impact on maternal, neonatal and child health. HTSP activities and research to date have focused on the first two approaches in this list: delaying pregnancies until after age 18 and spacing pregnancies at least 24 months after the preceding birth. However, a recent HC3 desk review revealed that little to no work has focused on social and behavior change communication (SBCC) around the last two themes: pregnancies in women aged 35 and older (of advanced maternal age, or AMA) and women having five or more (high-parity, or HP) births. HC3 conducted qualitative research around the drivers and determinants of AMA and HP pregnancies in Togo and Niger, and pretested approaches to address them using SBCC. HC3 then developed this implementation kit (I-Kit) to help program managers emphasize and include AMA and HP ...
Community theater for improved nutrition. A guide for programme managers and theater groups (USAID 2011)
Community theatre can be an effective way to support positive changes in health knowledge and behaviour as well as related social norms. This is a guide for programme managers and community theatre groups on how and why to integrate maternal, infant, and young child nutrition content into existing community theater activities. It provides recommendations for strengthening theater performances based on PATH’s successful experience implementing Magnet Theater for a variety of public health topics throughout Africa and Asia, and the Infant & Young Child Nutrition (IYCN) Project’s experience using theater to promote optimal infant and young child feeding practices in Zambia ...
The use of new ICTs to support HIV and sexual health, targeting youth and adolescents – case studies and report (C4D Network 2015)
This report, commissioned by UNICEF, aims to highlight the use, potential and impact of ICTs in sexual and reproductive health and HIV interventions targeting adolescents and young people. It highlights the lessons learnt from 11 case studies from across Africa, and illustrates the role of innovation in the use of ICT for HIV prevention. The report serves as a useful learning guide for future design and implementation of future programming on HIV and sexual health among adolescents. Click here for the full report: C4D Network - REPORT & CASE STUDIES on ICT for HIV Prevention 28.11.15 ...
Exploring the role of communication in community health in Sierra Leone (BBC Media Action report 2016)
BBC Media Action has worked in Sierra Leone since 2007, using multiple platforms including radio, mobile, social media and interpersonal communication to address three key themes: governance and rights, health, and resilience and humanitarian response. Community access to health information is particularly valuable in countries with low numbers of health professionals, such as Sierra Leone. To understand more about the role media and communication can play in Sierra Leone, and the ways it can support efforts to rebuild the health system, BBC Media Action carried out a programme of research in Sierra Leone in late 2015. Using data from a national survey and from a qualitative study in four communities, this report looks at the potential role that communication could play in community health. The report shows there is strong interest from Sierra Leoneans in receiving more health information, but that many people tend to be passive recipients of this information rather than actively seeking it out - unless they face an emergency or particular health crisis. The implications for mass communication are discussed. Click here for full report ...