Health Communication Commons^™

Assessing Community Capacity Strengthening To Sustain Integrated Social Behavior Change Programming In Northwestern Nigeria, Breakthrough Research

Reproductive Health

Qualitative research by Breakthrough RESEARCH is evaluating efforts to prepare communities, through a community capacity strengthening approach, to sustain community social and behavior change programming to promote healthy family behaviors in northwestern Nigeria. This community capacity strengthening approach, implemented by Breakthrough ACTION Nigeria, engages local leaders and community organizations—specifically Ward Development Committees (WDCs)—to increase community capacities to coordinate local health systems to strengthen services and promote positive social norms and individual behaviors for improved health outcomes.

Improving Reproductive Health And Family Planning Outcomes Among Out-Of-School Adolescents And Youth In The Philippines, Breakthrough Research, De La Salle University

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Breakthrough RESEARCH, in collaboration with De La Salle University’s Social Development Research Center (DLSU-SDRC) in Manila, conducted a targeted qualitative research study to facilitate social and behavior change approaches for out-of-school ages 15 to 19 for positive reproductive health and family planning behavior change. Research in three regions of the Philippines generated evidence for the design of intervention approaches to be most effective for four priority behaviors: delay of sexual debut, use of modern contraceptive methods, care-seeking in the first trimester for pregnant youth, and birth spacing of three to five years to prevent short birth intervals.

Informing Social And Behavior Change Programs: Using Social Listening And Social Monitoring, Breakthrough Research

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief offers practical guidance on social listening and social (media) monitoring as tools to inform social and behavior change programs, intended for global and regional program implementers, evaluators, and donors in USAID priority countries. This brief explains how social listening and social monitoring can be important tools for collecting information about target audiences’ knowledge and attitudes, as well as their exposure and responses to particular interventions. Using applied examples in Francophone West Africa, it illustrates social and social monitoring steps, provides examples of lessons, and identifies how these methods can be applied to social and behavior change programming. People …

Documenting Lessons From An Integrated Social And Behavior Change Program Linked To Integrated Health Services In Zambia, Breakthrough Research

Reproductive Health

This program brief documents lessons for social and behavior change programmers implementing multi-health, community-based programs with integrated health services. An iterative process by Breakthrough ACTION Zambia, from October 2018 through March 2019, identified four design concepts with strong feasibility and potential for impact and expansion. These four concepts were refined in Breakthrough ACTION Zambia provinces and districts in collaboration with implementing partners and the Ministry of Health Department of Health Promotion, with final intervention design and implementation processes determined in close collaboration with the Ministry.

Barriers Inhibiting Detection And Management Of Postpartum Hemorrhage By Providers In Madagascar, Breakthrough Research, Usaid's Health Evaluation And Applied Research Development

Reproductive Health

Breakthrough RESEARCH partner ideas42 conducted research in June 2019 in peri-urban and rural areas of Vohipeno and Manakara districts of Madagascar's Vatovavy-Fitovinany region to identify health care providers' challenges for detecting and managing complications during childbirth including postpartum hemorrhage and identify optimal solutions. This brief summarizes the results of a behavioral diagnosis that reveals “Facility-based providers do not consistently follow best practices for the detection and management of complications during childbirth.” Low perception of risk of postpartum hemorrhage, limited review of compliance with best practices, consequences of current practices, and resource scarcity can negatively affect provider decision-making and clinical practice.

Obstacles Limitant La Détection Et La Prise En Charge De L’Hpp Par Les Prestataires De Soins De Santé À Madagascar, Breakthrough Research

Reproductive Health

Breakthrough RESEARCH partner ideas42 conducted research in June 2019 in peri-urban and rural areas of Vohipeno and Manakara districts of Madagascar's Vatovavy-Fitovinany region to identify health care providers' challenges for detecting and managing complications during childbirth including postpartum hemorrhage and identify optimal solutions. This brief summarizes the results of a behavioral diagnosis that reveals “Facility-based providers do not consistently follow best practices for the detection and management of complications during childbirth.” Low perception of risk of postpartum hemorrhage, limited review of compliance with best practices, consequences of current practices, and resource scarcity can negatively affect provider decision-making and clinical practice.

Breastfeeding: Insights For Improving Malaria, Family Planning, And Maternal And Child Health Outcomes In Northwestern Nigeria Through Social And Behavior Change Research, Breakthrough Research

Reproductive Health

This brief provides evidence for implementers and researchers of social and behavior change programs designed to improve community knowledge, attitudes, norms and behaviors for pregnant and postpartum women's health. The brief focuses on key behaviors including early breastfeeding initiation within one hour of birth and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, while also discussing breastfeeding barriers and facilitators. This is one of a series of briefs that present findings from a Breakthrough RESEARCH study that captured data on a wide range of psychosocial factors of behavioral outcomes for family planning, malaria, and maternal, newborn and child health, …

Building Assets For Humanitarian Settings, Women's Refugee Commission, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document is the Women’s Refugee Commission and the Population Council’s adaptation of the Building Assets Toolkit and its core activity, the Asset Exercise, for use in humanitarian contexts. An asset-building exercise is a thoughtful way to build intentional program content for girls to determine what assets they need in order to survive and thrive. This is particularly important for programs intended to reach the poorest girls in the poorest communities based on sound evidence on the reality of their lives. The Council’s Building Assets Toolkit is rooted in this exercise, helping practitioners, policymakers, and advocates build tailored, meaningful, …

Gender Integration In Social And Behavior Change: What Does It Take?, University Research Co., Breakthrough Research

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document pulls from a recent review of social and behavior change (SBC)-focused literature and highlights eight promising practices regarding how to integrate gender considerations in health and non-health SBC interventions. The practices are operationalized at different levels of the Socio-Ecological Model for Change and are mutually reinforcing. The purpose of this document is to share these promising practices with SBC partners to strengthen gender integration and mainstreaming efforts in SBC programming.

Behavioral Sentinel Surveillance Survey In Nigeria: Baseline Technical Report, Emily White Johansson, Paul Hutchinson, Elizabeth Omoluabi, Akanni Akinyemi, Andrea Smith, J. Clint Welty, Udochisom Anaba, Dominique Meekers, Alejandra Leyton, Dele Abegunde, Paul C. Hewett

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This technical report presents results of the baseline Behavioral Sentinel Surveillance survey by Breakthrough RESEARCH in Nigeria in September and October 2019. From 2019 to 2021, baseline, midline, and endline surveys will assess the effectiveness of Breakthrough ACTION integrated social and behavior change activities for malaria, family planning, and maternal, newborn and child health plus nutrition in Kebbi and Sokoto in comparison to Breakthrough ACTION's exclusively malaria activities in Zamfara state. Malaria activities were initiated in Zamfara in October 2019. This technical report presents detailed baseline results, including comparisons of results for the Breakthrough ACTION integrated and malaria-exclusive program areas. …

Adapting The Asset Exercise For Humanitarian Contexts, Women's Refugee Commission, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

As a guiding program theory, asset-building centers on the idea that skills, knowledge, relationships, and concrete resources can all constitute assets, or “stores of value,” that girls can, in turn, mobilize to make healthy choices, seek support, navigate institutions, and access entitlements. This approach is inherently multisectoral, rooted in a commitment to prioritize understanding of and respond to the diversity of girls’ needs, capacities, and experiences. The Asset Exercise operationalizes the concept of “asset-building” into concrete terms. The exercise consists of a deck of 100 “asset cards,” and eight “age cards.” Asset cards reflect both intrinsic qualities, concrete knowledge, and …

Evidence Review And Analysis Of Provider Behavior Change Opportunities, Emily Zimmerman, Vivien Caetano, Rachel Banay, Jana Smith

Reproductive Health

This paper reviews the evidence on the promise of behavioral economics to improve health outcomes through service provider interventions in five critical health areas. This analysis utilizes the limited existing evidence to suggest where and how behavioral economics interventions may be most effective and where further research may contribute most.

Strengthening Social And Behavior Change Monitoring And Evaluation For Family Planning In Francophone West Africa, Leanne Dougherty, Martha Silva, Kathryn Spielman

Reproductive Health

This report summarizes findings from a mapping of family planning investments, technical approaches and indicators, identifies indicator gaps, and makes recommendations to governments, donors, researchers and implementers to improve social and behavior change activity measurement in Francophone West Africa.

Provider Behavior Change Approaches To Improve Family Planning Services In The Ouagadougou Partnership Countries: A Landscaping Review, Kathryn Spielman, Elizabeth Tobey, Martha Silva, Leanne Dougherty

Reproductive Health

This landscaping review summarizes available evidence (as of 2020) on the effectiveness of provider behavior change interventions for improving family planning services in Ouagadougou Partnership countries and presents current or recent provider behavior change interventions not formally evaluated. The findings are summarized along with reflections about possible research and programming investments to address challenges and opportunities.

Recherche Formative Exhaustive Sur Les Croyances, Les Pratiques Et Les Comportements En Matière De Santé Au Mali, Breakthrough Research

Reproductive Health

Breakthrough RESEARCH, in conjunction with the Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche sur l’Information en Population et Santé (CERIPS), designed and conducted a mixed method formative study to inform USAID Mali’s health and nutrition programming for the next five years. This project aimed to increase demand for and use of health, nutrition, water and sanitation services; increase individual and household adoption of healthy behaviors; and improve household and community capacities to plan, finance, and manage their own health and health systems. This formative research comprised three phases of data collection to reveal the contexts of health behaviors and determinants, motivators, and …

Comprehensive Formative Research On Health Beliefs, Practices, And Behaviors In Mali, Breakthrough Research

Reproductive Health

Breakthrough RESEARCH, in conjunction with the Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche sur l’Information en Population et Santé (CERIPS), designed and conducted a mixed method formative study to inform USAID Mali’s health and nutrition programming for the next five years. This project aimed to increase demand for and use of health, nutrition, water, sanitation and health services; increase individual and household adoption of healthy behaviors; and improve household and community capacities to plan, finance, and manage their own health and health systems. This formative research comprised three phases of data collection to reveal the contexts of health behaviors and determinants, motivators, …

La Priorización De Comportamientos Para Mejorar Programas De Cambio Social Y De Comportamiento Durante Una Emergencia De Salud Pública: Un Llamado A La Acción, Breakthrough Research

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

A medida que los especialistas en desarrollo internacional continúan trabajando en los desafíos de la salud pública y nuevas enfermedades emergentes, es de suma importancia la priorización de comportamientos. Este breve informe tiene como objetivo argumentar por qué es importante la priorización de comportamientos para fortalecer los programas de cambio social y de comportamiento (CSC). El documento finaliza con un llamado a la acción a que diferentes actores interesados aboguen por y participen en procesos que prioricen comportamientos como parte del diseño, planificación y adaptación de programas de cambio social y de comportamiento.

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As the international development community continues …

Behavior Prioritization To Improve Sbc (Social And Behavior Change) Programming During A Public Health Emergency: A Call To Action, Breakthrough Research

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

As the international development community continues to manage public health challenges and emerging diseases, the need for behavior prioritization is critical. The information in this brief provides rationale for why behavior prioritization is instrumental to improve social and behavior change programming, and ends with a call to action for advocacy for behavior prioritization processes as part of social and behavior change program design, planning, and adaptation. During the Zika outbreak in Latin America, a review of USAID-supported programming in 2017 revealed more than 30 Zika preventive behaviors and messages promoted by different implementing partners, and messaging on desired behaviors was …

The Business Case For Investing In Social And Behavior Change For Family Planning, James Rosen, Nicole M. Bellows, Lori Bollinger, Willyanne Decormier Plosky, Michelle Weinberger

Reproductive Health

Although the development field generally considers social and behavior change interventions essential parts of quality health programs, lack of synthesized information on costs and effectiveness means that decision-makers under-appreciate and under-fund social and behavior change efforts. This business case uses evidence to answer questions about the effectiveness, cost, cost-effectiveness, and return on investment from social and behavior change efforts. To develop this family planning social and behavior change business case, nearly 200 studies were evaluated. All USAID strategic priorities for global health—preventing child and maternal deaths, controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and combating infectious diseases—employ social and behavior change approaches to …

Concours D’Excellence En Production Médiatique Sur La Planification Familiale À L’Intention Des Journalistes Des Pays Du Partenariat De Ouagadougou Organisé Par Le Population Council Et Le Partenariat De Ouagadougou : Rapport D’Évaluation Du Concours, Fatou Mbow, Elh Bassirou Sow

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Guidelines For Costing Of Social And Behavior Change Health Interventions, James Rosen, Willyanne Decormier Plosky, Lori Bollinger

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

These Guidelines for Costing of Social and Behavior Change Health Interventions (SBC Costing Guidelines) provide a framework for estimating the cost of interventions for social and behavior change, which seek to change health behaviors by addressing factors such as knowledge, attitudes, and social norms.

Advancing Integrated Social And Behavior Change Programming, Breakthrough Research

Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Choices

In recent years, social and behavior change (SBC) programming has experienced a notable shift away from a vertical approach focusing on one health or development topic to integrated approaches concerning multiple health or development issues or outcomes under the same program. To help address important evidence gaps in SBC programming, Breakthrough RESEARCH worked with a range of SBC experts to generate a research and learning agenda that includes a core set of consensus-driven, prioritized implementation science questions. Implementation science research is well-suited to the challenges of SBC because it assesses interventions taking place in real-world contexts and factors in various …

Conocimiento, Actitudes Y Prácticas Sobre El Zika: Implicancias Programaticas Para La Prevencion Del Zika En Honduras, Breakthrough Research

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief provides key insights for implementers of social and behavior change activities for Zika prevention in Honduras, based on data from a representative sample of people living in selected USAID Zika program implementation communities, supporting an evidence-based approach to increase Zika and other Aedes aegypti-transmitted virus prevention behaviors.

Zika-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices: Programmatic Implications For Zika Prevention In Honduras, Breakthrough Research

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief provides key insights for implementers of social and behavior change activities for Zika prevention in Honduras, based on data from a representative sample of people living in selected USAID Zika program implementation communities, supporting an evidence-based approach to increase Zika and other Aedes aegypti-transmitted virus prevention behaviors.

Enhancing Respectful Maternal Care During Labor And Delivery, Breakthrough Research

Reproductive Health

This brief informs national ministries of Health, health system officials, staff and clients, implementing partners, and donors of innovative ways to improve women's experiences during labor and delivery. ideas42, in partnership with Safe Motherhood 360+ and the Chipata District Health Office in Zambia, under the Breakthrough RESEARCH project, used behavioral design to analyze contextual features and behavioral barriers to respectful maternal care in urban and rural health care settings. Behavioral design revealed new insights into why health care providers may not follow best practices for respectful maternal care, and resulted in a set of simple, adaptable low cost solutions to …

Family Planning And Youth In West Africa: Mass Media, Digital Media, And Social And Behavior Change Communication Strategies, Sarah Castle, Martha Silva

Reproductive Health

This review presents evidence about the impact of mass media and digital media on young people’s family planning attitudes and behaviors. It primarily focuses on the Ouagadougou Partnership countries, but also describes lessons from other initiatives implemented more widely in Africa and elsewhere. Due to the paucity of family planning evidence, the review also includes material from higher income countries where mass and digital media have been used in communication initiatives to prevent non-communicable diseases. In addition, it draws on studies from low- and middle income countries where such media have been used to create demand for maternal and child …

Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Spanish], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

La Caja de herramientas: Fortalecimiento de habilidades del Population Council ayuda a los profesionales, los encargados de formular políticas y los defensores a crear contenido personalizado, significativo y positivo para ayudar a subpoblaciones específicas de niñas. La caja de herramientas guía a los profesionales a través de una serie de pasos que deben tomarse para definir objetivos de sentido común: qué información, habilidad o activo físico (como una tarjeta de identificación) debe tener una niña en un entorno particular para una edad en particular. Este documento consta de las tarjetas de activos que forman parte de la Caja de herramientas: …

Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Swahili], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

[In Swahili] The Building Assets Toolkit is an approach for developing programs for specific segments of girls that will prepare them to better face the challenges of growing up. It will help program managers understand the needs of the girls in their community, engage stakeholders at different levels and with different viewpoints, and build concrete and meaningful programming for adolescent girls.

This document contains the Building Assets Toolkit’s Asset Cards (110), set of Age Cards (age 6 to 20), and Program Planning Worksheet (sample provided). The Age Cards are to be printed out and placed according to the instructions. The …

Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Portuguese], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

[In Portuguese] The Building Assets Toolkit is an approach for developing programs for specific segments of girls that will prepare them to better face the challenges of growing up. It will help program managers understand the needs of the girls in their community, engage stakeholders at different levels and with different viewpoints, and build concrete and meaningful programming for adolescent girls.

This document contains the Building Assets Toolkit’s Asset Cards (110), set of Age Cards (age 6 to 20), and Program Planning Worksheet (sample provided). The Age Cards are to be printed out and placed according to the instructions. The …

Engaging Men For Effective Family Planning Through Couple Communication: An Assessment Of Two Mcsp Couple Communication Approaches In Togo, Natacha Stevanovic-Fenn, Bethany Arnold, Sanyukta Mathur, Catherine Tier, Anne Pfitzer, Rebecka Lundgren

Reproductive Health

On behalf of Breakthrough RESEARCH, the Institute for Reproductive Health of Georgetown University, in collaboration with the Population Council, assessed two of three couple's communication approaches for family planning being implemented by Maternal and Child Survival Program in Togo’s Kloto district: in home couple's counseling (either individual in home counseling or with the couple together) and group discussions. IRH’s overall goal was to assess the benefits and feasibility of these two approaches as well as to determine which elements of each are best suited for roll-out on a broader scale. The two models—home-based couple counseling and group discussions—were implemented in …