April 25 marks World Malaria Day, a time for people around the globe to mobilize around the theme “Invest in the Future: Defeat Malaria.”
Increased investment in malaria prevention and treatment has helped drop the global burden from malaria disease – contributing to a 30 percent reduction in malaria incidence and a 47 percent reduction in malaria mortality since 2000. Investment in malaria social and behavior change communication (SBCC) has also contributed to this success, as malaria SBCC activities are shown to improve the awareness, attitudes, and behaviors of its target audiences.
SBCC works best when it is targeted, theory-driven and designed with the local culture and context in mind. Formative research, often in the form of household surveys, is key to providing health communication practitioners and decision-makers with the information needed to tailor programs and policies to a population’s specific needs. Household surveys can also be used to analyze the reach or impact of an SBCC campaign, as well as identify larger national and global trends over time. The results of household surveys are important for establishing the impact of malaria SBCC programs, and should be disseminated in a way that is accessible to decision-makers. This will ensure that programs are informed by research and that resources are invested in evidence-based strategies.
This Trending Topic provides tools for conducting household surveys and a selection of surveys used in actual project work. We hope that you will be able to refer to these resources in your own project work, and invite you to send your own materials to add to this collection. [To submit materials, simply register and then contribute your resources].