Type of Material: Case Study

View Resource

More Trending Topic COVID-19 Materials for the Public Resources

Reaching Communities in Chad with COVID-19 Safety Messages

This case study relates how communities in Chad are carrying out SBC for COVID-19, especially considering the crowded conditions in which much of the population lives. By using community members, the messaging has gotten out.

Village chiefs, neighbourhood leaders and health workers have volunteered to be part of Chad’s door-to-door campaigns to sensitize the public. They are mostly members of the communities they are reaching out to. In a country where most people live communally, it is a challenge to enforce physical distancing.

Source: World Health Organization

Date of Publication: June 29, 2020

SIMILIAR RESOURCES

Tools

Examples

Regions/Countries

Primary Audience(s)

Channel(s) of Communication

Intervention Level(s)

Language

Topic Areas

Share this Article





View Resource

More Trending Topic Behavioral Science and Family Planning Resources

Improving Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health in Senegal

Together, IntraHealth International and the Ministry of Health and Social Action in Senegal, as part of the Neema project which aims to improve health for women and children in Senegal by strengthening health services and making them accessible to more people, we identified behavioral barriers to using contraception and designed solutions to help young people make active decisions about their sexual health.

They conducted a literature review, observed nine health facilities, conducted 80 individual interviews with youth, their parents, and health workers, and conducted 11 focus groups with youth in order to identify behavioral barriers to the use of modern contraception among youth (ages 15-24).

The researchers found that young people do not form an intention to use modern methods of contraception because they:

• Believe they are protected by traditional methods

• Are overconfident in their ability to abstain

• View contraceptive users in a negative light

• Overestimate the social and health costs while underestimating the benefits of contraception

• Have a limited choice set We also found that even youth who intend to use modern methods confront barriers to follow-through, including the social risks of access (stigma) and the challenge of planning ahead for every sexual encounter.

Drawing from these insights, the team designed the Wellness Checkup, a free, private conversation with a nurse or midwife at a local health facility.

Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, Ideas42

Date of Publication: June 23, 2020

SIMILIAR RESOURCES

Tools

Examples

Regions/Countries

Primary Audience(s)

Channel(s) of Communication

Intervention Level(s)

Language

Topic Areas

Share this Article





View Resource

More Trending Topic Behavioral Science and Family Planning Resources

Integrated Family Planning and Immunization Services in Senegal

While many Senegalese mothers visit health facilities to immunize their newborns, far fewer discuss family planning options with a health worker. Integrating family planning counseling into immunization services is a promising practice to address reproductive health needs in the extended postpartum period. A project supported by Ideas42 and IntraHealth developed a behaviorally informed model that integrates these two services to help more women access the family planning option that is right for them.

Their behavioral diagnosis on the obstacles to discussing FP during immunizations days identified barriers to integration for both health workers and clients:

  • Health workers have a narrow view of the purpose of “immunization days” that leads them to prioritize immunizations over other postpartum services. At the same time, they receive no cues to help them remember to discuss FP during this vital moment.
  • Clients may not yet have considered a need for FP, instead perceiving that events outside their control will decide if they have closely spaced births, or that FP is only for women who have finished having all their children.

The team developed a model of integrated service delivery that supports health workers in providing new mothers with balanced counseling on immunization, nutrition, and birth spacing. Through multiple pilot tests, they found that this model led to promising signs of changes in client and provider behavior consistent with effective integration of family planning and immunization services.

French version here

Source: IntraHealth, Ideas42

Date of Publication: June 23, 2020

SIMILIAR RESOURCES

Tools

Examples

Regions/Countries

Primary Audience(s)

Channel(s) of Communication

Intervention Level(s)

Language

Topic Areas

Share this Article





View Resource

More Trending Topic Behavioral Science and Family Planning Resources

Encouraging Counseling that Promotes Meaningful Choice: Behavioral Design for Provider Behavior Change in Family Planning Services in Malawi

The project conducted formative research to systematically define a behavioral problem, drawing from health facility observations, interviews with key stakeholders, and discussions with partners. These insights led Breakthrough ACTION to develop the following behavioral problem statement: Providers do not counsel postpartum women on the full range of contraceptive methods in a way that women internalize. We want providers to consistently provide comprehensive FP counseling that resonates with their clients.

The problem statement is based on the formative research which found that:

  • Providers often fail to offer FP counseling that clearly conveys the advantages and disadvantages of all methods in a way that supports a meaningful, informed choice
  • Women receiving counseling reported feeling uncertain about whether a method is suitable for their unique FP needs

The team developed seven “diagnoses” regarding the problem statement and these diagnoses provided insights into how to support providers in offering FP counseling in a way that promotes meaningful client choice. Five solutions were developed in order to expand the range of interactions in which counseling might occur and to encourage providers to counsel on all methods and account for individual client preferences.

Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, Ideas42

Date of Publication: June 23, 2020

SIMILIAR RESOURCES

Tools

Examples

Regions/Countries

Primary Audience(s)

Channel(s) of Communication

Intervention Level(s)

Language

Topic Areas

Share this Article





View Resource

More Trending Topic Behavioral Science and Family Planning Resources

Judging the Nudge: Applying Behavioral Economics to Promote Post-Abortion Family Planning in Nepal

Studies show that half of all pregnancies in Nepal are unintended, and almost half of these are with women using some sort of contraception. Women attending MSI clinics in the country say they want to delay their next pregnancy but contraception use after abortion has remained low.

The study team involved in this project wanted to see if they could boost the uptake of more reliable, longer-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods among this client group. They collaborated with ideas42 to help develop an intervention based on behavioral economics, which focuses on understanding why people choose and act as they do – and then designing small ‘nudges’ to effect change.

Initial interviews and observations revealed that providers did not consistently counsel women on LARCs after abortion, missing opportunities to increase uptake. Evidence from other areas suggests campaigns around awareness and client-centered counseling can help boost LARC uptake rates. Focusing on provider-side behavior, they designed and evaluated the effectiveness of a clinic peer-performance comparison through a step-wedged cluster randomized controlled trial. This involved sending monthly posters to each clinic highlighting LARC uptake rates and how well they were doing compared to similar clinics.

By the end of the trial period, overall LARC uptake increased from 23% to 30%, mostly reflecting a shift away from short-term methods.

Source: Marie Stopes International

Date of Publication: June 23, 2020

SIMILIAR RESOURCES

Tools

Examples

Regions/Countries

Primary Audience(s)

Channel(s) of Communication

Intervention Level(s)

Topic Areas

Share this Article





View Resource

More Trending Topic Reaching Young Couples & First Time Parents Resources

Reaching Young Women and First-Time Moms with Friendly, Lifesaving Services in Madagascar

This article describes a project in Madagascar to reach first time young parents.

With funding from the United States Agency for International Development’s flagship Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP), in partnership with several ministries led by the Ministry of Health such as Education, Communication, Youth, and Population, MCSP launched Tanora Mitsinjo Taranaka (Young people looking after their legacy”) or TMT. Building on MCSP’s success in increasing access to family planning services in Madagascar, the initiative is designed to reach first-time, young parents, both mothers and fathers, in Morondava and Miandrivazo districts in Menabe region, and those who influence them.

Since TMT started in May 2017, the initiative has empowered 75 community health workers and 32 health providers with skills and confidence to provide friendly adolescent sexual and reproductive health services and to encourage first-time parents to use those services

Source: MCS Program

Date of Publication: June 10, 2020

SIMILIAR RESOURCES

Tools

Examples

Regions/Countries

Primary Audience(s)

Channel(s) of Communication

Intervention Level(s)

Language

Topic Areas

Share this Article





View Resource

More Country Focus: Malawi Resources

Date of Publication: May 26, 2020

Share this Article





View Resource

More Trending Topic Reaching Young Couples & First Time Parents Resources

REAL Fathers Initiative

The primary objective of the Responsible, Engaged and Loving (REAL) Fathers Initiative is to develop and test a set of interventions to reduce intimate partner violence and harsh punishment of children among young fathers (ages 16-25) in post-conflict northern Uganda.

The pilot project involved fathers between the ages of 16 and 25 years who are parenting a child between the ages of one and three years old. The scale-up project’s goal was to test a model for scale up of the successful pilot through economic strengthening, child care and development programming integration.

Fact Sheet about the Pilot Initiative

Fact Sheet about the Scale-Up

Source: Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University

Date of Publication: May 14, 2020

SIMILIAR RESOURCES

Tools

Examples

Regions/Countries

Primary Audience(s)

Channel(s) of Communication

Intervention Level(s)

Language

Topic Areas

Share this Article





View Resource

More Breakthrough ACTION and RESEARCH Resources on Zika Resources

Empowering Communities to Fight Zika: Capacity Strengthening During the Zika Outbreak Response

This success story outlines the role of Breakthrough ACTION’s capacity-strengthening activities as well as the importance of enhancing interpersonal communication skills of frontline workers to improve household uptake of Zika prevention behaviors.

Household visits by frontline community workers were a cornerstone activity in the USAID-funded Zika response, which provided a unique communication opportunity between families and community workers. This document also highlights several useful resources created under the Breakthrough ACTION project, including a job aid to support frontline workers, a training of trainers guide on interpersonal successes, and lessons learned for USAID and partners in future outbreak responses.

Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Date of Publication: April 13, 2020

SIMILIAR RESOURCES

Tools

Examples

Regions/Countries

Primary Audience(s)

Channel(s) of Communication

Intervention Level(s)

Language

Topic Areas

Share this Article





View Resource

More Breakthrough ACTION and RESEARCH Resources on Zika Resources

Reinventing Water Storage in Jamaica: A Human-Centered Design Approach to Zika Prevention

This success story highlights Breakthrough ACTION’S experiences implementing a human-centered design (HCD) approach to identify improved behavioral and structural solutions for Zika prevention.

The document includes information regarding the HCD process, final prototypes, and the importance of a community-driven social and behavior change (SBC) programs, which can inform USAID and SBC partners in future public health emergencies.

Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Date of Publication: April 13, 2020

SIMILIAR RESOURCES

Tools

Examples

Regions/Countries

Primary Audience(s)

Channel(s) of Communication

Intervention Level(s)

Language

Topic Areas

Share this Article