The Drum Beat 801 - Positive Ups and Downs: Impact Research

• 1. 36.4 percentage points higher - Effectiveness of a Community-Level Social Mobilization Intervention in Achieving the Outcomes of Polio Vaccination Campaigns during the Post-Polio-Endemic Period: Evidence from CORE Group Polio Project in Uttar Pradesh, India
  by Manojkumar Choudhary, Roma Solomon, Jitendra Awale, Rina Dey, Jagajeet Prasad Singh, and William WeissAreas of Uttar Pradesh, India where the polio Social Mobilization Network (SM Net) continued its community-level SM (CLSM) intervention in the post-polio-endemic period had a significantly (p <0.01) higher level of community engagement (89.0%), by 18.2 percentage points, than non-intervention areas (70.8%). Mean booth (Supplementary Immunisation Activity - SIA) coverage of CLSM intervention areas was significantly higher (p <0.01) by 36.4 percentage points than that of non-Community Mobilization Coordinator (CMC) areas. The data indicate that the absence of CLSM intervention during the post-polio-endemic period would have negatively impacted the outcomes of polio SIAs. [Jul 2021]
   
• 2. Down 13.4% - Quality Improvement as a Framework for Behavior Change Interventions in HIV-Predisposed Communities: A Case of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Northern Uganda
  by Esther Karamagi, Simon Sensalire, Juliana Nabwire, et al.Developed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems (ASSIST) Project, this quality improvement (QI) for behaviour change model used community empowerment and other strategies to reach adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) at high risk of HIV infection in Uganda. Among the results: reduction in AGYW reporting multiple sexual partners from 16.6% at baseline to 3.2% at follow-up and transactional sex from 13.2% to 3.6%; reduction of the proportion of AGYW experiencing sexual and other forms of gender-based violence from 49% at baseline to 19.5% at follow-up; and decrease in those AGYW who kept silent about violence from 36% at baseline compared to 18% at follow-up. [Jan 2018]
   
• 3. Over 12 times as likely - Effects of Engaging Communities in Decision-Making and Action through Traditional and Religious Leaders on Vaccination Coverage in Cross River State, Nigeria: A Cluster-Randomised Control Trial
  by Angela Oyo-Ita, Xavier Bosch-Capblanch, Amanda Ross, Afiong Oku, et al.A multi-component intervention in Cross River State, Nigeria centring around traditional and religious leader training led to an increase in the proportion of children with at least one vaccine (odds ratio (OR) 12.13 95% confidence interval (CI) 6.03-24.41 p<0.001). It was also effective in improving timeliness of pentavalent 3 (OR 1.55; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.12; p = 0.005) and measles (OR 2.81; 96% CI: 1.93-4.1; p<0.001) vaccination. The odds of completing pentavalent vaccination increased (OR = 1.66 95% CI: 1.08,2.55). [Apr 2021]
   
• 4. 87-%-point difference - Efficacy of a Community-Based Participatory and Multilevel Intervention to Enhance Hepatitis B Virus Screening and Vaccination in Underserved Korean Americans
  by Grace X. Ma, Minsun M. Lee, Yin Tan, et al.An evaluation of a community-based participatory research approach to engage Korean-American church leaders in developing and conducting a culturally and linguistically appropriate intervention - where 16 churches were randomly assigned to the intervention condition, and 16 were assigned to a general cancer education control condition - found significant efficacy in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening rate (92.5% in the intervention group vs. 5.5% in the control group), 3-series HBV vaccination completion rate (84% in the intervention group vs. 17.6% in the control group), and overall screening and vaccination compliance rate (87% in the intervention group vs. 3.8% in the control group). [Nov 2017]
   
• 5. 21-%-point increase - Engaging Traditional Barbers to Identify and Refer Newborns for Routine Immunization Services in Sokoto, Nigeria: A Mixed Methods Evaluation
  by Leanne Dougherty, Masduk Abdulkarim, Aliyu Ahmed, Yakubu Cherima, Aliyu Ladan, Sale Abdu, Bello Kilgori, Folake Olayinka, et al.An intervention that engaged traditional barbers in Nigeria found that mothers who received a yellow referral card from a traditional barber were 2-3 times more likely to vaccinate their children with the 3 birth antigens. At baseline, approximately 18% of women in both the intervention and the comparison groups had knowledge about the need to immunise a newborn within the first week of life. At endline, this figure increased to 39% in the intervention group (a 21%-point increase), compared to 27% in the comparison group (a 9%-point increase). [Nov 2020]
   
• 6. Up 5 percentage points - Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the HERhealth Model for Improving Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Knowledge and Access of Female Garment Factory Workers in Bangladesh
  by Md. Irfan Hossain, Abdullah Al Mahmud, Ashish Bajracharya, Ubaidur Rob, and Laura ReichenbachAn intervention in Bangladesh to improve the health-related knowledge, behaviours, and access of low-income working women by strengthening factory clinics, engaging factory management in the issue of worker health, and training peer health educators found, for example, that, between baseline and endline, use of any family planning (FP) methods or any modern FP methods increased only among the workers in intervention factories (5 percentage points, from 65% to 72%, for any FP method, and 5 percentage points, from 56% to 61%, for any modern FP method). A significant decrease among workers from control factories in use of any FP method (3 percentage points; from 70% to 67%) and any modern FP method (6 percentage points; from 61% to 55%) suggests that the positive outcomes observed at intervention factories may be attributable to the HERhealth intervention. [Sep 2017]
   

• 7. Up 13% - Stemming Learning Loss During the Pandemic: A Rapid Randomized Trial of a Low-Tech Intervention in Botswana
  by Noam Angrist, Peter Bergman, Caton Brewster, and Moitshepi MatshengDuring COVID-19-related school closures in Botswana, and after a 4-week low-tech intervention by Young 1ove, students in households that received weekly text messages with math problems showed a 13% improvement on learning outcomes (a 0.16 standard deviation increase in scores from an average of 1.73 in the comparison group). Students who received additional support through phone calls experienced a 24% increase in their learning outcomes (a 0.29 standard deviation increase). This translates into a reduction in innumeracy of 34% among the SMS-only group, and 52% for the SMS + phone calls group (19% and 14% of students were innumerate in the 2 groups after the evaluation, respectively, compared to 29% in the comparison group). [Aug 2020]
   
• 8. 12.2 percentage points higher - A Mixed-Methods Evaluation to Determine the Effects of a Novel mHealth Platform for Maternal Child Health Tracking in Rural Udaipur, India
  by Ruchit Nagar, Mohammad Sarparajul Ambiya, Pawan Singh, et al.An evaluation of an intervention featuring the wearable, culturally-symbolic, near-field-communication-based Khushi Baby (KB) pendant - along with the KB application (app) and dashboard, voice call reminders, field monitors, and WhatsApp groups - found that the unadjusted difference-in-difference in full infant immunisation was 12.2 percentage points higher in the treatment arm. After adjusting for confounders and effects of clustering, mothers randomised to sub-centres that received the KB intervention were 1.66 times more likely to report full infant immunisation at the endline than those mothers randomised to control sub-centres. [Jun 2020]
   
• 9. Down 20% - Messages on COVID-19 Prevention in India Increased Symptoms Reporting and Adherence to Preventative Behaviors Among 25 Million Recipients with Similar Effects on Non-recipient Members of Their Communities
  by Abhijit Banerjee, Marcella Alsan, Emily Breza, Arun Chandrasekhar, Abhijit Chowdhury, Esther Duflo, et al.In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a text messaging campaign with a link to a short video clip instructing individuals with cough and fever to contact their local community health workers (Accredited Social Health Activists - ASHAs) doubled the reporting of health symptoms to the ASHAs (p = 0.001 for fever, p = 0.024 for respiratory symptoms). It also: decreased travel beyond one's village in the previous 2 days by 20% (p = 0.026) (on a basis of 37% in control), increased estimated hand-washing when returning home by 7% (p = 0.044) (on a basis of 67.5% in control), and spilled over to behaviours, such as mask-wearing, not mentioned in the message. [Jun 2020]
   
• 10. Up 38% - Efficacy of a Digital Health Tool on Contraceptive Ideation and Use in Nigeria: Results of a Cluster-Randomized Control Trial
  by Stella Babalola, Caitlin Loehr, Olamide Oyenubi, et al.A cluster-randomised control trial that assessed the effects of exposure to the Smart Client digital tool on contraceptive ideation and use among women of reproductive age in Kaduna City, Nigeria, found, for example, that, between pre-study and post-study, the proportion of participants confident in their ability to discuss concerns about contraceptive methods with a provider increased significantly in the intervention group (from 35.5% to 73.6%), whereas it declined dramatically in the control group (from 59.5% to 36.1%). While the use of modern contraceptive methods increased in the intervention groups (from 28.8% at pre-study to 63.6% at post-study), it remained at the same level in the control group (32.7%) at both time points. [Jun 2019]
   

• 11. Up 20% - The Media or the Message? Experimental Evidence on Mass Media and Modern Contraception Uptake in Burkina Faso
  by Rachel Glennerster, Joanna Murray, and Victor PouliquenA 2.5-year behaviour change communication (radio) campaign implemented by Development Media International (DMI) in Burkina Faso led to a 20% increase in modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) in intervention areas compared to controls. Modern contraceptive use rose 5.9 percentage points (p=0.046) in campaign areas and 5.8 percentage points (p=0.030) among those given radios in campaign areas. Assuming a constant trend, it would take 2.5 years for the control group to catch up with the treatment group. The intervention therefore approximately doubled the speed at which mCPR increased. Births fell 10%. [Mar 2021]
   
• 12. Down 6% - Cleaner, Happier, Healthier: Sesame Workshop's Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Intervention among Low-Income Groups in Bangladesh and India
  by Abigail R. Bickford, June Lee, and Dina L.G. BorzekowskiA pilot intervention of Sesame Workshop's "Cleaner, Healthier, Happier" multimedia health communication approach promoting water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours among vulnerable children and their families in impoverished areas of Sylhet, Bangladesh and Kolkata, India found, for example, that the percentage of children who defaecated in the open at home decreased from before to after the intervention (in Bangladesh 48.3 to 42.1%; in India 3.9 to 0.9%). In the linear regression models for Bangladesh, the intervention was a significant predictor for change in the frequency of children washing their hands immediately after defaecation and frequency of soap use by children after defaecation. [Dec 2017]
   
• 13. Up 20% - An Integrated Approach to Strategic Communication and Condom Social Marketing to Address the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Papua New Guinea
  by Tahir Turk, Clement Malau, and Andrew RoseThe national HIV/AIDS behaviour change and social marketing campaigns carried out as part of the Papua New Guinea National HIV/AIDS Support Project led to: a significant increase (over 20%) in awareness of HIV/AIDS as the most important health issue in PNG; a significant rise in awareness from all media sources of HIV/AIDS issues; a significant rise in knowledge on partner reduction, abstinence, and condom use as protective responses; a significant rise in knowledge of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and infection status; a significant rise in negative attitudes towards skin piercing, sharing of sharps, and alcohol- and drug-related risk; a significant rise in attitudes towards condom efficacy; a significant rise in behavioural intentions towards protective behaviours; and a significant rise in condom use (protective behaviours). [Jul 2017]
   
• 14. 1.4 times more likely - A Radio Show for Apes? Supporting Ape Conservation through an Integrated Human Behavior, Health and Environment Serial Drama
  by Kriss BarkerPopulation Media Center's 156-episode Swahili-language radio serial drama Pambazuko ("New Dawn"), broadcast in the Democratic Republic of Congo, led to changes such as 51% of listeners vs. 41% of non-listeners saying they were currently doing something to delay or avoid a pregnancy (differences are statistically significant, p<.003), and 56% of listeners vs. 45% of non-listeners stating they strongly agree with the statement "Having a small family size will have less impact on the environment" (differences are statistically significant, p<.001). Listeners were 1.4 times more likely than non-listeners to say both of these things, controlling for sex, age, number of children, marital status, education, residence, and religion. [Apr 2018]
   

• * Impact Examples: Child Health Communication Programming
  
• * Impact Examples: Democracy and Governance Communication Programming
  
• * Impact Examples: Media Development Programming
  
• * Impact Examples: Girls' and Women's Empowerment
  
• * Impact Examples: Early Child Development Communication Programming
  
• * Impact Examples: ICT4D Programming
  
• * Impact Examples: HIV/AIDS Communication Programming
  
• * Impact Examples: Polio Communication Programming
  
• * Impact Examples: Natural Resource Management (NRM) Communication Programming
  

PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY

What kinds of challenges and opportunities infuse your communication and media development, social and behavioural change work? This survey is a chance for you to let us know! We will report back on results and trends so you can gain insights from your peers in the network.
Click here to lend your voice.