Communication for health and behavior change : a developing country perspective

Based on the pioneering work of HealthCom, a fifteen-year, twenty-country project funded by USAID, this book builds on a practical, five-step model for communication that promotes change in existing behaviours and supports health practices essential to child survival. By applying behaviour analysis theory to the communication process, the authors show how understanding social and environmental contexts can significantly help health communicators in developing effective communication strategies. They demonstrate how to use basic behavioural principles and techniques to determine the environment-behaviour relationships within a given population that support or inhibit sound health practices; to identify where change is most needed and feasible; and to select the most appropriate channels for communication. Numerous examples are provided from field experience in developing countries covering topics such as immunization, diarrhoeal disease control, and water and sanitation programmes. These examples are used to provide a step-by-step guidance in applying theory to practice and provide hands-on, adaptive tools for teaching mothers, health workers, and other caregivers. The book details techniques for monitoring the learning and adoption of new behaviours - including direct observation, products recording, and self-monitoring - and reveals how behaviours can be reinforced through constructive and specific feedback to maintain them over the long term. The book finishes with a "Communication Toolbox" resource which aims to provide readers with many of the instruments described in the text. These are mainly in the form of checklists.