This article reconstructed the history of this Peruvian telenovela entitled "Simplemente Mar... more This article reconstructed the history of this Peruvian telenovela entitled "Simplemente Maria" and identified reasons for its tremendous audience popularity. The high ratings achieved by "Simplemente Maria" and its impacts on such behavior changes as enrollment in literacy classes were due to its outstanding production team its excellent Latin American actors the timing of its broadcasts viewers identification with the telenovelas main characters and the high degree of parasocial interaction between viewers and characters the social viewing context of the telenovela its novelty effect the multimedia audience exposure to the telenovela and the trans-Latin American nature of the plot setting themes and characters. This telenovela blurred the boundary between fantasy and reality in various ways so many viewers perceived events in the soap opera (like Marias marriage to Esteban) as occurring in real life. Such mistaking of fiction for fact offers one explanation of how the telenovela was able to cause such "educational" effects as increased enrollment in adult literacy classes and sewing classes the jump in sales of Singer sewing machines. One of "Simplemente Marias" most important consequences was formulation of the entertainment-education strategy through which educational content was inserted in such entertainment message as television and radio soap operas popular music films and comic books.
This valuable resource offers a wealth of practical and conceptual guidance to all those engaged ... more This valuable resource offers a wealth of practical and conceptual guidance to all those engaged in struggles for social justice around the world. It explains in accessible language and painstaking detail how to deploy and to understand the tools of media and communication in advancing the goals of social, cultural, and political change.
Commons: Revista de Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital, 2017
UNICEF y el Gobierno de Montenegro implementaron la estrategia de comunicación "Se trata de la ha... more UNICEF y el Gobierno de Montenegro implementaron la estrategia de comunicación "Se trata de la habilidad" para desafiar las prácticas existentes y excluyentes y promover nuevas normas sociales inclusivas para los niños con discapacidad. Basándose en los principios de la comunicación para el desarrollo y las normas sociales, una campaña nacional del 2010-2013 movilizó a las ONG de derechos de las personas con discapacidad, asociaciones de padres, los medios de comunicación y el sector privado para estimular las actitudes y prácticas inclusivas hacia los niños con discapacidades. Como resultado, el porcentaje de ciudadanos que encuentran aceptable para un niño con discapacidad asistir a la misma clase que los suyos aumentó de un 35%, antes de la campaña, a un 80% al final de la misma. Del mismo modo, el porcentaje de ciudadanos montenegrinos que encuentran aceptable que un niño con discapacidad pueda ser el mejor amigo de sus hijos incrementó de un 22% anterior a la campaña a un 51% al final de la misma. La campaña fue participativa, centrada en el público y guiada por los principios clave de planificación de la comunicación. Resumen UNICEF and the Government of Montenegro implemented a communication strategy "It's about ability" to challenge the existing, exclusionary practices and promote new, inclusive social norms for children with disability. Drawing on communication for development principles and social norms theory, a 2010-2013 nationwide campaign mobilized disability rights NGOs, parents associations, media and private sector to stimulate inclusive attitudes and practices towards children with disabilities. As a result, the percentage of citizens who find it acceptable for a child with disability to attend the same class with theirs increased from 35 before the campaign to 80 percent at the end of it. Similarly, the percentage of Montenegrin citizens who find it acceptable for a child with disability to be the best friend of their child increased from 22 before the campaign to 51 percent at the end of it. The campaign was participatory, audience-centred and guided by the key communication planning principles.
The growing emphasis on collective action raises new questions for research and practice in commu... more The growing emphasis on collective action raises new questions for research and practice in communication for development and social change. What actors drive processes of collective action? What are the communication features of their interventions? What type of social change processes do they enhance? What evidence demonstrates the impact of collective action processes? What theoretical frameworks inform our understanding of collective action and social change? What is the role of communication scholarship in this context? In this article, we address these questions, review the contexts of contemporary transformation and key debates in communication for development and social change, and propose a research agenda for an interdisciplinary field of inquiry.
Bulletin of The World Health Organization, Aug 1, 2009
Since 1988, the world has come very close to eradicating polio through the Global Polio Eradicati... more Since 1988, the world has come very close to eradicating polio through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, in which communication interventions have played a consistently central role. Mass media and information dissemination approaches used in immunization efforts worldwide have contributed to this success. However, reaching the hardest-to-reach, the poorest, the most marginalized and those without access to health services has been challenging. In the last push to eradicate polio, Polio Eradication Initiative communication strategies have become increasingly research-driven and innovative, particularly through the introduction of sustained interpersonal communication and social mobilization approaches to reach unreached populations. This review examines polio communication efforts in India and Pakistan between the years 2000 and 2007. It shows how epidemiological, social and behavioural data guide communication strategies that have contributed to increased levels of polio immunity, particularly among underserved and hard-to-reach populations. It illustrates how evidence-based and planned communication strategies-such as sustained media campaigns, intensive community and social mobilization, interpersonal communication and political and national advocacy combined-have contributed to reducing polio incidence in these countries. Findings show that communication strategies have contributed on several levels by: mobilizing social networks and leaders; creating political will; increasing knowledge; ensuring individual and community-level demand; overcoming gender barriers and resistance to vaccination; and reaching out to the poorest and marginalized populations. The review concludes with observations about the added value of communication strategies in polio eradication efforts and implications for global and local public health communication interventions. Une traduction en français de ce résumé figure à la fin de l'article. Al final del artículo se facilita una traducción al español. املقالة. لهذه الكامل النص نهاية يف الخالصة لهذه العربية الرتجمة
Immunization is a global success story. It has saved millions of lives and prevented disease worl... more Immunization is a global success story. It has saved millions of lives and prevented disease worldwide and millions more have been spared the permanent disabilities caused by diseases such as polio and the long-term morbidity caused by other diseases such as measles. Despite the compelling evidence of the public health and economic value of vaccines, vaccine hesitancy has become a growing concern globally. By calling into question the safety and efficacy of vaccines, vaccine hesitancy threatens the progress made in combating morbidity and mortality including efforts to introduce COVID-19 vaccines. This paper a) examines key factors that drive limited demand for vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, (b) highlights the role of demand promotion for immunization and of risk communication and community engagement to address those challenges, (c) discusses vaccine demand and hesitancy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and (d) makes recommendations for public health policy and programming for the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine and beyond. Recommendations include strengthen social listening and digital engagement to address the concerns of caregivers and healthcare professionals, improve the availability and use of social data for evidence-based programming, reinforce public trust in health institutions and service providers, mainstream demand for immunization, strengthen the communication competencies of health service providers, test and apply solutions based on behavioral insights to reinforce demand, engage regularly with local governments and local actors, and strengthen resilience and response capacities for diseases outbreaks and public health emergencies.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a complex harmful traditional practice associated with prevale... more Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a complex harmful traditional practice associated with prevalent social norms. Yet, there is a lack of social norms focused conceptual and measurement frameworks to assess the impact of social and behavior change communication-based interventions toward ending the practice of FGM. This manuscript describes the development of an evidence-based macro framework to measure FGM behavior and social norms change over time. ACT is an acronym for the different sections of the framework: (1) Assess What People Know, Feel, and Do; (2) Ascertain Normative Factors; (3) Consider the Context, Especially Gender and Power; (4) Collect Information on Social Networks and Support; (5) Track Individual and Social Change Over Time; and (6) Triangulate All Data Analysis. ACT takes a social-ecological perspective to change and was constructed using various social norms theories, both in general and specific to FGM. Subsequently, meetings were held with social norms and FGM field experts across the world to further refine the framework. The ACT framework includes a menu of constructs, indicators, methods, and tools that can be adapted according to available resources, the local context, and research limitations. Both qualitative and participatory quantitative methods are described. Descriptions of the steps necessary to measure social norms change with regard to FGM through monitoring and evaluation are included. The ACT framework allows for change to be directly linked to the communication approaches used by interventions through attribution and contribution using indicators to measure outputs, short-term outcomes, and exposure. Triangulation is built into the ACT framework to facilitate validation, enrichment, and holistic interpretation of data, as well as creating a feedback loop. ACT is currently being validated in two countries in Africa in which FGM is practiced to different extents. Next steps are discussed.
A national integrated polio, measles, and deworming campaign was implemented across Liberia May 8... more A national integrated polio, measles, and deworming campaign was implemented across Liberia May 8-14, 2015. The community engagement and social mobilization component of the campaign was based on structures that had been invested in during the Ebola response. This article provides an overview of the community engagement and social mobilization activities that were conducted and reports the key findings of a rapid qualitative assessment conducted immediately after the campaign that focused on community perceptions of routine immunization in the post-Ebola context. Focus group discussions and interviews were conducted across four counties in Liberia (Montserrado, Nimba, Bong, and Margibi). Thematic analysis identified the barriers preventing and drivers leading to the utilization of routine immunization. Community members also made recommendations and forwarded community-based solutions to encourage engagement with future health interventions, including uptake in vaccination campaigns. These should be incorporated in the development and implementation of future interventions and programs. The first confirmed case of Ebola virus disease in Liberia was in March 2014. During the outbreak, which peaked in September 2014, there were 10,675 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases (including 378 cases among health workers) and 4,809 confirmed deaths (including 192 health workers). 1 The World Health Organization declared Liberia Ebola free on May 9, 2015, and then again on September 3, 2015 (42 days after the second negative test of the laboratory-confirmed case on July 22, 2015); however, in November 2015 three new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease were reported, and at the time of writing, the response to stop further transmission was ongoing. In Liberia, as in the other most affected countries in West Africa, the Ebola epidemic led to a disruption in essential health services and resulted in low coverage of routine immunization (see Figure 1). Measles is one of the leading causes of death among children younger than 5 years of age, and compared to other vaccinepreventable diseases is particularly contagious and associated with significant mortality. Two Periodic Intensification of Routine Immunizations (PIRI) campaigns failed to raise coverage to the pre-Ebola level of 89% (in 2013). The first PIRI in December 2014 had an average coverage rate of 20%, and the second in February 2015 achieved 30%, leaving many children at risk (see Figure 2). By May 2015, 562 measles cases had been reported in 10 of Liberia's 15 counties (
This article reconstructed the history of this Peruvian telenovela entitled "Simplemente Mar... more This article reconstructed the history of this Peruvian telenovela entitled "Simplemente Maria" and identified reasons for its tremendous audience popularity. The high ratings achieved by "Simplemente Maria" and its impacts on such behavior changes as enrollment in literacy classes were due to its outstanding production team its excellent Latin American actors the timing of its broadcasts viewers identification with the telenovelas main characters and the high degree of parasocial interaction between viewers and characters the social viewing context of the telenovela its novelty effect the multimedia audience exposure to the telenovela and the trans-Latin American nature of the plot setting themes and characters. This telenovela blurred the boundary between fantasy and reality in various ways so many viewers perceived events in the soap opera (like Marias marriage to Esteban) as occurring in real life. Such mistaking of fiction for fact offers one explanation of how the telenovela was able to cause such "educational" effects as increased enrollment in adult literacy classes and sewing classes the jump in sales of Singer sewing machines. One of "Simplemente Marias" most important consequences was formulation of the entertainment-education strategy through which educational content was inserted in such entertainment message as television and radio soap operas popular music films and comic books.
This valuable resource offers a wealth of practical and conceptual guidance to all those engaged ... more This valuable resource offers a wealth of practical and conceptual guidance to all those engaged in struggles for social justice around the world. It explains in accessible language and painstaking detail how to deploy and to understand the tools of media and communication in advancing the goals of social, cultural, and political change.
Commons: Revista de Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital, 2017
UNICEF y el Gobierno de Montenegro implementaron la estrategia de comunicación "Se trata de la ha... more UNICEF y el Gobierno de Montenegro implementaron la estrategia de comunicación "Se trata de la habilidad" para desafiar las prácticas existentes y excluyentes y promover nuevas normas sociales inclusivas para los niños con discapacidad. Basándose en los principios de la comunicación para el desarrollo y las normas sociales, una campaña nacional del 2010-2013 movilizó a las ONG de derechos de las personas con discapacidad, asociaciones de padres, los medios de comunicación y el sector privado para estimular las actitudes y prácticas inclusivas hacia los niños con discapacidades. Como resultado, el porcentaje de ciudadanos que encuentran aceptable para un niño con discapacidad asistir a la misma clase que los suyos aumentó de un 35%, antes de la campaña, a un 80% al final de la misma. Del mismo modo, el porcentaje de ciudadanos montenegrinos que encuentran aceptable que un niño con discapacidad pueda ser el mejor amigo de sus hijos incrementó de un 22% anterior a la campaña a un 51% al final de la misma. La campaña fue participativa, centrada en el público y guiada por los principios clave de planificación de la comunicación. Resumen UNICEF and the Government of Montenegro implemented a communication strategy "It's about ability" to challenge the existing, exclusionary practices and promote new, inclusive social norms for children with disability. Drawing on communication for development principles and social norms theory, a 2010-2013 nationwide campaign mobilized disability rights NGOs, parents associations, media and private sector to stimulate inclusive attitudes and practices towards children with disabilities. As a result, the percentage of citizens who find it acceptable for a child with disability to attend the same class with theirs increased from 35 before the campaign to 80 percent at the end of it. Similarly, the percentage of Montenegrin citizens who find it acceptable for a child with disability to be the best friend of their child increased from 22 before the campaign to 51 percent at the end of it. The campaign was participatory, audience-centred and guided by the key communication planning principles.
The growing emphasis on collective action raises new questions for research and practice in commu... more The growing emphasis on collective action raises new questions for research and practice in communication for development and social change. What actors drive processes of collective action? What are the communication features of their interventions? What type of social change processes do they enhance? What evidence demonstrates the impact of collective action processes? What theoretical frameworks inform our understanding of collective action and social change? What is the role of communication scholarship in this context? In this article, we address these questions, review the contexts of contemporary transformation and key debates in communication for development and social change, and propose a research agenda for an interdisciplinary field of inquiry.
Bulletin of The World Health Organization, Aug 1, 2009
Since 1988, the world has come very close to eradicating polio through the Global Polio Eradicati... more Since 1988, the world has come very close to eradicating polio through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, in which communication interventions have played a consistently central role. Mass media and information dissemination approaches used in immunization efforts worldwide have contributed to this success. However, reaching the hardest-to-reach, the poorest, the most marginalized and those without access to health services has been challenging. In the last push to eradicate polio, Polio Eradication Initiative communication strategies have become increasingly research-driven and innovative, particularly through the introduction of sustained interpersonal communication and social mobilization approaches to reach unreached populations. This review examines polio communication efforts in India and Pakistan between the years 2000 and 2007. It shows how epidemiological, social and behavioural data guide communication strategies that have contributed to increased levels of polio immunity, particularly among underserved and hard-to-reach populations. It illustrates how evidence-based and planned communication strategies-such as sustained media campaigns, intensive community and social mobilization, interpersonal communication and political and national advocacy combined-have contributed to reducing polio incidence in these countries. Findings show that communication strategies have contributed on several levels by: mobilizing social networks and leaders; creating political will; increasing knowledge; ensuring individual and community-level demand; overcoming gender barriers and resistance to vaccination; and reaching out to the poorest and marginalized populations. The review concludes with observations about the added value of communication strategies in polio eradication efforts and implications for global and local public health communication interventions. Une traduction en français de ce résumé figure à la fin de l'article. Al final del artículo se facilita una traducción al español. املقالة. لهذه الكامل النص نهاية يف الخالصة لهذه العربية الرتجمة
Immunization is a global success story. It has saved millions of lives and prevented disease worl... more Immunization is a global success story. It has saved millions of lives and prevented disease worldwide and millions more have been spared the permanent disabilities caused by diseases such as polio and the long-term morbidity caused by other diseases such as measles. Despite the compelling evidence of the public health and economic value of vaccines, vaccine hesitancy has become a growing concern globally. By calling into question the safety and efficacy of vaccines, vaccine hesitancy threatens the progress made in combating morbidity and mortality including efforts to introduce COVID-19 vaccines. This paper a) examines key factors that drive limited demand for vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, (b) highlights the role of demand promotion for immunization and of risk communication and community engagement to address those challenges, (c) discusses vaccine demand and hesitancy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and (d) makes recommendations for public health policy and programming for the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine and beyond. Recommendations include strengthen social listening and digital engagement to address the concerns of caregivers and healthcare professionals, improve the availability and use of social data for evidence-based programming, reinforce public trust in health institutions and service providers, mainstream demand for immunization, strengthen the communication competencies of health service providers, test and apply solutions based on behavioral insights to reinforce demand, engage regularly with local governments and local actors, and strengthen resilience and response capacities for diseases outbreaks and public health emergencies.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a complex harmful traditional practice associated with prevale... more Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a complex harmful traditional practice associated with prevalent social norms. Yet, there is a lack of social norms focused conceptual and measurement frameworks to assess the impact of social and behavior change communication-based interventions toward ending the practice of FGM. This manuscript describes the development of an evidence-based macro framework to measure FGM behavior and social norms change over time. ACT is an acronym for the different sections of the framework: (1) Assess What People Know, Feel, and Do; (2) Ascertain Normative Factors; (3) Consider the Context, Especially Gender and Power; (4) Collect Information on Social Networks and Support; (5) Track Individual and Social Change Over Time; and (6) Triangulate All Data Analysis. ACT takes a social-ecological perspective to change and was constructed using various social norms theories, both in general and specific to FGM. Subsequently, meetings were held with social norms and FGM field experts across the world to further refine the framework. The ACT framework includes a menu of constructs, indicators, methods, and tools that can be adapted according to available resources, the local context, and research limitations. Both qualitative and participatory quantitative methods are described. Descriptions of the steps necessary to measure social norms change with regard to FGM through monitoring and evaluation are included. The ACT framework allows for change to be directly linked to the communication approaches used by interventions through attribution and contribution using indicators to measure outputs, short-term outcomes, and exposure. Triangulation is built into the ACT framework to facilitate validation, enrichment, and holistic interpretation of data, as well as creating a feedback loop. ACT is currently being validated in two countries in Africa in which FGM is practiced to different extents. Next steps are discussed.
A national integrated polio, measles, and deworming campaign was implemented across Liberia May 8... more A national integrated polio, measles, and deworming campaign was implemented across Liberia May 8-14, 2015. The community engagement and social mobilization component of the campaign was based on structures that had been invested in during the Ebola response. This article provides an overview of the community engagement and social mobilization activities that were conducted and reports the key findings of a rapid qualitative assessment conducted immediately after the campaign that focused on community perceptions of routine immunization in the post-Ebola context. Focus group discussions and interviews were conducted across four counties in Liberia (Montserrado, Nimba, Bong, and Margibi). Thematic analysis identified the barriers preventing and drivers leading to the utilization of routine immunization. Community members also made recommendations and forwarded community-based solutions to encourage engagement with future health interventions, including uptake in vaccination campaigns. These should be incorporated in the development and implementation of future interventions and programs. The first confirmed case of Ebola virus disease in Liberia was in March 2014. During the outbreak, which peaked in September 2014, there were 10,675 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases (including 378 cases among health workers) and 4,809 confirmed deaths (including 192 health workers). 1 The World Health Organization declared Liberia Ebola free on May 9, 2015, and then again on September 3, 2015 (42 days after the second negative test of the laboratory-confirmed case on July 22, 2015); however, in November 2015 three new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease were reported, and at the time of writing, the response to stop further transmission was ongoing. In Liberia, as in the other most affected countries in West Africa, the Ebola epidemic led to a disruption in essential health services and resulted in low coverage of routine immunization (see Figure 1). Measles is one of the leading causes of death among children younger than 5 years of age, and compared to other vaccinepreventable diseases is particularly contagious and associated with significant mortality. Two Periodic Intensification of Routine Immunizations (PIRI) campaigns failed to raise coverage to the pre-Ebola level of 89% (in 2013). The first PIRI in December 2014 had an average coverage rate of 20%, and the second in February 2015 achieved 30%, leaving many children at risk (see Figure 2). By May 2015, 562 measles cases had been reported in 10 of Liberia's 15 counties (
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