C-Capacity #9 - The Cost Effectiveness of SBCC
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A newsletter from C-Change partner Ohio University in cooperation with The Communication Initiative
Issue 9 |July 2011
About C-Capacity C-Capacity is an e-magazine supported by C-Change and prepared by The Communication Initiative in cooperation with C-Change partner Ohio University. It is dedicated to alerting you and your organization to resources, training, links, and other opportunities for capacity strengthening in social and behavior change communication (SBCC), all vetted for quality and relevance by FHI 360 and Ohio University. The C-Capacity Online Resource Center is a living resource designed to provide the best resources and training opportunities available and we welcome your contribution. We are looking for case studies, strategic thinking, support materials, trainings, meetings, and other resources relevant to SBCC capacity strengthening. To contribute, please contact cchangeorc@comminit.com
1. Capacity Strengthening in DR In DRC, C-Change is providing technical support to Search for Common Ground (SFCG) to incorporate behavior change messages into the story lines of their locally produced radio and TV programs. Aimed at teenage and young adult audiences, these “edutainment” TV and radio programs aim to increase knowledge and change attitudes and behaviors related to HIV prevention and other health topics. C‑Change is also providing training to further the knowledge and build the skills and capacity of local SFCG staff to implement social and behavior change communication programming into their media work going forward. To view clips and additional information about four SFCG TV or radio programs, see the following entries on C-Hub: #7966, #7967, #7968, and #7969. 2. C-Change Jamaica Supports Partners in SBCC C-Change Jamaica works to increase the quality and scale of HIV prevention efforts with most-at-risk populations (MARP) among civil society and MOH partner organizations. In support of this objective, C-Change conducted two, five-day trainings on social and behavior change communication (SBCC) with 25 participants from its partner organizations. These organizations serve at-risk youth, MSM, sex worker, and PLHIV populations. The trainings covered the design and implementation of SBCC programs and emphasized the application of new skills via participant development of communication strategies and implementation plans for their organizations between trainings. A third training on M&E will be conducted in July.
3. C-Change Employment Listings with FHI 360 FHI 360 has acquired the programs, expertise, and assets of AED and is now managing C-Change. Thus, AED is no longer advertising any job opportunities. For career opportunities with FHI 360, follow this link: Click here.
4. Advances and Methods to Conduct Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for Health Communication This is an end-of-project meeting presentation by the Health Communication Partnership (HCP) (2002-2007), a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded project run by the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Communication Programs, to ascertain how maximum benefits can be attained from health communication interventions aimed at behavior change. Two questions are posed in this regard. First, “how can we make sure that we are getting the most behavior change for our program dollars”? The second question specifically attempts to find out if the mix of different communication sub-interventions can be altered to achieve greater gains. The study was divided into three main areas namely: (1) A cost-benefit analysis of the workplace programs, (2) Employee and community perceptions of the program, and (3) The program’s impact on non-permanent employees.
Select Forums and Communities 5. International Advocacy Evaluation Community of Practice The international advocacy evaluation community of practice specializes in areas such as advocacy, communications, and systems change, with a particular emphasis on how to measure them. This network aims at pushing evaluation practice in new directions and into new arena. It also promotes cutting-edge approaches, such as strategic learning and new methods for evaluating policy change. The Center for Evaluation Innovation runs this community of practice. 6. Innovations for Scaling Impact (iScale) Innovations for Scaling Impact (iScale) is a global network of individuals and organizations committed to developing, implementing, and promoting innovations to scale the impact of efforts to address the world’s most pressing challenges. iScale focuses on advancing the effectiveness of social change efforts through process, methodological, and technological innovations in areas such as 'Theory of Change' and 'Strategy Development', 'Action Networks', 'Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives', 'Communities of Practice', 'Monitoring', 'Evaluation and Learning', 'New Business Models and Markets', 'Policy, Advocacy and Social Movements', 'Information', and 'Communication and New Media'. One of iScale's key components is its 'Impacts Community of Practice'. It brings together representatives from various networks, evaluation experts, and practitioners to share their experiences/expertise, explore the challenges networks face in measuring their impact, and develop innovative solutions for these difficulties. 7. KM4Dev - 'Knowledge Management for Development' KM4Dev, founded in 2000, is a community of international development practitioners who are interested in knowledge management and knowledge sharing issues and approaches, and who seek to share ideas and experiences in this domain. The KM4Dev community relies on the support of volunteers and members, as well as international development agencies (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; the International Development Research Centre; Helvetas - Swiss Association for International Cooperation). Members of KM4D have created several subgroups that focus on specific development issues, ranging from human rights to technology to a focus on development issues in countries or regions. One of the groups is the KM Impact Challenge, which aims to accelerate the discovery process of how to effectively measure our investments in knowledge and learning.
Below you will find a selection of core resources designed to strengthen capacity by providing evidence for the impact and effectiveness of SBCC. 8. The Effectiveness of Mass Media in Changing HIV/AIDS-related Behaviour Among Young People in Developing Countries "Given that adolescents are so attuned to mass media for information and cues about how to behave, the media have tremendous potential for reaching them with messages about HIV and AIDS..." This 37-page report reviews the strength of the evidence for the effects of 3 types of mass media interventions (radio only, radio with supporting media, or radio and television with supporting media) on HIV/AIDS-related behaviour among young people in developing countries. Its purpose is to assess whether these interventions - defined here as "any programmes or other planned, time-limited efforts that have the explicit goal of changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that are related to preventing the transmission of HIV and that disseminate messages among an intended population through channels that reach a broad audience" such as radio, television, video, and/or printed materials - reach the threshold of evidence needed to recommend widespread implementation. 9. Cost Effectiveness Analysis of Strategies to Combat HIV/AIDS in Developing Countries This study sought to assess the costs, health effects, and cost-effectiveness of a set of personal and non-personal prevention strategies to reduce cardiovascular disease in Vietnam, which accounts for one-third of total deaths in the country. These strategies included mass media campaigns (radio, TV, print media, and print materials) for reducing consumption of salt and tobacco, drugs for lowering blood pressure or cholesterol, and combined pharmacotherapy for people at varying levels of absolute risk of a cardiovascular event. Authors report the use of WHO-CHOICE (Choosing Interventions That Are Cost-Effective) methods and analytical models, combined with local data to estimate the costs, effects, and cost-effectiveness of 12 population (based on the concept that the majority of cases occur amongst people with medium and low levels of risk) and individual interventions (based on published studies about the impact of many interventions) implemented singly or in combination. Costs of the interventions were measured in Vietnamese currency (Dong) for the year 2007. Health effects were calculated in age-weighted and discounted disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted. 10. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Interventions to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease in Vietnam In this essay, Ailish Byrne explores strategies for assessing and demonstrating the impact of social change and communication for social change processes using the meeting of HIV/AIDS Implementers in Kampala, Uganda, in June 2008 as a launching point. The author raises questions about current monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices, particularly randomised control trials (RCTs). She analyses why sound evaluation and demonstration of the value of social change communication (SCC) appear so challenging and difficult to achieve in practice. Byrne discusses the role of critical dialogue, the sense in which evaluation is fundamentally educational, and the relational nature of this approach and then examines particular elements of participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E). She offers some specific recommendations for strengthening SCC evaluation. 11. Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Mass Communication Programs to Change HIV/AIDS-related Behaviors in Developing Countries This resource examines the effectiveness of 24 mass media interventions from developing countries in changing HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. It provides data on a question that may shape the nature and direction of the work of HIV/AIDS programme managers, communication researchers, donor agency staff, and others: to what extent do communication programmes impact HIV/AIDS-related behaviours? In short, it examines the strategy of using mass media interventions to effect change in the HIV/AIDS arena. The authors distinguish between "broadcast" interventions, which include radio and/or television, and "small media" with more local reach (e.g., posters, pamphlets, audio programming, dramas, and puppet shows) that tend to be face-to-face, interactive, and community-based, with greater involvement of local stakeholders. View the article online here http://change.comminit.com/en/node/71468 12. Cost Benefit Analysis of HIV Workplace Programs in Zambia This study was an attempt to answer the question, “what are the costs and benefits of workplace HIV/AIDS programs in Zambia when viewed across several companies?” Seven companies that are part of the Global Development Alliance (GDA) program in Zambia were included in the research. The companies range in size from 350 to 10000 employees. Each company has an HIV workplace program in place, and they were all within either the mining or agricultural sectors. The program, known as CHAMP, had financial and technical support from the National AIDS Council. 13. Development Communication Sourcebook: Broadening the Boundaries of Communication This book from the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank is intended to be a source of knowledge and practical advice for all those involved in development communication, a compendium of reference material for courses and workshops in this field, and an advocacy piece to promote the discipline to managers and decision makers who have an interest in learning why and when to adopt development communication. The two factors guiding the rationale for writing this sourcebook, according to the introduction, are: "First, despite the growing recognition enjoyed by the discipline of development communication, its nature and full range of functions are still not fully known to many decision makers and development managers who tend to identify this field merely with the art of disseminating information effectively. Second, because of the recent shift in the development paradigm (that is, from one-way to two-way communication) and the related changes in the field of development communication, many communication practitioners are not entirely aware of the discipline’s rich theoretical body of knowledge and the wealth of its practical applications—which are growing in relevance for the development context." 14. Comparing the Cost-Effectiveness of HIV Prevention Interventions This study sought to provide evidence in response to the need of communities to identify cost-effective interventions for HIV prevention as a means to optimize limited resources. The study included estimates of the relative cost-effectiveness for 26 HIV prevention interventions, which included biomedical interventions, structural interventions, and individual behavior change interventions. The authors conducted other types of analyses that sought to assess patterns of the cost-effectiveness across different populations using various assumptions. The paper includes background information on estimates of HIV infections prevented, estimates of costs, and comparison of cost-effectiveness and sensitivity analyses. 15. Compendium on Impact Assessment of ICT-for-Development Projects Written by personnel from the University of Manchester's Centre for Development Informatics with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), this compendium presents a set of frameworks that can be used by information for communication technology for development (ICT4D) practitioners, policymakers, and consultants to understand the impact of informatics initiatives - e.g., telecentres, village phone schemes, e-health and e-education projects, and e-government kiosks - in developing countries. The impact assessment frameworks are: 1. Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) 2. Project Goals 3. Communications-for-Development 4.Capabilities (Sen) Framework 5. Livelihoods Framework 6. Information Economics 7. Information Needs/Mapping 8. Cultural-Institutional Framework 9. Enterprise: Variables, Relations, Value Chain 10. Gender 11. Telecentres 16. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis This special issue of the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives (Vol. 11, Supplement 2) examines the current challenges addressing cost-effectiveness in the context of health communication - specifically, in behaviour change communication (BCC) programmes. It is based on the premise that analysis of cost effectiveness can help determine which programmes deliver the "best" outcome (e.g., the greatest behaviour change) for the cost by answering questions like, "Can we alter the mix of our different communication sub-interventions to achieve greater gains?" or "Can we demonstrate that health communication interventions are a 'bargain' relative to other alternatives?" The intention is to explore the analytic techniques needed to measure the cost-effectiveness of comprehensive programmes - with multiple, mutually reinforcing channels designed to reach all segments of the population, as illustrated by applied communication examples from developing countries around the world. As the authors in this special issue indicate, the challenge in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of these types of initiatives involves both obtaining appropriate estimates of costs, and measuring the effectiveness of the programme in bringing about the desired change. Here are titles of the articles in this special issue
Further Journal Reading
The C-Picks e-magazine, supported by C-Change and implemented by The Communication Initiative, is an e-magazine that highlights social and behavior change communication (SBCC) case studies, reports, analyses, and resources in the health sector (HIV and AIDS, family planning and reproductive health, malaria, and maternal and antenatal health). These select opportunities have passed - consult the C-Change Links Center for C-Change Training partners. 17. Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation 18. Introduction to Cost-Benefit and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis 19. Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation and Reporting Systems for HIV & AIDS Programmes (5 days) The C-Capacity Online Resource Center continues to seek new knowledge and experiences in support of capacity strengthening for social and behavior change communication - your case studies, strategic thinking, support materials, and any other relevant documentation. Please contact cchangeorc@comminit.com Please visit the C-Capacity Online Resource Center for more resources on SBCC.
This publication is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of Agreement No. GPO-A-00-07-00004-00. The contents are the responsibility of The Communication Initiative and the C-Change project, managed by AED, and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. | ||||||||||||
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