Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs
Year of Publication:
2020
This job aid is designed for Community-Based Volunteers (CBVs) to take with them to the communities to distribute nets.
The aid reminds the CBVs how to manage distribution of nets, and how to teach the people receiving the nets about the use and care of nets.
Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs
Year of Publication:
2020
The Breakthrough ACTION Zambia Project developed and disseminated implementation handover packages for Adolescent Wellness Days, Men’s Wellness Days, Ni Zii, GMTk, Emergency Planning Prompt, Co-Created Guidelines and Feedback Mechanism innovations to stakeholders. These packages were disseminated at an event in September 2020.
This is a recording of the event.
Source: Johns Hopkins CCP
Year of Publication:
2017
Case management of malaria has undergone profound changes over the years since the introduction and widespread use of rapid diagnostic testing (RDT) and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). Recent years have seen the evolution of home management of malaria, community-based management of malaria and integrated community case management (iCCM) of malaria packages. Social and behavior change communication (SBCC) activities at the community level that address behaviors like prompt care seeking and compliance with complete ACT regimens have been the focus of some interventions. Much less SBCC has focused on service provider behaviors, like adherence to simple and complicated malaria treatment and diagnosis algorithms, and adherence to ACT and RDT protocols.
Countries like Ethiopia, Rwanda, Senegal and Zambia have shown that carefully planned malaria case management pilots, programs and activities can be extremely effective.1234 This research does not, however, include documentation of SBCC components of malaria case management programming that have been measured for impact. While these countries have taken steps to develop malaria communication strategies that include malaria case management messaging, very little has been done to document the impact of resulting national activities and programs.
The purpose of this desk review is to identify promising SBCC practices related to malaria case management at both community and service provider levels in the four focus countries: Zambia, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Senegal.
Source: Malaria Consortium
Year of Publication:
2012
Integrated community case management (ICCM) – an approach where community-based health workers are trained to identify, treat and refer children under-five with pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria – is increasingly being used across sub-Saharan Africa to supplement the gaps in basic healthcare provision. ICCM programs have been endorsed by major international organizations and donors, and many African Ministries of Health as a key strategy for reducing child mortality. This learning paper describes Malaria Consortium’s approach to and experience of engaging local communities in integrated community case management (ICCM) in three African countries.
This learning paper looks at some key barriers to the early treatment of sick children and the interventions developed to address them, with a focus on the Community Dialogue (CD) approach. Preliminary findings drawn from the early stages of implementation show that CD has been a very effective way of identifying and filling information gaps, as well as encouraging community analysis and planning.
Dialogues are chaired by community leaders and co-facilitated by CHWs. Ten simple steps are outlined to organize and lead fruitful community dialogue sessions, comprising three core phases:
Exploring the topic: questioning assumptions, filling knowledge gaps, clarifying misconceptions.
Identifying issues: reflecting on personal experiences of childhood diseases’ management and prevention.
Action planning: agreeing on a few achievable individual or collective actions to ensure prompt, high-quality medical care for young children as well as appropriate ways to prevent these diseases.
Initial feedback indicates that the CD approach is highly appreciated by community-based facilitators, community members, and health center staff. Because it is grassroots-based, reaching out to communities, it allows ‘ordinary people’ to interact and reflect on health information within their villages and not at health facilities, where such interactions usually happen. Not all community members have access to radio or a phone to participate in radio phone-in programs. Others, because of low literacy, can misinterpret posters. Participants are encouraged at CD sessions to express their views, ask questions and tell their own stories and do so freely because the session is facilitated by peers rather than professional health staff.
Source: Malaria Consortium
Year of Publication:
2012
This paper looks at some key barriers to the early treatment of sick children identified by Malaria Consortium and the interventions developed to address them, with a focus on the community dialogue (CD) approach. The potential of CD to improve health outcomes has been largely recognized by practitioners and researchers. However, examples of how this works in practice in the ICCM context are rare. This paper describes the model developed by Malaria Consortium to trigger genuine dialogue within local communities about the management of selected childhood diseases. Initial lessons from the early stages of community dialogue implementation are outlined and it is proposed that an evaluation of the experiment should be allowed to contribute to efforts to identify good practices for effective community involvement in ICCM programming.
Source: Malaria Consortium
Year of Publication:
2015
This Learning Brief summarizes a qualitative process evaluation conducted to assess communities’ response to a community dialogue approach, after one year of implementation in rural settings of three countries (Mozamique, Uganda and Zambia), in terms of outreach, relevance and intermediate results.
The study finds that community dialogues can be a powerful approach to make health promotion activities of community-based volunteers more participatory and effective in addressing social norms around child care practices, particularly in setting new social norms for early care-seeking at community health worker point of care.
Source: Malaria Consortium
Year of Publication:
2014
This learning brief presents results from a rigorous process evaluation conducted in 3 countries, aiming at assessing if the community dialogue approach implemented was appropriate and effective in raising demand for iCCM services at community level.
Source: Malaria Consortium
Year of Publication:
2013
Malaria Consortium supported the Ministry of Health in rolling out an integrated community case management (ICCM) program in the Luapula province of Zambia from 2009 to 2012.
Formative research conducted on the onset of the ICCM program showed that having trained CHWs (community health workers) in place is not enough to change sick child care pathways. The health communication intervention combined the promotion of community health workers’ services (trained and equipped to diagnose and treat under-fives with fever, respiratory infections and diarrhea) and Community Dialogues providing communities with a platform to extensively discuss,
Visual materials included posters, a community dialogue guidebook, and this interactive poster and flash card set, all in the local language of Bemba. This tool was created to allow low-literacy care-givers to explore and discuss current and ideal care options in the event of childhood illness. The tool comprises a large-size poster featuring pathways (or routes) for a healthy baby to grow into a healthy school-age child, and a set of 30 colorful flash cards featuring various child conditions and care options.
During Community Dialogue sessions, facilitated by trained community members in collaboration with Community Health Workers (CHW), care-givers and key household decision-makers are asked to tell their story of what happened the last time their child was sick by placing the relevant cards along the pathway. Then, participants discuss the chosen pathway, exploring the benefits and risks of various care options, and reach an agreement on the right timing and provider for childhood illnesses as well as best prevention measures.
Monitoring and observation data show that the interactive poster and flash cards were instrumental and unanimously appreciated both by participants and community dialogues facilitators; facilitators noted that these materials made the animation of the session easier for them, as participants take ownership of the session and contribute with their story by placing the cards. Evaluation also showed that the community dialogue approach using these interactive visual materials allowed for the exploration of a topic through open discussion and filling knowledge gaps, correcting misconceptions around the three target diseases in children and possible causes.
Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs
Year of Publication:
2020
These three videos, featuring Bernard, a preacher, Norah a comunity health worker, and Chief Shabila, offer three different perspectives on the work of the Breakthrough ACTION Zambia project, and were created at the end of the project as part of the closing activities.
Each speaks about why he or she became involved in community health work, what they do for the community, and what it means to them.
Source: Breakthrough ACTION/Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs
Year of Publication:
2020
This package is part of a set of implementation packages designed by the Breakthrough ACTION Zambia team.
Men’s Wellness Days are an integrated design package to address the following problems:
