Saturday, March 21, 2015

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY: Day 17 of the free online C-Modules course on social and behaviour change communication

I am currently reviewing Module 0 (Facilitator's Handbook), which lays an important foundation for the rest of the course. It breaks down concepts and principles that are to be used throughout the course.

These include:
  • THE DEFINITION OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE COMMUNICATION (SBCC)
  • AN OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE
  • CURRENT PROJECTS
  • CHARACTERISTICS OF SBCC
  • TEN SBCC PRINCIPLES
  • THE THEORETICAL BASE OF THE SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL MODEL
On Day 05 I reviewed sub heading four: “Characteristics of SBCC”. I learned that SBCC has three (3) characteristics:

> SBCC is a process.
  • It is interactive, researched, planned and strategic;
  • It aims to change social conditions and individual behaviours.
> SBCC applies a comprehensive, socio-ecological model to identify effective tipping points for change by examining:
  • individual knowledge, motivation, and other behaviour change communication concepts
  • social, cultural, and gender norms, skills, physical and economic access, and legislation that contribute to an enabling environment
> SBCC uses 3 key strategies:
  • ADVOCACY – to raise resources as well as political and social leadership commitment to development actions and goals
  • SOCIAL MOBILIZATION – for wider participation, coalition building, and ownership, including community mobilization
  • BEHAVIOUR CHANGE COMMUNICATION – for changes in knowledge, attitudes, and practices among specific audiences
Over the next few days, I will discuss each of these characteristics in detail.

TODAY I LEARNED ABOUT HOW THE SOCIO ECOLOGICAL MODEL FEEDS INTO THE 3 KEY STRATEGIES THAT ARE USED FOR SBCC:  ADVOCACY, SOCIAL MOBILIZATION AND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE COMMUNICATION

Take home message: "Today, no single theory or conceptual framework dominates research or practice in health promotion and education. Instead, one can choose from a multitude of theories." (Glanz, Rimer, and Viswanath 2008).

A table on page 26 illustrates the theoretical base of the Socio-Ecological Model for Change. This table is intended to help practitioners become familiar with and understand the theoretical basis for the Model and better apply its perspective to problem solving.

The selected theories and critical questions provide guidance and clarification on how the theories and approaches supporting the model can be used during the first two steps of C-Planning:
  • Situation analysis
  • Strategy development

Interested in signing up for this course? CLICK HERE.

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C-Modules were developed by C-Change, funded by USAID under Cooperative Agreement No. GPO-A-00-07-0004-00. The six modules can be freely downloaded and used, provided full credit is given to C-Change as follows: C-Change (Communication for Change). 2011. C-Modules: A Learning Package for Social and Behavior Change Communication. Washington, DC: FHI 360/C-Change.