Malaria SBCC Evidence Package

“For decades, social and behavior change communication (SBCC) has been used in malaria programs to positively influence behaviors around case management, malaria in pregnancy, insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying. However, the evidence base for the impact of SBCC on malaria-related behavioral outcomes is still growing, especially with the recent introduction and scale-up of several malaria interventions and commodities.”

To document and assess the evidence for malaria SBCC, the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3) conducted a critical review of the literature using a multiphase search and review process, involving abstract and full-article reviews of approximately 3,600 peer-reviewed articles and 1,700 grey literature documents. Each article was then scored on two indicators: the strength of the evidence presented in the article and the extent to which the SBCC activity used best practices during the design and implementation of the programme.

The result is the Malaria SBCC Evidence Package, which includes a searchable online database, factsheets, and infographics that compile and highlight key SBCC successes on malaria outcomes.

• Database - The database presents a collection of 80 articles describing interventions or studies that address malaria challenges through SBCC approaches. Some studies address the same intervention across multiple articles, while other studies evaluate multiple interventions in the same article. Articles can be automatically filtered by the following categories: country; malaria technical area; type of communication intervention (interpersonal communication, community engagement, provider training, caregiver training, mass media, social marketing, mHealth, and print media); study design; and/or audience segmentation.

• Infographics and factsheets - Key findings from compiling the database have been distilled in a series of infographics and factsheets to highlight the impact of SBCC on key malaria health topics, including: case management, insecticide-treated net behaviours, and service provider behaviours. The factsheets list a number of key studies, highlighting the impact of SBCC on the malaria topic area and rating the study according the strength of the evidence presented in the article and the extent to which the SBCC activity used best practices during the design and implementation of the programme. The series of infographics accompanies the factsheets synthesising the impact of SBCC on the same key malaria topics.