Social and behavior change communication
Varinder Pal Kaur
Assistant Professor, Army College of Nursing, Jalandhar Cantt.
*Corresponding Author E-mail:
ABSTRACT:
Social and behavior change communication (SBCC) is an effective communication approach and strategy that triggers people/society/communities which helps to promote changes in knowledge, attitudes, norms, beliefs. It also assists to adopt healthy, beneficial and positive behavioural practices. Audiences are carefully segmented, messages and materials are pre-tested, and both mass media and interpersonal channels are used to achieve defined behavioral objectives. Programs are designed on the basis of existing data and follow a systematic process, analyzing the problem in order to define barriers and motivators to change, and design a comprehensive set of tailored interventions that promote the desired behaviors. An SBCC strategy is the document that guides the design of interventions, establishing intended audiences, setting behavioral communication objectives and determining consistent messages, materials and activities across channels. SBCC is a research-based, consultative process that uses communication to promote and facilitate behavior change and support the requisite social change for the purpose of improving health outcomes. SBCC is guided by a comprehensive ecological theory that incorporates both individual level change and change at broader environmental and structural levels. Thus, it works at one or more levels: the behavior or action of an individual, collective action taken by groups, social and cultural structures, and the enabling environment." Social and behavior change communication (SBCC) represents the culmination of decades of research and practice in the public health field, where communication has been a critical element of efforts to encourage positive health behaviors.
KEYWORDS: Social and behavior change communication, Individuals, Behavior.
INTRODUCTION:
Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) that previously known as behavior change communication (BCC), is the strategic use of communication approaches to promote overall development of people through change in their knowledge and behaviors. Both the terms refer to the coordination of messages and activities across a variety of channels to reach multiple levels of society, including the individual, the community, services and policy. SBCC is grounded in theory and is evidence-based.
Definition:
Social and Behavior Change Communication is a process of interactively communicating with individuals, institutions, communities and societies as part of an overall programme of information dissemination, motivation, problem solving and planning1.
Behavior is a complex phenomenon, influenced by factors within the individual and beyond. The Social Ecological Model (below), informed by Bronfenbrenner’s 1979 seminal work, recognizes four levels of influence that interact to affect behavior: individual, family and peer networks, community and social/structural2.
Individual:
At this level behavior is affected by factors within the individual. Examples include knowledge, attitudes, skills, emotions and beliefs.
Family and peer networks:
At this level, individual behavior is affected by a person’s close social and family circle. This includes influence from peers, spouse, partner, family and social support.
Community:
This refers to influences from the situational context in which the individual lives and in which social relationships are nested. The characteristics of the context are associated with risk and protective factors and include leadership, access to information, service provision, social capital and collective efficacy.
Social/Structural:
This refers to the larger, macro-level environment which can either promote or deter behaviors. Examples include leadership, health systems, resources and services, policies, guidance and protocols, religious and cultural values, media and technology, gender norms and income equity3.
Understand the target audience’s needs, drives and preferences to conceptualise tailored messages and approaches across communication channels.
Achieve shifts in the definition and perception of issues, in people’s participation, in policies, and social attitudes and behaviour3.
Interventions and efforts to bring about desired behaviour changes in an easy and feasible way while protecting and improving outcomes.
Importance of SBCC:
· Enhance knowledge and attitude of the people.
· It triggers and stimulates people for adopting positive behavioral approaches.
· It promote appropriate and essential attitude change.
· Approaches are more sustainable and acceptable.
· Always focus on specific target groups so the strategies used are effective1 & efficient.
· Helps to increase learning and skills.
· It improve aptitudes and feeling of self-adequacy.
· Help in learning, mindfulness, convictions, and sentiments about wellbeing practices.
· Help the community to replicate the positive practices in bigger level.
· The approaches support and encourage government to bring a positive whim among all the citizens for adopting positive behavioral practices4.
Essential 7C’s for Effective Message:
· Command Attention
· Clarify the Message
· Communicate a Benefit
· Consistency Counts
· Create Trust
· Cater to the Heart & Head
· Call to Action
Strategy of SBCC:
SBCC is different from the ordinary instructional method of communication and is target specific. A society consists of many sub-groups. The strategy for SBCC will vary from group to group. The following points are important while considering the SBCC strategy5.
· Vulnerability/risk factor of the target group.
· The vulnerability/risk factor of the group which is to be addressed.
· The conflict and obstacles in the way to desired change in behaviour.
· Type of message and communication media which can best be used to reach the target group4.
· Type of resources available and assessment of existing knowledge of the target group about the issue which is going to be dealt with.
There can be several more points in this list. A successful SBCC requires much research and meticulous planning about the knowledge content of the subject and behavior/attitude pattern of the target group.
· BCC should be integrated with the goal and objective of the program.
· Formative BCC assessments must be carried out while developing BCC messages.
· Target population must participate during BCC development.
· Key and direct stakeholders need to be involved from the design stage of BCC.
· Pre-testing must be done for effective BCC 3materials.
· BCC programs must involve planning for monitoring and evaluation.
· BCC strategies must be positive and action oriented.
1. Inquire/ Analyse
· Comprehend the idea of the issues and hindrances to change.
· Tune in to a potential group of spectators, survey existing project approaches, assets, qualities2, and shortcomings and investigate correspondence assets.
2. Strategic Design:
· Settle on destinations, recognize crowd portions, position the idea for the group of spectators
· Explain the conduct change model to be utilized, select channels of correspondence6, plan for relational discourse, draw up an activity plan, and structure for assessment.
3. Development, Pretesting, Revision, and Production
· Create message ideas, pretest with a group of spectator’s individuals and guards.
· Amend and produce messages/materials and pretest new and existing materials6.
4. The executives, implementation, and monitoring:
· Implement the message and carry out continuous monitoring to see the positive and negative effects.
· Conduct critical analysis of the approach7.
· Make sure that the messages coherent with the objective of the SBCC.
5. Making arrangements for continuity:
· Acclimate to changing conditions and plan for progression and independence.
LIMITATIONS OF SBCC:
A) Material focused as opposed to conducting focused:
· In most of the cases, approaches are considered as “material – focused” rather than “conduct focused”.
· This implies the greater part of the consideration; time and assets go into the generation of materials.
· In any case, while alluring material may grab somebody’s eye, they do not without anyone else persuade2 individuals to change conduct.
B) Limited capacity within local line agencies:
· Local agencies and organizations might not have enough skills and ability to develop triggering SBCC messages.
· There may be limited abled human resource to facilitate the process of effective SBCC message generation7.
· SBCC messages if not prepared without having proper idea about the context of the target population might be useless and go in vain.
During disease outbreaks and emergencies, specific actions are required of affected communities for prevention, containment and control. Communities need to be informed, motivated and equipped to practice the necessary protective behaviors, and this can be achieved through effective SBCC programming.
Social and behavior change communication plays a critical role in addressing all the behavioral and social aspects of disease prevention and control8. In particular, SBCC can:
· Provide accurate, clear, relevant and timely information to the public on how to contain the emergency and protect themselves
· Identify and address myths and misconceptions that may lead to detrimental practices
· Maintain public trust
· Prepare communities for emergency response actions
· Reassure the public
· Support communities and countries to recover and rebuild themselves after an emergency
If an emergency response does not include strategically8 applied communication activities, it is unlikely to succeed as desired.
SBCC has therefore been acknowledged as a key element of any crisis or emergency preparedness plan, and should be integrated in all stages of an emergency response from prevention and preparedness through to crisis response and recovery1.
At the beginning of an emergency, the role of SBCC is to engage the public, support them in making informed decisions about their risks and encourage them to respond effectively to those risks. The communication and related pillars will ensure that response activities are accompanied by appropriate communication interventions1. Key areas in which the emergency communication pillar may intervene include:
· Coordination
· Community mobilization and action
· Message development and dissemination
· Capacity development
· Monitoring and evaluation4 (M&E)
Emergency communication preparedness through an SBCC approach focuses on:
· Identification of mitigation measures at the individual, community and societal levels.
· Participatory design of communication and policy interventions which are theory-driven, evidence-based and locally contextualized7.
· Promotion of social and behavioral approaches to reduce risk and impact of the health emergency
Although the principles and key steps of SBCC interventions are the same in emergencies as in other situations, there are some distinctions about communication during emergencies that are worth noting8.
REFERENCES:
1. Koenker H, Keating J. Alilio M. et al. Strategic roles for behaviour change communication in a changing malaria landscape. A review. Available from: https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com, January,02, 2014.
2. Austin, L., Fisher Liu, B., and Jin, Y. (2012). How audiences seek out crisis information: Exploring the social-mediated crisis communication model. Journal of Applied Communication Research 2012.40(2), 188-207.
3. Social and Behavior Change Communication and Theory Resources. Urban Adolescent SRH SBCC Implementation Kit, (http://sbccimplementationkits.org/urban-youth), 2015.
4. Laverack G. The Challenge of Behaviour Change and Health Promotion. Challenges. 2017; 8(2):25.
5. https://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/57206/1/Unit7.pdf
6. The Health Compass, (2015). How to develop a Communication Strategy.
7. http://www.thehealthcompass.org/how-to-guides/how-develop-communication-strategy
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior_change_communication
Received on 17.08.2021 Modified on 26.10.2021
Accepted on 20.11.2021 ©A&V Publications All right reserved
Int. J. of Advances in Nur. Management. 2022; 10(1):53-56.
DOI: 10.52711/2454-2652.2022.00014