Malaria SBCC Evidence Database

"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."

This resource from the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3) represents the results of a critical review of SBCC literature "involving abstract and full-article reviews of approximately 3,600 peer-reviewed articles and 1,700 grey literature documents." The two indicators on which the material was scored are: "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 program."

The database is part of the Malaria SBCC Evidence Package, which also includes factsheets and infographics that "compile and highlight key SBCC successes on malaria outcomes." The 80 articles addressing malaria challenges through SBCC approaches caan be filtered through the following categories: Country, Malaria Technical Area, Type of Communication Intervention, Study Design and/or Audience Segmented, in addition to a keyword search. The database lists work with its citation, year of publication, intervention description, and results summary.

For example, an article on evidence from a randomised controlled trial in Uganda is described as comparing "standard packaging, the current model of social marketing/packaging (the Consortium for ACT Private Sector Subsidy ("CAPSS") model) with pictorial instructions and two stickers with tailored messaging affixed to the standard packaging. One sticker ("Malaria is not gone until ALL tablets are finished.") was designed to address the misconception that malaria is cured when the client is no longer symptomatic. The second sticker ("Finish ALL tablets, Saving tablets for later can be harmful for malaria control in your community.") was designed to discourage saving medicine for future malaria episodes." The results summary details data collected leading to findings that the stickers "with short, targeted messages was associated with a 9% increase in adherence and 29% reduction in untaken pills. The current method of specialized packaging with pictorial instructions was not associated with significant adherence, compared to standard packaging. The "Malaria is not gone until ALL tablets are finished" sticker was shown to have a greater impact, reducing the number of remaining doses by 27% and the number of remaining tablets by 31%."

The infographics and factsheets assemble key findings on:

• Case Management
• Insecticide-treated Nets
• Service Provider Behaviors 

A final report on the findings is located here: Malaria Social And Behavior Change Communication Evidence Literature Review