University of the Witwatersrand - Master of Public Health in the Field of Social and Behaviour Change Communication

The courses offered under the SBCC area of specialisation seek to build skills needed to design programmes and interventions to address determinants of health and disease at multiple levels.

The course work component of the Masters degree is offered over two years part-time. In addition, a research report is required to be awarded the MPH degree, which must be approved by a Faculty Assessor Group, as well as an Ethics Committee. SBCC students are required to conduct an original piece of research on a SBCC-relevant topic under supervision. Examples of completed reports related to SBCC include:

• Exploring the feasibility of using different cellular telephone based messaging platforms as demand creation channels for voluntary medical male circumcision in Guateng, South Africa
• Socio-demographic and selected social cognitive theory constructs associated with consistent condom use among sexually active 18-34 year olds in Botswana in 2010
• Exploring perceptions about community dialogues on multiple and concurrent partnerships in Zimbabwe
• Adult male perceptions on the implementation of Safe Male Circumcision Communication Strategy (2009-2012) in Gabarone Botswana

To complete the course requirement for a MPH in SBCC, students must pass 12 courses. The five field-specific courses* in SBCC include:

• COMH 7225 Planning and Implementing Social and Behaviour Change Communication Programmes
• COMH7225 Applying Social & Behaviour Change Theory to Practice
• COMH 7228 Social and Behaviour Change Communication Approaches
• COMH 7229 Communication, Media and Society
• COMH 7227 Research, Monitoring and Evaluation of SBCC

*Full details on the learning outcomes and syllabi of each course are available on request.

In addition, all MPH candidates complete seven core courses, which include:

• Health and Society - covers the social determinants of health
• Health Measurement 1 - introduces students to study design, basic epidemiological principles, and quantitative measurement
• Approaches to Population Health - covers the pillars of health promotion and health systems thinking
• Health Measurement II -  with advanced quantitative or qualitative tracks
• Health Management
• Designing Effective Public Health Programmes - with a strong planning, monitoring, and evaluation focus
• Research protocol module - leads students through the design of their own research protocol.

Click here for more information on the MPH.

All MPH courses are offered using a block-release format, which enables part-time students to maintain jobs while also studying. For each course, students attend a full-week of face-to-face learning, equal to 40 hours. During the block, we use adult education teaching pedagogies, including both individual and group work, simulations, lectures, debates and site visits. Students also undertake an addition 60 hours of off-site study for each course, which is largely conducted via an online platform.

As a programme targeting African academics and practitioners, this MPH draws heavily on publications and case studies from the African context. Active practitioners, such as Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication, are directly involved in teaching. All modules promote an ecological approach to designing, implementing and/or evaluating SBCC. Students are exposed to a range of social and behavioural theories, drawing on the “Health Behaviour and Health Education” book by Glanz, Karen; Rimer, Barbara K.; Lewis, Frances Marcus (eds), as well as communication theory.

Readings are updated every year based on developments in the field.  Course instructors regularly update readings and consult online communication communities such as Soul Beat Africa, The Communication Initiative, and peer reviewed journals for relevant materials, encouraging students to do the same as part of the learning process.

The following are a selection of publications by faculty members (in bold) of the programme:

• Hatcher AM, Smout EM, Turan JM, Christofides N, Stöckl H. Intimate partner violence and engagement in HIV care and treatment among women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. AIDS. 2015;29(16):2183-94.
• Chizimba, R., Christofides, N., Chirwa, T., Singini, I., Ozumba, C., Sikwese, S., . . . Nyasulu, P. (2015). The Association between Multiple Sources of Information and Risk Perceptions of Tuberculosis, Ntcheu District, Malawi. PLoS One, 10(4), e0122998. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122998
• Nieuwoudt S, Goldstein S, Myers A, Christofides N, Hofman KJ. Health Promotion is Ethical. SAJBL 2014; 7(2):79
• Baholo, M., Christofides, N., Wright, A., Sikweyiya, Y., & Jama Shai, N. (2014). Women's experiences leaving abusive relationships: a shelter-based qualitative study. Cult Health Sex, 1-12. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2014.979881
• Christofides, N.J., Jewkes, R. K., Dunkle, K. L., McCarty, F. A., Shai, N. J., Nduna, M., & Sterk, C. E. (2014). Perpetration of physical and sexual abuse and subsequent fathering of pregnancies among a cohort of young South African men: a longitudinal study. BMC Public Health, 14, 947. 
• Christofides, N.J., Jewkes, R.K., Dunkle, K.L., McCarty, F., Jama Shai, N., Nduna, M., & Sterk, C. (2014). Risk factors for unplanned and unwanted teenage pregnancies occurring over two years of follow-up among a cohort of young South African women. Glob Health Action, 7, 23719. doi: 10.3402/gha.v7.23719
• Christofides N.J., Jewkes R.K., Dunkle K.L., Nduna M., Shai N.J., Sterk C. (2014) Early adolescent pregnancy increases risk of incident HIV infection in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: a longitudinal study. Journal of the International AIDS Society. 2014;17:18585. PubMed PMID: 24650763.
• van Zyl G.S., Christofides N.J. (2014) International Nurses Day and press coverage in South Africa. Int Nurs Rev.;61(2):186-93. PubMed PMID: 24716795. Epub 2014/04/11.
• Jina R, Jewkes R, Christofides N, Loots L. A cross-sectional study on the effect of post-rape training on knowledge and confidence of health professionals in South Africa. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. 2014 Apr 4. PubMed PMID: 24792402. Epub 2014/05/06.
• Christofides N.J., Nieuwoudt S, Usdin S, Goldstein S, Fonn S. A South African university-practitioner partnership to strengthen capacity in social and behaviour change communication. Glob Health Action. 2013;6:19300.
• Rispel L & Nieuwoudt S. Mainstreaming the social determinants of health in South Africa: Rhetoric or reality? South African Health Review 2012. 2013. Durban: Health Systems Trust.
• Jina R, Jewkes R, Christofides N, Loots L. Knowledge and confidence of South African health care providers regarding post-rape care: a cross-sectional study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2013 Jul 3;13(1):257. PubMed PMID: 23822171. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC3733892. Epub 2013/07/05.
• Jewkes, R., Morrell, R., & Christofides, N. Empowering teenagers to prevent pregnancy: lessons from South Africa. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 2009, 11(7), 675-688.
• Christofides NJ. Muirhead D. Jewkes RK. Penn-Kekana L. Conco DN. Women's experiences of and preferences for services after rape in South Africa: interview study. BMJ. 332(7535):209-13, 2006.

Chapters

• Usdin, S. Christofides, N. “Children can’t wait” Social Mobilization to Secure Children’s Rights to Social Security, in The Handbook of Global Health Communication edited by Obregon, R. & Waisbord, S. 2012, Wiley-Blackwell: Malden, Massachusetts.

Key academic staff for this Masters Degree are:

• Prof Nicola Christofides, MPH Director and founder of the Division of SBCC

• Sara Nieuwoudt, Coordinator of the SBCC field of study (PGD/MPH)

Honorary staff:

• Dr Sue Goldstein, Programme Director: Soul City Institute for Health & Development Communication

• Dr Adebayo Fayoyin, UNFPA Regional Communications Adviser for South and East Africa