Evidence: From Awareness-Generation to Changing Norms: Implications for Entertainment-Education
Participating organisations in the Global Alliance for Social and Behaviour Change - Building Informed and Engaged Societies were asked to identify, in their opinion, the 5 most compelling research and evaluation studies that demonstrate the direct impact of this field of work on a major development issue. This was one of the nominees. For the full compiled list, please click here. For the compilation of the key impact data across all research evidence identified, please click here.
Title of paper, article, book (chapter), publication?:
From Awareness-Generation to Changing Norms: Implications for Entertainment-Education
Name(s) of author(s)?:
Suruchi Sood, Amy Henderson Riley, Paramita Dasgupta Mazumdar, Narendra Choudary, Alka Malhotra, Naysan Sahba
Who published this paper, article, book (chapter) or other publication?:
Cases in Public Health Communication & Marketing. 2015;8:3-26. Available from: www.casesjournal.org/volume8
What are the best extracts that highlight the evidence for the impact of a communication for development, social change, behaviour change, public engagement, or informed citizen strategy on a development issue and priority?:
Background: UNICEF's Facts for Life (FFL) Communication Initiative utilizes convergent strategies for engendering behavior and social change by providing parents and other caregivers with the information they need to save and improve children’s and mother’s lives. FFL's flagship activity from 2008 to 2011 was an entertainment-education television drama serial titled Kyunki...Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai (Because… That’s What Life Is). This case study describes and analyzes findings from an evaluation of Kyunki. Methods: The research design for Kyunki consisted of 3 cross-sectional evaluation assessments: a baseline (conducted before the show aired in 2008), midline (after approximately 260 episodes in 2009), and an endline (after the conclusion of the serial and 501 episodes in 2011), all utilizing the same sampling design. The primary objectives were to: 1) compare exposed and unexposed respondents at midline and endline, and 2) compare knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, self-efficacy, social norms, interpersonal communication, practices, and behaviors related to FFL topics over time among the baseline, midline, and endline responses.
Results: Results indicated that Kyunki elicited high levels of exposure, message, and story recall. Positive results were found at endline on many variables within each of the outcomes assessed (knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, perceived importance, social norms, and behaviors). The program appears to have had an impact over time among those exposed with results making the case that longer exposure (ie, endline) was associated with more positive results than shorter exposure (ie, midline). Conclusions: In the future, entertainment-education should move beyond the awareness-generation model and design programs and evaluations from the beginning that target not only changes in knowledge, but also attitudes, efficacy perceptions, and social norms. In addition, an enabling environment is needed that nurtures program messages and translates them into reality.
To which development issue does this evidence and impact data relate?:
Child Rights; Gender Norms
To which strategic approach(es) does the evidence and impact data relate?:
Entertainment-Education; Interpersonal Communication
What research methodology (ies) was/were used to produce this evidence and impact data?:
The endline evaluation was part of an overall monitoring and evaluation framework developed in 2007 in parallel with the program design and implementation. The research design for Kyunki consisted of 3 cross-sectional evaluation measures: a baseline (conducted before the show aired in 2008), midline (after approximately 260 episodes in 2009), and an endline (after the conclusion of the serial and 501 episodes in 2011), all utilizing the same sampling design. The primary objectives of the evaluation were to: 1) compare exposed and unexposed respondents at midline and endline, and 2) to measure changes in knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, self-efficacy, social norms, interpersonal communication, practices, and behaviors related to FFL topics by comparing the baseline, midline, and endline responses. Local IRB was obtained prior to data collection and university level IRB review and exemption for secondary analysis was obtained prior to data analysis.
What is the URL to access this paper, article, book (chapter) or other publication?:
Why was this research evidence found to be useful?:
This was a large scale intervention implemented over a significant period of time. It provided important lessons to improve future impact evaluation designs of UNICEF's entertainment-education interventions and strategies.