An official website of the United States government
Lead (Pb) exposure through water contamination is an important issue at the intersection of public health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Behavior-change programs designed to address this pressing problem rarely take a behavioral-science-informed approach, nor do they consider the role of intermediate players who often influence and support behavior change. Social marketing segments the population and focuses on the consumer/user throughout program development and implementation. To illustrate the social marketing process, this cross-sectional, qualitative design study investigates the use of Pb in the construction and maintenance of household pitcher pumps for potable water in Madagascar. A sample of 18 technicians were interviewed on their current practices, motivators, barriers, and communication channels for knowledge exchange. The results reveal the importance of peers, those considered experts or “market mavens”, and the need for information on the dangers of Pb as an outdated practice for any future intervention. This study advances the notion of a design shift within engineering WASH projects, whereby social/behavioral approaches are used to consider the needs, concerns, and current behaviors of the consumer. We also advocate for engaging intermediate players who often influence behavior change in the rollout of an engineering innovation.
more »
« less
Convergence of Social Marketing and Engineering: A Lead Mitigation Study in Madagascar
Background and Situation AnalysisThe importance of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects for the protection of health is embedded in the sustainable development goals. However, within the development and humanitarian fields sustainability of WASH projects is still a challenge with 30–50% of projects failing within two to five years of implementation. Though failure is not linked to any one source, a common theme speaks to a greater need for community engagement and integration of the wants and needs of the end-user in the design process. Social marketing, with its focus on the consumer and use of commercial marketing strategies to achieve behavior change is a promising approach that can be integrated into ongoing WASH initiatives to meet program outcomes and to achieve long-term sustainability. Priority audiencePrimary audience includes technicians who manufacture and repair pitcher pumps. Secondary audience includes community members in Toamasina, Madagascar, who will experience a decrease in exposure to lead through their water supply. Behavioral objectivesDecrease exposure to lead (Pb) introduced through the use of a decentralized, self-supply water system, the pitcher pump. Specifically, decrease use of leaded components in the manufacturing and repair of pitcher-pumps Strategy/InterventionDevelopment of the intervention followed the social marketing process including conducting a situational analysis, identification and selection of a behavioral focus and priority population, formative research, development of an integrated marketing strategy, pretesting the strategy, followed by campaign implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. An intervention focused on building a sense of community and introducing the element of professionalism for the pump manufacturers was developed, consisting of personalized one-on-one outreach to raise awareness of the health topic, followed by skill building trainings on how to make the switch to non-leaded components. This was coupled with tangible products that created a new professional network, documentation of work, and backing of work by trusted government entities. Evaluation Methods and ResultsUsing the theory of planned behavior, a pre/post-test summative evaluation was developed. Preliminary results indicate that pump technicians no longer use lead in pumps unless specifically requested by the pump owners. These results indicate a positive shift towards the use of lead-free components with project follow-up and analysis ongoing. Recommendations for Social Marketing PracticeUse of social marketing within the WASH sector is lacking. This paper demonstrates the integration of social marketing in an ongoing WASH project. Through a description of each step of the process, our experiences in implementing it and the lessons learned, we hope to guide future integration. Additionally, this paper demonstrates the convergence of engineers and social marketers working collaboratively on an interdisciplinary team and how this served to enhance project understanding, aid in building local partnerships and help with long-term sustainability.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1735320
- PAR ID:
- 10393035
- Publisher / Repository:
- SAGE Publications
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Social Marketing Quarterly
- Volume:
- 29
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1524-5004
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 87-104
- Size(s):
- p. 87-104
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
One in three children globally is estimated to have blood lead levels (BLL) at or above the BLL reference value of 5 μg/dL with increased burden falling on low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Within developed countries, aqueous lead is the predominant exposure route. However, aqueous lead exposure is rarely examined in the LMIC, leaving a gap in the literature that ignores a potentially significant route of exposure. Furthermore, limited lead-based remediation efforts around consumer products have been examined. This study investigates the importance of lead exposure from the water supply through a case study in Toamasina, Madagascar. The project measured aqueous lead and BLL of children pre- and postremediation efforts (i.e., removal of leaded pump components in hand pumps) to verify the impact of aqueous lead exposure within this community. Removal of the leaded pump components (i.e., piston and foot valves) and replacement with nonleaded components decreased aqueous lead levels below the World Health Organization provisional guideline of 10 μg/L in all but 4% of pumps tested. Measured BLL concentrations indicated a statistically significant decrease in BLL from pre- to postremediation. Furthermore, the remediation resulted in a decrease in BLL for 87% of children with the greatest changes in BLL observed for children with the highest preremediation concentrations. These findings point to a need for greater consideration of lead in drinking and cooking waters as an important exposure route in LMIC.more » « less
-
BackgroundHandpumps are used by millions of people as their main source of water. Although handpumps represent only a basic form of water provision, there have been continuous efforts to improve the performance of these systems as they are likely to remain in use for many years to come. The introduction of a professional maintenance service in southern Kenya has shown an order of magnitude improvement in operational performance over community-based management, with 90% of handpump faults repaired within 3 days of being reported. One driver behind these efforts is the assumption that a more reliable water supply will lead to a reduction in water-related disease. However, it is not clear if operational improvements lead to health gains. Despite limited empirical evidence, some modeling studies suggest that even short periods of drinking contaminated water can lead to disproportionate negative health impacts. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess whether the improvements in operational performance from the rapid professional maintenance of rural handpumps lead to improved household health outcomes. MethodsFrom a sample of households using handpumps as their primary water source in Kwale County, Kenya, we measured the 2-week prevalence of World Health Organization–defined diarrhea in children, reported by the adult respondent for each household. We compared the rates before and after a period during which the households’ handpumps were being professionally maintained. We then conducted a cross-sectional analysis, fitting logistic regression models with reported diarrhea as the dependent variable and speed of repair as the independent exposure of interest, adjusting for household socioeconomic characteristics; dwelling construction; and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)-related factors. We fitted an additional model to examine select interactions between covariates. ResultsReported diarrhea in children was lower in households whose pumps had been repaired within 24 hours (adjusted odds ratio 0.35, 95% CI 0.24-0.51). This effect was robust to the inclusion of multiple categories of covariates. No reduction was seen in households whose pump repairs took more than 24 hours. Analysis of interaction terms showed that certain interventions associated with improved WASH outcomes were only associated with reductions in diarrhea in conjunction with socioeconomic improvements. ConclusionsOnly pump repairs consistently made within 24 hours of failure led to a reduction in diarrhea in the children of families using handpumps. While the efficacy of reduction in diarrhea is substantial, the operational challenges of guaranteeing same-day repairs limits the effectiveness of even best-in-class pump maintenance. Maintenance regimes that cannot bring handpump downtimes close to zero will struggle to generate health benefits. Other factors that reduce diarrhea prevalence have limited effect in isolation, suggesting that WASH interventions will be more effective when undertaken as part of more holistic poverty-reduction efforts.more » « less
-
Purpose Despite more than half a century of academic research, relatively few methods have been shown to reliably improve intergroup relations in the real world. This paper aims to use a social marketing approach to design a pro-diversity intervention in a university setting. Design/methodology/approach We conducted extensive qualitative, quantitative and observational background research to identify elements that would increase the effectiveness of the intervention. Focus groups and surveys allowed us to identify a target audience, target behaviors and the relevant barriers and benefits. Findings The background research suggested increasing inclusive behavior would have a greater impact than reducing discriminatory behavior. Based on this research, this paper determined an optimal target audience was students who had relatively positive attitudes toward diversity but engaged in few inclusive behaviors. This paper used relevant theories from the behavioral sciences to design an intervention that promoted a small set of inclusive behaviors and that addressed the relevant barriers and benefits. The intervention took the form of a single page of targeted messages that instructors can add to their course syllabi. The page communicates injunctive and descriptive norms, highlights the benefits of behaving inclusively and provides concrete behavioral advice. Originality/value The research applies the social marketing approach to a novel domain. This approach represents a new way to advance diversity, equity and inclusion through promoting inclusive and reducing discriminatory behavior.more » « less
-
PurposeThis study aims to investigate the use of a sociotechnical case study as a means of integrating social and technical dimensions into an undergraduate engineering sustainability technical elective course. Design/methodology/approachThe “Big Wind Project” case study used a microhistory approach to engage students in the complexities of sustainable engineering, aiming to facilitate their exploration of the sociotechnical nature of engineering sustainability projects. Focused on a controversial wind energy project in Hawaii, the Big Wind Project case study served as a pedagogical tool in the course for engaging engineering students in complex sustainability challenges. FindingsThirty-nine students who engaged in the case study lesson responded to questions about their perceptions of the case and the role of stakeholders and other social dimensions in engineering decision-making and agreed that we could use their responses in this research. While many students acknowledged the importance of accounting for social dimensions, their discussions frequently reflected a persistent tendency of engineering work to view outcomes through a dualistic technical-vs-social lens rather than an integrated sociotechnical lens. Originality/valueThis study examined how a case study reveals and supports students’ navigation of the complexities of sociotechnical engineering sustainability work.more » « less
