Key Social Norms Take-aways The Kwishilya and Siñalamba radio serial dramas (RSDs) in Zambia show that entertainment-education can shift social norms around family planning, gender roles, and reproductive health. Regular listeners were more likely to perceive community and partner approval for contraceptive use and reported greater self-efficacy in negotiating reproductive decisions. The intervention helped normalize conversations around family planning and challenged traditional norms that restricted women’s decision-making. Notably, listeners were more likely to believe that family planning is acceptable and beneficial, demonstrating that media can influence both descriptive norms (what people do) and injunctive norms (what people approve of).
Objectives The Community Radio Program (CRP) aimed to improve women’s and children’s health in Zambia by promoting positive behavior change around family planning, gender-based violence, HIV prevention, malaria treatment, and civic engagement, using radio dramas to shift related social norms and behaviors.
Methods The project conducted a quantitative outcome survey using a multistage, stratified sampling method across five provinces in Zambia. Respondents aged 15–49 (women) and 15–59 (men) were selected from the listening areas of the radio programs. The analysis compared regular listeners (weekly or more) to non-listeners using descriptive and multivariate analysis, controlling for key demographics and measuring knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, norms, and behaviors.
Intervention Details Implemented by Population Media Center with USAID support, the CRP broadcast two radio serial dramas—Kwishilya (in Bemba) and Siñalamba (in Lozi)—totaling 624 episodes over nearly five years. The dramas addressed key health and gender themes through compelling storytelling and were supplemented by live call-in shows, epilogues, and expert segments.
Results Regular listeners of the dramas demonstrated statistically significant improvements in attitudes, self-efficacy, and behaviors related to family planning. For example, 89.4% of listeners believed their spouse approved of contraceptive use (vs. 82.3% of non-listeners), and 79% felt confident negotiating use with their partner. Listeners were also more likely to currently use family planning (69.2% vs. 58.6%) and to have discussed it with their spouse. Normative shifts were also seen: 85.5% of listeners believed their community approved of contraceptive use, compared to 80.9% of non-listeners.
Conclusions Kwishilya and Siñalamba effectively used media-based storytelling to foster normative and behavioral change in reproductive health. By improving perceptions of partner and community support, and enhancing self-efficacy, the dramas contributed to greater acceptance and uptake of family planning. The findings support the use of mass media as a scalable tool for shifting social norms and driving health outcomes.