Examining diffusion to understand the how of SASA!, a violence against women and HIV prevention intervention in Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the importance of community-led social norms transformation in reducing violence against women. The SASA! intervention facilitated behavior change by challenging gender norms that underpin intimate partner violence and HIV vulnerability. The success of SASA! was linked to its ability to diffuse ideas through multiple communication channels and within […]
COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT FOR HEALTH (CSH) PROGRAMME SAFE LOVE OUTCOME EVALUATION REPORT
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Safe Love campaign provides strong evidence that mass media behavior change communication (BCC) can influence social norms related to HIV prevention, particularly around condom use, HIV testing, and perceptions of sexual behavior. Notably, the campaign shifted perceptions about community approval of condom use with casual partners and the belief that […]
Congregation leader and member discussions in a church-based family strengthening, mental health promotion and HIV prevention trial: Intervention
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates how faith-based interventions influence social norms in congregational settings through increasing discussions around stigmatized or sensitive topics such as sexual health and condom use. The intervention helped normalize these conversations among both leaders and members, revealing that religious settings, when engaged thoughtfully, can become important spaces for addressing […]
A church-based intervention for families to promote mental health and prevent HIV among adolescents in rural Kenya: Results of a randomized trial
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the role of family and church-based relationships in shaping social norms around adolescent mental health and HIV prevention. The intervention fostered shifts in injunctive norms by reinforcing open communication, gender-equitable attitudes, and joint problem-solving within families. By situating the program within trusted church settings and engaging both adolescents […]
Family influences on oral PrEP use among adolescent girls and young women in Kenya and South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the deep role of family—particularly mothers—in shaping adolescent girls’ and young women’s decisions around pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention. Though the study does not directly measure social norms, it provides insight into prevailing normative expectations about sexual behavior and health decision-making. Many young women feared judgment or […]
Effects of PREPARE, a Multi-component, School-Based HIV and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Prevention Programme on Adolescent Sexual Risk Behaviour and IPV: Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study measured social norms explicitly, focusing on perceived expectations from peers, family, and partners around condom use and delaying sex. The intervention addressed both descriptive and injunctive norms by attempting to shift young people’s perceptions of what behaviors are typical and appropriate in their communities. While the intervention improved knowledge […]
Female Condom Use among Female University Students in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Results of a Randomized Behavioral Trial
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study suggests that brief, group-based female condom (FC) promotion interventions can shift individual-level attitudes and peer norms regarding condom use among young women, even in contexts of entrenched gender inequalities. While broader social norms around male dominance in sexual decision-making remain a barrier, increasing women’s condom self-efficacy and improving peer […]
Combination prevention package of interventions for reducing vulnerability to HIV among adolescent girls and young women in Nigeria: An action research
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that interventions co-designed with communities can shift entrenched social norms that heighten adolescent girls’ and young women’s vulnerability to HIV. Parental silence around sexuality, peer silence about safer sex, and stigma associated with condom access were actively challenged through tailored, participatory activities. Interventions that enabled parents to discuss […]
Evaluation of a male engagement intervention to transform gender norms and improve family planning and HIV service uptake in Kabale, Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the difficulty of transforming entrenched gender norms through short-duration, community-based interventions without adequately trained facilitators. Although some improvements were observed in men’s health-seeking behaviors, meaningful changes in gender attitudes were minimal. The findings underscore that deeply held cultural beliefs are resistant to change, especially when interventions are not […]
Results from a cluster-randomized trial to evaluate a microfinance and peer health leadership intervention to prevent HIV and intimate partner violence among social networks of Tanzanian men.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study shows that shifting men’s attitudes around gender norms is possible through peer-led interventions, but changing behaviors tied to power, masculinity, and violence demands deeper, sustained engagement. Effective interventions must focus not only on individual beliefs but also on the community and relational dynamics that reinforce harmful practices. Objectives: This […]