HIV/STI Risk-Reduction Intervention Efficacy with South African Adolescents Over 54 Months
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study provides compelling evidence that early, theory-based HIV/STI risk-reduction interventions can foster lasting shifts in sexual behaviors and the psychosocial drivers of behavior among South African adolescents. While not explicitly framed around social norms, the intervention indirectly influenced normative beliefs—particularly perceptions of parental approval and sexual negotiation self-efficacy—highlighting how targeting […]
Encoded exposure and social norms in entertainment-education
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study provides empirical evidence that entertainment-education (EE) programs can influence social norms directly through audience exposure, without necessarily relying on behavior change as a mediator. It highlights the importance of “encoded exposure”—a multi-dimensional measure capturing attention, recall, involvement, and frequency of engagement—with findings suggesting that deep and sustained involvement with […]
An Entertainment-Education Initiative on Television A glimpse into production process
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The evaluation of Kyunki… Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai illustrates that long-running entertainment-education programs can contribute to shifts in social norms and health behaviors at scale, particularly when built on a robust theoretical foundation and broadcast consistently over time. The show significantly influenced collective perceptions around key reproductive, maternal, newborn, and […]
A Pilot RCT Evaluating InThistoGether, an mHealth HIV Prevention Program for Ugandan Youth
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Although not explicitly designed to address social norms, the InThistoGether (ITG) intervention engages with implicit normative beliefs around condom use, sexual behavior, and HIV testing among Ugandan youth. By promoting sex-positive messaging and normalizing discussions of condom use and HIV prevention through daily texts, the intervention subtly challenges stigma and harmful […]
IMAGINE Endline Evaluation Report
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The IMAGINE program demonstrates that interventions targeting adolescent girls’ agency, gender dynamics, and economic empowerment can result in promising shifts in social norms related to family planning and gender roles. Notably, in Bangladesh, the intervention influenced norms around the timing of marriage and childbearing, and in Niger, it fostered greater contraceptive […]
The doing and undoing of male household decision-making and economic authority in Rwanda and its implications for gender transformative programming
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This formative research shows that social norms in Rwanda—such as expectations of male authority, the acceptability of wife-beating, and women’s responsibility to endure suffering for the sake of marriage—play a critical role in sustaining IPV. The findings underscore the importance of designing interventions like Indashyikirwa to confront not just individual behaviors […]
“On the Wings of Wishes” (Icchedana), Adolescent Girls in Bangladesh Taking Flight Using A Social Behavioral Change Communication Program to Address Child Marriage Related Social Norms: A Longitudinal Panel Study.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that social norms change is possible through targeted communication efforts but remains uneven across groups. While personal beliefs (injunctive norms) can shift—particularly among fathers—community-level perceptions (descriptive norms) often persist. Interventions must explicitly target reference groups and address the perceived social consequences of norm-breaking to create an enabling environment […]
Measuring the effects of the radio drama Impano n’Inpamba: fertility awareness and family planning results
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The evaluation of Impano n’Impamba demonstrates that entertainment-education can be a powerful vehicle for shifting knowledge and initiating dialogue around fertility awareness and family planning. While the drama increased fertility awareness and intermediate outcomes (like self-efficacy and discussion), it did not lead to statistically significant increases in modern contraceptive use. This […]
EXPLORING KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND BELIEFS ABOUT CHILD MARRIAGE IN BANGLADESH THROUGH A TRANSMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT-EDUCATION INITATIVE.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study illustrates how transmedia Entertainment-Education (EE) can shift perceptions around child marriage by engaging viewers across multiple social-ecological levels. Exposure to the Icchedana programme was associated with greater disapproval of child marriage, particularly in interpersonal and societal domains. Despite education being a key determinant of child marriage, social norms persist […]
ENABLING GENDER NORM CHANGE THROUGH COMMUNICATION: A CASE STUDY OF A TRANS-MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT-EDUCATION INITIATIVE IN BANGLADESH.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This case study illustrates how an evidence-based, gender-transformative communication initiative can begin to shift entrenched social norms around child marriage in Bangladesh. Through entertainment-education and targeted community engagement, the project influenced personal and familial norms, even when broader community-level beliefs remained resistant. The study emphasizes the importance of aligning social norms […]