April 14, 2016
Some communities in Ecuador face high incidences of water-borne illness because of contaminated water or poor hygiene and sanitation. It’s a multipronged problem calling for an interdisciplinary approach combining natural, medical and social sciences. Bret Shaw, a UW-Madison professor of life sciences communication and a faculty affiliate of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, last year helped implement a social science approach with funding from the UW-Madison Global Health Institute.
“I used a social marketing perspective, which utilizes psychological and communication tools, to try to help villagers make lasting behavior changes in how they interact with water and sanitation,” explains Shaw.
Shaw worked with two undergraduates, Lauren Feierstein and Brenna O’Halloran, both environmental studies students, to create health behavioral prompts — small signs in Spanish left in important areas where a reminder to wash hands is vital, such as in bathrooms, near sinks and on bottles of water. Since many people in the community have limited literacy, it was important for the prompts to use images and very few words.
on why someone wouldn’t do
something such as boil their
water or wash their hands
was very important. Knowing
those barriers was crucial to
addressing the issue from
all angles.”
While the concept can seem intuitive, years of research show that the most effective prompts focus on self-efficacy — showing individuals how easy a behavior is — and making sure that the people in the graphic are relatable to the target population. The images and words Shaw’s team used were as specific as possible, showing an individual washing his or her hands with just a simple phrase underneath.
“Understanding the perspectives on why someone wouldn’t do something such as boil their water or wash their hands was very important,” says Feierstein, who also worked with residents on making and distributing organic soap. “Knowing those barriers was crucial to addressing the issue from all angles.”
The project was an extension of a course called “Water for Life Sustainability and Health,” a partnership between the Madison-based Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation and the Global Health Institute. The course is led by Catherine Woodward, a faculty associate with UW-Madison’s Institute for Biology Education and president of the Ceiba Foundation. Shaw was brought in to offer guidance about how social marketing strategies can encourage healthy behavior.
“I’m a biologist and most of the people we work with are biologists, so having a communications person on board was a critical part of getting the message out,” says Woodward. “And not just about the message and having people understand why it’s a good idea to conserve natural resources — but also to actually get them to change their behavior.”
This story was originally published by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
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