Elementary students' contribution to improving household health practices through effective use of BCC Tools

This paper describes a behavioral change communication (BCC) strategy implemented by Essential Services for Health in Ethiopia (ESHE) that engages elementary school students to improve household health practices and their contribution to the accelerated implementation of the health extension program (HEP) in Ethiopia.

The program encourages 4th grade students to communicate health actions for their parents, who are mostly illiterate, by reading BCC material, mainly the family health card (FHC), and influence their parents to change their behaviors and link household health needs with the health extension workers (HEWs). This behavioral approach focused on 25 key health actions, uses fun and interaction and recognizes the achievements of students and their families. . The initiative developed interactive activity guide to engage students, a training guide for HEWs and teachers to help them use the activity guide and monitoring activities to provide guidance during implementation. The school initiative was implemented in 30 elementary schools in three districts.

Frequent monitoring visits to schools and discussions with HEWs, teachers, students and families, experience sharing meetings with HEWs and teachers, and documentation interviews indicate that families listened to students, families and students reported change in household health practices, students helped their younger siblings to change their behaviors. In two of the regions, the health departments expanded the program to other districts and schools. The BCC strategy has the potential of being scaled up in Ethiopia and in other similar countries.