Impact of the Arts for Behavior Change Program on hygiene practices in an underserved community in Lima, Peru

While there is a long and rich history to using the arts, particularly theater, to address social issues there is an extreme paucity of research and evaluation on the effectiveness – or lack of – those approaches. In the Arts for Behavior Change Program in Lima, Peru (ABC Program), we began to address that issue. Research began with a formative stage that informed the creation of the theatrical presentations and narrative content. We conducted an extensive community survey of 250 homes (50% of total) before performances began. During the intervention, we conducted post-performance interviews (N=20) after each performance for a total of 240 interviews. After the final performance and health festival, we again conducted an extensive community survey (N=249) that included observations (N=50) of household behaviors and microbiological sampling (N=24) from multiple surfaces within households. We plan to return to repeat the outcome assessment at six months after the final performances as well. Preliminary data indicate that community members derived great satisfaction from participating in the ABC Program and, importantly, that they have increased health literacy and are making informed decisions about their own and the community's household hygiene and related behaviors. We will report on a complete analysis of qualitative and quantitative outcome data. Preliminary data indicate that the Arts for Behavior Change approach developed and tested in this program is effective and applicable to a broad range of public health and social issues.