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Sneha - Suraksha - Samman: Care - Protection - Respect (CPR) as a strategic social behavior change communication approach to improve maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes in Madhya Pradesh, India
Every day 12 mothers and 144 children respectively die of childbirth complications and preventable diseases in Madhya Pradesh (MP) state; it’s IMR of 54 and MMR of 212 is among the highest in India. Government has established infrastructure, centers and schemes; however, utilization of MCH services remains low. A strategic social behavior change communication (SBCC) approach was required for demand generation.
methods:
Meetings with top officials followed by consultative meetings with staff provided the health department perspective. Community perceptions were understood through group meetings, in-depth interviews, and stakeholder consultations with community leaders, frontline health staff, intended audience of men, women and adolescents. Secondary data and published literature helped in the situation analysis.
results:
Most maternal deaths took place around delivery or soon after giving birth. Of every 10 infant deaths, seven were neonates. More than half of adolescent girls suffer from anemia; got married before the age of 18, and 40% of married women did not use contraception. Community beliefs hindered revealing pregnancy at early state leading to low ANC registration in the first trimester. Women complained of poor quality obstetric care at health centers. Preference for male child and low status of women compounds the problem. Use of the social-ecological model established barriers to behavior change from family, community to health facility.
conclusions:
The strategic approach of Sneha-Suraksha-Samman (Care-Protection-Respect) provides guidelines for actions at household, community and facility level to generate demand for services and adopt healthy behaviors. The SBCC strategy was launched by the Chief Minister and Unicef (India) ambassador for MCH and is being implemented.
Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programsLearning Objectives:
Describe the process of developing a unique SBCC strategy that focuses on both demand and supply side issues for behaviour change for improved MCH
Discuss the relevance of contextual barriers when designing a strategy for behaviour change
Describe the maternal and child health situation in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India
Keyword(s): Maternal and Child Health, Community Development
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was involved in the planning, development and launch of the strategy. I played a key role in the conceptualization, research, evidence-gathering, and design of strategy including the name and the overall approach and framework.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.