Identifying drivers of behaviour change to improve cholera interventions in the urban setting of Lilongwe, Malawi
(2019) SIMV30 20191Master of Science in Development Studies
Graduate School
- Abstract
- Cholera is a global threat to public health and a symbol of injustice and absence of social development. It causes thousands of deaths worldwide every year due to lack of sanitation, access to clean water, and poor hygiene. This thesis is motivated by the premise that effective cholera prevention and control efforts benefit from understanding the local context. This explorative research argues in favor of a behavior change intervention approach. It bases its investigation on local contextual and psychosocial factors influencing behaviours of water, sanitation and hygiene practices. The aim is to guide preventive interventions to become sustainable, inclusive and culturally acceptable. The collected data consists of semi-structured and... (More)
- Cholera is a global threat to public health and a symbol of injustice and absence of social development. It causes thousands of deaths worldwide every year due to lack of sanitation, access to clean water, and poor hygiene. This thesis is motivated by the premise that effective cholera prevention and control efforts benefit from understanding the local context. This explorative research argues in favor of a behavior change intervention approach. It bases its investigation on local contextual and psychosocial factors influencing behaviours of water, sanitation and hygiene practices. The aim is to guide preventive interventions to become sustainable, inclusive and culturally acceptable. The collected data consists of semi-structured and paired interviews along with observation of psychosocial and contextual factors influencing the behaviour of people from three cholera hotspot in Lilongwe. The findings reveal that the factual knowledge about cholera is limited and the perception of vulnerability does not mirror the severity. The intention of using clean water is high, however influenced by unhealthy habit and server contextual factors. In relation to sanitation it is clear that norms are very influential. In relation hygiene behaviour it is clear that a healthy behaviour does not outweigh the cost, which limits the self-efficacy and commitment. A comprehensive and contextual behaviour change intervention approach can target the unhealthy behaviour and inform, change and encourage healthy practices to reduce the risk of diseases. Lastly, it is vital to pinpoint that the interconnection between contextual and psychosocial factors influences behaviour in a negative sense, as they form a barrier for a healthy behaviour to develop and to become a habit. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Cholera is a global threat to public health and a symbol of injustice and absence of social development. It causes thousands of deaths worldwide every year due to lack of sanitation, access to clean water, and poor hygiene. This thesis is motivated by the premise that effective cholera prevention and control efforts benefit from understanding the local context. This explorative research argues in favor of a behavior change intervention approach. It bases its investigation on local contextual and psychosocial factors influencing behaviours of water, sanitation and hygiene practices. The aim is to guide preventive interventions to become sustainable, inclusive and culturally acceptable. The collected data consists of semi-structured and... (More)
- Cholera is a global threat to public health and a symbol of injustice and absence of social development. It causes thousands of deaths worldwide every year due to lack of sanitation, access to clean water, and poor hygiene. This thesis is motivated by the premise that effective cholera prevention and control efforts benefit from understanding the local context. This explorative research argues in favor of a behavior change intervention approach. It bases its investigation on local contextual and psychosocial factors influencing behaviours of water, sanitation and hygiene practices. The aim is to guide preventive interventions to become sustainable, inclusive and culturally acceptable. The collected data consists of semi-structured and paired interviews along with observation of psychosocial and contextual factors influencing the behaviour of people from three cholera hotspot in Lilongwe. The findings reveal that the factual knowledge about cholera is limited and the perception of vulnerability does not mirror the severity. The intention of using clean water is high, however influenced by unhealthy habit and server contextual factors. In relation to sanitation it is clear that norms are very influential. In relation hygiene behaviour it is clear that a healthy behaviour does not outweigh the cost, which limits the self-efficacy and commitment. A comprehensive and contextual behaviour change intervention approach can target the unhealthy behaviour and inform, change and encourage healthy practices to reduce the risk of diseases. Lastly, it is vital to pinpoint that the interconnection between contextual and psychosocial factors influences behaviour in a negative sense, as they form a barrier for a healthy behaviour to develop and to become a habit. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8982889
- author
- Bigum, Sarah Oellgaard LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SIMV30 20191
- year
- 2019
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Cholera Prevention, Behaviour Change Interventions, RANAS Model, Urban Malawi, Reactive Measurements
- language
- English
- id
- 8982889
- date added to LUP
- 2019-09-30 16:53:17
- date last changed
- 2019-09-30 16:53:17
@misc{8982889,
abstract = {{Cholera is a global threat to public health and a symbol of injustice and absence of social development. It causes thousands of deaths worldwide every year due to lack of sanitation, access to clean water, and poor hygiene. This thesis is motivated by the premise that effective cholera prevention and control efforts benefit from understanding the local context. This explorative research argues in favor of a behavior change intervention approach. It bases its investigation on local contextual and psychosocial factors influencing behaviours of water, sanitation and hygiene practices. The aim is to guide preventive interventions to become sustainable, inclusive and culturally acceptable. The collected data consists of semi-structured and paired interviews along with observation of psychosocial and contextual factors influencing the behaviour of people from three cholera hotspot in Lilongwe. The findings reveal that the factual knowledge about cholera is limited and the perception of vulnerability does not mirror the severity. The intention of using clean water is high, however influenced by unhealthy habit and server contextual factors. In relation to sanitation it is clear that norms are very influential. In relation hygiene behaviour it is clear that a healthy behaviour does not outweigh the cost, which limits the self-efficacy and commitment. A comprehensive and contextual behaviour change intervention approach can target the unhealthy behaviour and inform, change and encourage healthy practices to reduce the risk of diseases. Lastly, it is vital to pinpoint that the interconnection between contextual and psychosocial factors influences behaviour in a negative sense, as they form a barrier for a healthy behaviour to develop and to become a habit.}},
author = {{Bigum, Sarah Oellgaard}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Identifying drivers of behaviour change to improve cholera interventions in the urban setting of Lilongwe, Malawi}},
year = {{2019}},
}