Health Communication Capacity Collaborative Archives

The Western Area Surge in Sierra Leone

With more than half of the cases of the epidemic persistently registered in the Western Area District of Sierra Leone, and cases continuing to rise, in late November 2014, the need for the ‘Western Area Surge’ was established.

The overall goal of the Surge was to interrupt the alarming upward trend with intensive community engagement and improved service provision over the period 15th December, 2014 to 31st December, 2015 in order to break the chain of transmission.

The Surge was designed around the inter-dependence of supply and demand factors within the wider enabling environment. In the lead up to the Surge, it was evident that the supply side was not adequately delivering services. A lack of trust in the health system and the wider response had developed which undermined any further demand creation. Therefore, the first step in the Surge involved drastically increasing the quality and quantity of all services, and communicating this to build confidence and encourage the public to come forward at the earliest possible stage.

Download Fact Sheet

Resource Type(s)

Fact Sheet

Topic(s)

Social Mobilization

Language(s)

English

Country(ies)

Sierra Leone

Source(s)

Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Ministry of Health and Sanitation The Republic of Sierra Leonne

UNICEF

House to House Campaign: Covering the Country in Sierra Leone

November 4, 2016/in Fact Sheet Health Communication Capacity Collaborative, Ministry of Health and Sanitation The Republic of Sierra Leonne, UNICEF Sierra Leone English Social Mobilization /by Brandon Desiderio

Supported and launched at the highest level, His Excellency the President, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, went on National television and radio on the evening of 18 September and declared a “sit at home” for the period from 19 to 21 September 2014 to facilitate the implementation of the nationwide House to House Family Sensitization Campaign. Council chairmen and traditional leaders replicated this symbolic launch with similar events at districts and chiefdoms across the country. The MOHS, in collaboration with UNICEF, WHO, other partners, and line Ministries, conducted the campaign.

The goals were to:

• Achieve community ownership and participation in the EVD response;

• Engage the community in contact tracing and mitigating transmission risk; and,

• Lay a foundation for health sector recovery via interactive confidence building.

The objectives of the campaign were to:

• Reach 100% of households in the country with correct information on EVD;

• Increase community acceptance of EVD affected persons, especially children;

• Promote hand washing with soap at the household level;

• Rebuild public confidence and trust in the health system; and,

• Install neighborhood watch structures at community level.

Download Fact Sheet

Resource Type(s)

Fact Sheet

Topic(s)

Social Mobilization

Language(s)

English

Country(ies)

Sierra Leone

Source(s)

Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Ministry of Health and Sanitation The Republic of Sierra Leonne

UNICEF

Hot Spot Busters, a Community Focused Intervention in Sierra Leone

November 4, 2016/in Case Study Health Communication Capacity Collaborative, Ministry of Health and Sanitation The Republic of Sierra Leonne, UNICEF Sierra Leone English Social Mobilization /by Brandon Desiderio

The “Hotspot Busters Initiative” was aimed at reducing and eliminating the spread of EVD in hotspot areas as soon as cases appeared. It became a key element of UNICEF’s response to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. UNICEF and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS), in partnership with the Health for all Coalition (HFAC), a local community-based organization with a network of social mobilizers in the field, implemented this intervention at the ward level across the country.

How does Hotspot Busting work?

A hotspot was defined by HFAC as ‘any two suspected cases from a community’.

The activities of this initiative aimed to:

• Sensitize Paramount Chiefs and traditional leaders on the need for intensification of the EVD response in the hotspot communities, including dissemination of chiefdom by-laws on EVD;

• Undertake intense door to door community sensitization;

• Provide key messages via SBCC materials;

• Facilitate community referrals; and,

• Report on suspected cases.

These brief case studies reflect the contribution of numerous partners in the social mobilization pillar co-chaired by UNICEF and the Ministry of Health

Download Case Studies

Resource Type(s)

Case Study

Topic(s)

Social Mobilization

Language(s)

English

Country(ies)

Sierra Leone

Source(s)

Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Ministry of Health and Sanitation The Republic of Sierra Leonne

UNICEF

Ebola: A Behavior-Driven Crisis Multimedia Story

July 22, 2016/in Multimedia, Website Health Communication Capacity Collaborative Liberia English Crisis Communication, Emergency Response General Public /by Brandon Desiderio

SBCC Helps Fight Crises like Ebola and Zika

This web-based multimedia package released by HC3 focuses on social and behavior change communication (SBCC) in the context of a public health crisis.

Ebola: A Behavior-Driven Crisis is a multimedia retrospective on the role communication played during the Ebola crisis in Liberia. Using animation, maps, video and audio clips as well as narrative text and featuring original communication materials in a gallery-style format, the digital resource demonstrates how SBCC can help combat rumors and misinformation, provide answers from trusted sources, calm fears, bring together stakeholders for a coordinated response and combat stigma.

Resource Type(s)

Multimedia

Website

Topic(s)

Crisis Communication

Emergency Response

Audience(s)

General Public

Language(s)

English

Country(ies)

Liberia

Source(s)

Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Quantitative Assessment on Health System Trust and Health Service Utilization in Liberia

June 24, 2016/in Research Health Communication Capacity Collaborative Liberia English Health Systems /by Marla Shaivitz | Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

This study explored the following objectives:

Explore client perceptions of health care providers and client perspectives, including
any Ebola-related stigma that may influence health-seeking behaviors;

Explore facility and community-based health care providers’ perceptions of service
provision including fear, self-confidence, training/supervision, and trust in the health
system.

Quantitative Assessment on Health System Trust and Health Service Utilization in Liberia

Resource Type(s)

Research

Topic(s)

Health Systems

Language(s)

English

Country(ies)

Liberia

Source(s)

Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Tabella Tee – International Soccer Star, Ebola Comic book

March 23, 2015/in Comic book Health Communication Capacity Collaborative Liberia English Stigma Children /by Marla Shaivitz | Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Developed by a team of graphic artists and storytellers in Liberia, the Ebola edition of “Tabella Tee – International Soccer Star” chronicles the latest turn in Tee’s inspiring life.

The comic book details how Ebola is transmitted by having Tee consider how he was infected in the first place. It then lists signs and symptoms of Ebola as Tee describes his own illness and his hesitancy to seek help. He eventually uses the national hotline number in Liberia to get the help he needs.

As a survivor, Tee experiences some stigma when he returns to his community, but he is welcomed after his family learns he is no longer infectious. The engaging visuals and story were designed to educate as well as entertain readers.

Tabella Tee – International Soccer Star, Ebola Comic book

Resource Type(s)

Comic book

Topic(s)

Stigma

Audience(s)

Children

Language(s)

English

Country(ies)

Liberia

Source(s)

Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Community Perspectives about Ebola in Bong, Lofa and Montserrado Counties of Liberia

February 12, 2015/in Research Health Communication Capacity Collaborative, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, USAID Liberia English /by Marla Shaivitz | Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Community Perspectives about Ebola in Bong, Lofa and Montserrado Counties of Liberia: Results of a Qualitative Study

Resource Type(s)

Research

Language(s)

English

Country(ies)

Liberia

Source(s)

Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

USAID

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