Positive Deviance an Asset-Based Approach to Improve Malaria Outcomes
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LEARNING PAPER Positive deviance An asset-based approach to improve malaria outcomes Learning Paper 1 BACKGROUND Learning paper series Since starting operations in 2003, Malaria Consortium disease management and control. Collaboration and has gained a great deal of experience and knowledge cooperation with others through our work has been through technical and operational programmes and paramount and much of what we have learned has activities relating to the control of malaria and other been achieved through our partnerships. infectious childhood and neglected tropical diseases. Organisationally, we are dedicated to ensuring our This series of learning papers aims to capture and collate work remains grounded in the lessons we learn some of the knowledge, learning and, where possible, through implementation. We explore beyond the evidence around the focus and effectiveness of our current practice, to try out innovative ways – work. By sharing this learning, we hope to provide new Community members in through research, implementation and policy knowledge on public health development that will help Sampov Luon District gather for a positive deviance development – to achieve effective and sustainable influence and advance both policy and practice. meeting Contents AUTHOR Muhammad Shafique 2. Introduction Malaria Consortium 4. What is positive deviance? Sue George Consultant 6. Section 1: CONTRIBUTORS Arantxa Roca Feltrer Background to the positive deviance project Malaria Consortium 9. Planning the project EDITOR Portia Reyes 10. Section 2: Malaria Consortium The positive deviance project DESIGN 12. Phase 1 – one-week positive deviance process Transmission Art direction & Design 16. Phase 2 – six-month positive deviance www.thisistransmission.com Andrew Lyons Cover illustration implementation Cristina Ortiz Graphic illustration 17. Advocacy event CONTACT [email protected] 20. Section 3: What worked well Citation: Shafique, M and George, S (2014) Positive deviance: An asset-based approach to improve malaria outcomes 22. Lessons learned and challenges www.malariaconsortium.org/ learningpapers 23. Conclusions and recommendations COPYRIGHT Malaria Consortium 23. References PUBLISHED April 2014 24. About Malaria Consortium © 2014 This learning paper was produced by Malaria Consortium and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution No-Derivs 3.0 Unported Licence. It is permitted to copy, distribute and transmit the work commercially or otherwise under the following conditions: the work must be attributed in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work; the work may not be altered, transformed, or built upon. These conditions can be waived if permission is granted in writing by Malaria Consortium. For other details relating to this licence, please visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/. For any reuse or distribution, please make clear the licence terms of this paper by linking to it via www.malariaconsortium.org/resources/ publications/add-type/learning-papers Learning Paper 1 BACKGROUND Introduction This learning paper describes a pilot project in north-west Cambodia that used positive deviance as a method of behaviour change communication for malaria control Positive deviance is a behaviour and social change Positive deviance approach that helps identify existing model behaviours within a community that can be shared and amplified identifies the solutions by the rest of the community. of the problems today. It identifies the role It rests on the observation that in every community, there are certain individuals whose uncommon models who, despite all behaviours enable them to find better solutions to odds, living in similar problems than their neighbours who have access to the conditions, sharing 1-3 same resources . similar resources, The project discussed in this learning paper focused on have managed to mobile and migrant workers and resident communities have better health in three villages in Sampov Luon, north-west Cambodia. This work was carried out by Cambodia’s National outcomes than their Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria neighbours. Positive Control (CNM), with the technical support of Malaria deviance can be a very Consortium and funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. effective interpersonal communication tool The positive deviance project involved selecting role for hard to reach models from within the community who practised uncommon but positive behaviour with regards to populations, such as malaria prevention and control. These role models then mobile and migrant worked within the community to show other individuals workers, to better and families how they could act in similar ways, in order to improve malaria prevention and enhance understand and reach malaria treatment. The project ended with a large out to them. advocacy event that symbolically handed the project Muhammed Shafique, over to the community. Malaria Consortium This paper looks closely at what this project involved, discusses what worked well, what lessons were learned and the challenges met during the period it was running. At the end of this paper are recommendations for future malaria control work using positive deviance. The positive deviance project targeted the local community and migrant populations 2 Learning Paper Learning Paper 3 BACKGROUND What is positive deviance? The term ‘positive deviance’* means uncommon but positive behaviours within a community that could be used more widely for the benefit of others. Positive deviance individuals and their families have After learning from more effective solutions to health problems than do their neighbours, with whom they share similar resources1–3. the positive deviance In positive deviance, these individuals are used to model role model, we follow behaviours for other members of the community. her behaviour. We Positive deviance is a behaviour change approach that wear long-sleeved builds on the existing strengths of communities. The clothes and sleep positive deviance approach starts with a community under the mosquito net dialogue; it respects local wisdom and provides social proof by identifying positive practices from within the every night to protect community that ensures acceptance and speeds up ourselves from malaria. the process of behaviour change. It allows community Female community members to be active beneficiaries, engaged as full partners to play a role in their own health and member protection from malaria. Positive deviance has also been used to identify positive behaviours associated with maternal and newborn health, family planning, female genital mutilation, preventing trafficking of women and HIV/AIDS3, 7-10. The project detailed here is the first time positive deviance has been used for malaria prevention and control. As the phrase ‘positive deviance’ has some negative connotations in the areas of Cambodia where the programme run, the term ‘role model’ was often used instead in this programme in order for it to remain culturally appropriate. A positive deviance role *The term ‘positive deviance’ first appeared in nutrition research in 1970s4,5. The positive deviance concept model in Khtum Reay Kaeut was first operationalised in the field by Jerry and Monique Sternin on nutrition in Vietnam in 1990s6,7. village 4 Learning Paper Learning Paper 5 SECTION 1 Background Cambodia, which lies in the centre of the Indo-China peninsula in Southeast Asia, has a population of 13,386,910* consisting of 2.2 million households, in 13,406 villages in 24 provinces. Malaria remains a public health concern in Cambodia. Cambodia has witnessed a steady reduction in the cases were recorded). As seen in the figure below, total number of malaria cases and deaths. According similar incidence trends were observed during the to the latest CNM annual report 2013, a total of 24,135 same period. At the same time, an even more dramatic malaria episodes were treated by the public health decrease of around 95 percent of the malaria deaths services during 2013, a dramatic decrease of more than reported in 2000 was observed during the last 13 years 81 percent of the cases reported in 2000 (when 129,167 (from 608 to 12 deaths in 2013). Number of malaria treated cases, severe cases and deaths, Cambodia 2000 to 2013 Number of cases Number of deaths 140,000 700 120,000 600 100,000 500 80,000 400 60,000 300 40,000 200 20,000 100 0 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Treated cases Severe cases Deaths Source: National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control Incidence rate of malaria treated cases per 1000 population, Cambodia 2000 to 2013 Number of malaria treated cases Incidence rate per 1000 population 140,000 14 120,000 12 100,000 10 80,000 8 60,000 6 40,000 4 20,000 2 0 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 A migrant worker packing Treated cases Incidence rate per 1000 corn. Many migrant workers seek temporary work during Source: National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control *Cambodia Census, 2008 planting or harvesting season 6 Learning Paper Learning Paper 7 SECTION 1 Farming and forest areas Despite the decrease in malaria as a whole, there is This area has many migrant workers coming to work growing evidence for the emergence of artemisinin in the villages during the planting or harvesting season resistance along the Cambodia-Thailand border area. to find