Learning From the Past: The Role of Social and Behavior Change Programming in Public Health Emergencies

Peer Reviewed Articles

Learning From the Past: The Role of Social and Behavior Change Programming in Public Health Emergencies

Key Messages

The prevalence of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) is rising at an unprecedented rate, and influencing human behavior is often the first line of defense to slow disease transmissions.

We synthesize the contributions that social and behavior change research and programming has made in 6 recent EIDs that reached epidemic proportions: HIV, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Middle East respiratory syndrome, Zika virus, Ebola virus disease, and coronavirus disease.

Analysis of successful and unsuccessful responses to EID outbreaks suggests 5 primary lessons learned that can be used by SBC experts in future EID responses: engage communities, build trust through transparent risk communication, segment audiences for tailored interventions, prioritize behaviors, and cultivate political will and commitment.

Incorporating SBC experts into EID responses can reduce mortality and improve efficiency in such precarious and time-sensitive settings.

 

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