Focus On
Innovative Storytelling
In northern Nigeria, maternal and child mortality rates are alarmingly high, and traditional health-seeking behaviors hinder progress. Through a partnership with the Government of Nigeria, Breakthrough ACTION developed the Albishirin Ku! (good tidings) radio drama to promote maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) behaviors. The show was designed and implemented using systematic social and behavior change approaches grounded in theory and with a deep understanding of the audience.
Featured Resources
Sawa Le Baad: An Integrated Social and Behavior Change Strategy for Family Planning and Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
This SBC strategy outlines how to integrate approached for family planning and maternal, newborn, and child health.
Social and Behavior Change for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health During COVID-19
Programs can use these considerations, messages, and resources to adapt SBC programming for maternal and child health in response to COVID-19 challenges.
The Spark of Change Radio Soap Opera
This entertainment-education radio soap opera promotes good health and nutrition practices for women and children in Guatemala.
Why we do this work
Health care workers are the foundation for shaping a positive client experience and play an essential role in providing quality maternal and newborn care to yield positive health outcomes. These health care workers operate within a larger health system that includes many factors that influence their workplace environment and shape their behavior. Health care worker burnout and a lack of support in many settings have a real and direct impact on the provision of patient-centered care for mothers and their children. Quality improvement efforts can only truly improve systems if program implementers understand and address the facilitators and barriers health care workers face within the health systems in which they operate. Breakthrough ACTION hosted a consultation to provide a deep dive into the Provider Behavior Ecosystem with concrete examples of how program implementers in other health areas have used it and how they may leverage it further within MNCH services. Learning from this activity will strengthen capacity across the MNCH community in deeply examining the multitude of factors that influence the quality of services and provider behavior within it, all with the goal of ultimately improving the experience of care and MNCH services.
