- Year Present
- Theme Health - Public Health Messaging
- Team Research
Key documents
Entertainment-education (EE) narratives are powerful persuasion tools that still need to be fully understood and leveraged for public policy. These studies aim to understand the effectiveness of compelling EE narratives in driving desired social outcomes about Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplement consumption for pregnant women and Minimum Diet Diversity (MDD) for children between 6 and 23 months.
We conducted a user perception survey with 51 respondents between the ages of 20-40 years in Sewapuri, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, to understand respondent reactions to the IFA narrative series. The survey focused on the user perception of the entertainment value of the videos, their willingness to engage with the content, and their recall of the core content. Each participant was shown one of the two following video series (chosen randomly):
MBBS Bhai and Circuit reunite at Cherry-table Clinic to try and solve their famed patients’ odd ordeals. Tune in to find out if they are successful in their efforts and maybe to learn something on the way.
On the metric of engagement, or willingness to watch an additional episode of the series, 73% of our user perception survey respondents chose to watch at least one more video. 86% of men watched at least one more video, compared to 58% of women. 81% of the respondents said they were “extremely likely” to share the video with others, and men and women showed similar trends in response.
77% of respondents correctly answered a knowledge question regarding IFA consumption after watching the video. More men (86%) than women (67%) answered correctly. 92% of respondents correctly answered a knowledge question regarding the frequency of IFA consumption, and 100% of women answered correctly compared to 86% of men.
Pregnant Tulsi Virani, sarpanch of her village, goes about saving the day with her heroic efforts and quick wits. The secret to her energy? Stay tuned until the final episode to find out.
96% of the respondents wanted to finish the series after watching this video, and 100% of the men watched the entire series, compared to 92% of women. 44% of the respondents said they were “extremely likely”, and 56% said “very likely,” to share the video. More women chose the option “extremely likely” as compared to men who instead chose the option “most likely” to share.
84% of respondents correctly answered a knowledge question regarding IFA consumption after watching the video. Men (83%) and women (85%) shared similar trends in response 80% of respondents correctly answered a knowledge question regarding the frequency of IFA consumption, and more women (92%) than men (67%) answered correctly.
Based on the findings from the study, the intervention will be further refined and scaled for testing across multiple states.
Minimum Diet Diversity (MDD) refers to the concept that children between 6 and 24 months should be fed a minimum of 4 of 7 food groups and breastmilk daily. We conducted a pilot in Lakhisarai, Bihar, in September 2022 with mothers, fathers and paternal grandmothers to gain feedback on the content of the MDD videos and test their effectiveness in increasing knowledge of and intentions to increase diet diversity.
Our pilot used a “do-it-yourself” survey format that employed audio-visual aids to empower respondents to participate directly in surveys with minimal intervention by enumerators. Three key features of the survey were:
Before the survey, our enumerators trained respondents using a demo survey form. The training took 15 minutes, and the form contained at least one question of each type seen in the main survey form. The enumerator took this time to explain the different types of questions, options, and audio-visual aids. For respondents that had not used a smartphone previously, the enumerator explained how to scroll down to see options, how to move to the next page, and how to ensure an option is selected before moving on to the next page.
Following the training session, the respondents began the survey. The enumerator stayed in the same room as the respondent throughout the experiment. The enumerator answered respondent queries on navigating the form when asked. However, they did not fill out the form on behalf of the respondent at any point after the training session
The mothers we surveyed were able to catch on to the flow of the form after the initial training. The fathers caught on to the form intuitively. Both these groups had used smartphones previously. Since the paternal grandmothers had not used smartphones previously, they were hesitant about their ability to do the survey. However, they were able to catch on after initial support. In terms of comprehension of the survey questions, only a few mothers could read. Those that could not read used the audio-visual guides to understand and answer questions. Fathers were educated and literate and largely completed the survey without the help of any audio-visual guides. Paternal grandmothers could not read and required more training to navigate the form and audio-visual aids.
These were the video series we showed respondents:
Shamitabh, of Ab Banega Crorepati fame, delves deep into the frightening past of Mazrupur to uncover the secrets behind the mysterious disappearance of the infants of Mazrupur in a thrilling story.
The mothers we surveyed found the storyline of this series engaging and interesting. The paternal grandmothers also found the storyline engaging and were eager to discuss it. They were able to follow and recall MDD-related information presented in the videos.
Shake a leg with the catchy musical numbers of the band ‘Khaan Paan Gaan’ to help you remember how to feed your infant the right things.
The fathers we surveyed found the presentation of MDD information in this video series beneficial.
This pilot highlighted bottlenecks in implementation and informed research design for a more extensive lab-in-the-field evaluation of edutainment videos in promoting healthy nutritional behaviours. Specifically, this lab-in-the-field RCT will have approximately 500 respondents in Sewapuri, UP, and will study the effectiveness of our MDD edutainment videos compared to existing collateral currently used by the government to address these indicators.
