主播大秀

Audiences are at the heart of all of our work - and reaching them effectively and at scale has never been as critical as during the global pandemic.

To design any project or programme we need to understand where people are starting from: what do they know?  What difficulties are they facing?  What information is missing?  Who do they trust?  What attitudes do they hold?  

A crisis makes this information all the more important - and in the case of the pandemic, even more difficult to gather. Our work in humanitarian situations helps other aid agencies strengthen their understanding of audiences to support their own humanitarian response, as we have been doing in Cox’s Bazar and Afghanistan.

Last year, at the height of the pandemic, we were commissioned by World Health Organization to develop a , enabling them to collect timely insights into people’s changing needs, to help ensure that WHO country offices’ COVID-19 response and service delivery is reflecting these.

We designed a methodology and research tool to collect quantitative and qualitative data, and piloted it in Nigeria and Zambia to ensure that it was suitable to embed data in the overall COVID-19 response.  

Design amid challenges

We designed the tool to ensure that there was flexibility in the research method, given changing restrictions related to the pandemic. We created a quantitative survey questionnaire that could be conducted remotely by mobile phone or face-to-face, to understand social and behaviour change around COVID-19, as well as a method to conduct further exploratory qualitative research  to understand issues that came up in the quantitative survey more fully.

It wasn’t easy to conduct research remotely. In Nigeria, for instance, enumerators encountered challenges including poor phone connectivity, and hesitancy, unwillingness and mistrust from participants. In some cases, enumerators were accused of being scammers, given the prevalence of scam calls in the country; some respondents simply hung up. Some interviews also had to be conducted very late at night to accommodate respondents’ availability. And in Zambia, load-shedding led to power cuts, requiring us to make appointments  in advance to ensure the respondents’ phones could be charged in preparation.

In both countries, face-to-face interviews were also conducted to ensure that we collected data from the most vulnerable people, who were less comfortable being interviewed by mobile phone. 

Collaboration for impact

We worked closely with WHO teams to define the scope and objectives of the project. Insights from the WHO response teams and researchers in our own offices in Nigeria and Zambia fed into the design and helped ensure that the right data was collected. Public opinion changes constantly, so this enabled the study to remain relevant even as the external context changed; for instance, we added new questions to ask about new COVID-19 variants and views on vaccinations, and ensuring separate sections of the questionnaire informed specific pillars of the ongoing COVID-19 response. In both countries, our qualitative work focused on public misconceptions around COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy, as both were dominant and needed greater understanding.

What we learned

Though our pilot, we learned that:

People are scared, and are taking action. Even COVID-sceptics and vaccine hesitant responders are worried about COVID-19. Trust in information sources is variable, and suspicion is high, and yet uptake of preventative behaviour - such as wearing masks and handwashing - is also high. Even those who say they are not sure COVID-19 is real report doing things to keep themselves safe from contracting the virus. People said they are ‘hedging their bets’, rationalising that ‘it can’t hurt to take precautions’ even if they don’t fully believe in COVID-19.

People are feeling the economic impacts of COVID-19, and actions that cost the least are most likely to be taken up. Information about how to take the simplest actions, such as when and how to wash hands, may be most effective at helping to prevent the virus.

Anti-vaccination sentiment is related to a lack of information. However, conspiracy theories are also widespread and more are popping up every day. Countering these requires more than an ‘information’ campaign. For some, providing clear information and explaining that side effects of vaccines are rare, mild and/or short-lived might be more effective, especially for those who are less firmly opposed. This will be less effective for people who are firmly opposed; they may need to see people in positions of influence or authority taking and endorsing the vaccine. Some may change their opinions over time as they see safe and effective campaigns from other countries.

Mass media have a major role to play - and need to communicate facts clearly, along with doctors and health practitioners who are the most trusted sources. This is true even among vaccine-hesitant respondents, and those who believe in myths and misconceptions about COVID-19. Respondents also felt that politicians should not be the bearers of information on COVID-19 unless they are also seen to be practicing what they ask others to do.

“I would want the information to portray to me both about the positives and negatives effects of the Covid-19 vaccine but if it just comes in positively, then I will be hesitant. A leader must lead by example, if leaders get the Covid-19 vaccine and five years go down the line and the effects are minimal and all is well, then I can also be influenced and make a permanent decision where I may also take the Covid-19 vaccine.” - Male participant, Lusaka, Zambia

“Communicating in very simple terms, communicating the truth because once you tell a lie, you are not going to be trusted ever again so saying the truth at all times during communication is one key and use of radio, TV, Newspapers”. “I would say radio, people listen to talk shows on radio a lot." - Health care worker, Abuja, Nigeria.

Putting the findings to work

The data produced in the two pilot countries has been used to help the response teams tailor and target their activities.

For example, in Zambia, the findings from our studies were used by a number of organisations, to inform their interventions and to develop understandable and effective communication. At the WHO , findings are currently being applied to support communication around COVID-19 misinformation; at the national Ministry of Health, findings have helped shape communication in clinics, on the radio, TV, social media and print materials; and on 主播大秀 Media Action partner radio stations, the findings have been used to help dispel myths through the use of public service announcements. It has also been adapted to collect data on health behaviours beyond COVID-19.

主播大秀 Media Action teams in London and across the global organisation have worked with the WHO to turn the Social Behavioural Insights tool into an online training with their training design team. The tool and training in how to use it is now available on the open access WHO website. This tool is intended to be used by WHO offices, government departments, research firms, academics and other NGOs across Africa.

As the pandemic continues, and health needs change, we are proud to have created a research tool to help ensure health communication is able to meet the fast-changing needs of people, wherever they are in the world.

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Our global research team reflect on the process and the insights that helped inform the COVID-19 response and service delivery in the Africa Region. Read more about our response to COVID-19 on our website.