The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Evidence: Social Marketing of Water and Sanitation Products: A Systematic Review of Peer-reviewed Literature

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Participating organisations in the Global Alliance for Social and Behaviour Change - Building Informed and Engaged Societies were asked to identify, in their opinion, the 5 most compelling research and evaluation studies that demonstrate the direct impact of this field of work on a major development issue. This was one of the nominees. For the full compiled list, please click here. For the compilation of the key impact data across all research evidence identified, please click here.

Title of paper, article, book (chapter), publication?:

Social Marketing of Water and Sanitation Products: A Systematic Review of Peer-reviewed Literature

Name(s) of author(s)?:

Evans WD, Pattanayak SK, Young S, Buszin J, Rai S, Bihm JW.

Who published this paper, article, book (chapter) or other publication?:

Social Science and Medicine

What are the best extracts that highlight the evidence for the impact of a communication for development, social change, behaviour change, public engagement, or informed citizen strategy on a development issue and priority?:

Behaviors such as handwashing, and products such as those for oral rehydration treatment (ORT), can be marketed like commercial products in developing countries. Although social marketing in these areas is growing, there has been no systematic review of the current state of practice, research and evaluation. We searched the literature for published peer-reviewed studies available through major online publication databases. We identified manuscripts in the health, social science, and business literature on social marketing that used at least one of the 4 Ps of marketing and had a behavioral objective targeting the behaviors or products related to improving water and sanitation. We developed formalized decision rules and applied them in identifying articles for review. We initially identified 117 articles and reviewed a final set of 32 that met our criteria. Social marketing is a widespread strategy. Marketing efforts have created high levels of awareness of health threats and solutions, including behavior change and socially marketed products. There is widespread use of the 4 Ps of marketing, with price interventions being the least common. Evaluations show consistent improvements in behavioral mediators but mixed results in behavior change. Interventions have successfully used social marketing following widely recommended strategies.

To which development issue does this evidence and impact data relate?:

Diarrheal disease; Sanitation; Social marketing; Water

To which strategic approach(es) does the evidence and impact data relate?:

Social marketing and health communication

What research methodology (ies) was/were used to produce this evidence and impact data?:

Systematic literature review

What is the URL to access this paper, article, book (chapter) or other publication?:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24704890

Why was this research evidence found to be useful?:

It is the only systematic review published on use of social marketing to promote consumption of healthy water and sanitation products in LMIC.