The Shamba Chef Educational Entertainment Program to Promote Modern Cookstoves in Kenya: Outcomes and Dose-Response Analysis

Safe blood supply in sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and opportunities

The low recruitment and retention of blood donors in sub-Saharan Africa is a grave concern for blood transfusion services in the region. This problem is exacerbated by factors such as a high prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections and anaemia, over-reliance on family replacement donors, resource constraints, and poor communication with the public. To improve blood safety and availability, innovative intervention strategies must be developed and implemented. The primary objective of this Series paper is to discuss the available evidence in the region and to provide recommendations on how to improve safe blood supply in sub-Saharan Africa. These recommendations include a call for renewed attention to donor recruitment in blood transfusion centres, a consistent and structured educational intervention, the development and adherence to national policies on blood donor selection with focus on voluntary donations, and comprehensive screening of donations for transfusion-transmissible infections. TRANSLATION: For the French translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Reactance to Social Authority in Entertainment-Education Media: Protocol for a Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Entertainment-education media can be an effective strategy for influencing health behaviors. To improve entertainment-education effectiveness, we seek to investigate whether the social authority of a person delivering a health message arouses the motivation to reject that message—a phenomenon known as reactance.

Objective

In this study, using a short animated video, we aim to measure reactance to a sugar reduction message narrated by a child (low social authority), the child’s mother (equivalent social authority to the target audience), and a family physician (high social authority). The aims of the study are to determine the effect of the narrator’s perceived social authority on reactance to the sugar reduction message, establish the effectiveness of the video in improving behavioral intent to reduce the intake of added sugars, and quantify participants’ interest in watching the entertainment-education intervention video.

Methods

This is a parallel group, randomized controlled trial comparing an intervention video narrated by a low, equivalent, or high social authority against a content placebo video and a placebo video. Using a web-based recruitment platform, we plan to enroll 4000 participants aged between 18 and 59 years who speak English and reside in the United Kingdom. The primary end points will include measures of the antecedents to reactance (proneness to reactance and threat level of the message), its components (anger and negative cognition), and attitudinal and behavioral intent toward sugar intake. We will measure behavioral intent using list experiments. Participants randomized to the placebo videos will be given a choice to watch one of the sugar-intervention videos at the end of the study to assess participant engagement with the entertainment-education video.

Results

The study was approved by the ethics committee of Heidelberg University on March 18, 2020 (S-088/2020). Participant recruitment and data collection were completed in December 2020. The data analysis was completed in April 2021, and the final results are planned to be published by August 2021.

Conclusions

In this trial, we will use several randomization procedures, list experimentation methods, and new web-based technologies to investigate the effect of perceived social authority on reactance to a message about reducing sugar intake. Our results will inform the design of future entertainment-education videos for public health promotion needs.

Trial Registration

German Clinical Trials Registry DRKS00022340: https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00022340.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/25343

Demand Creation for COVID-19 Vaccination: Overcoming Vaccine Hesitancy through Social Marketing

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to millions of deaths and tested the capabilities of the medical and public health systems worldwide. Over the next two years as more approved vaccines are made available and supply meets or exceeds demand, medical and public health professionals will increasingly be faced with the challenge of vaccine hesitancy. There is an urgent need to create demand in groups that are either uninformed, vaccine hesitant, or actively resistant to COVID-19 vaccination. This study reviews theory, evidence, and practice recommendations to develop a vaccine demand creation strategy that has wide applicability. Specifically, we focus on key elements including supply side confidence, vaccine brand promotion strategy, service marketing as it relates to vaccine distribution, and competition strategy. We present evidence that these strategies can make a significant contribution to overcoming COVID-19 hesitancy in a high supply scenario. The paper also makes recommendations about factors that need to be considered in relation to vaccine delivery services and systems that, if done badly, may reduce uptake or result in the creation of more vaccine hesitancy. In summary, there is a need for well researched and tested demand creation strategies that integrate with brand strategy, supply side, and service delivery.

Feasibility of a Digital Intervention to Promote Healthy Weight Management among Postpartum African American/Black Women

The study aim was to implement and evaluate the feasibility of a culturally informed (“BeFAB”) app for African American/Black women to address postpartum weight. Women (n = 136; mean age = 27.8 ± 5.4; mean BMI = 32.5 ± 4.3) were recruited from postpartum units, and randomly assigned to receive BeFAB (n = 65) or usual care (n = 71) for 12 weeks. App content included didactic lessons delivered via a virtual coach, app-based messages, goal setting and tracking, and edutainment videos. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment, retention and engagement, and self-reported acceptability. Behavioral (i.e., diet, physical activity), psychosocial (i.e., stress, coping, support, self-efficacy) and weight outcomes were also examined. Recruitment goals were met, but attrition was high, with 56% retention at 12 weeks. Approximately half of participants accessed the app and set a goal ≥one time, but <10% reported achieving a nutrition or activity goal. Among study completers, ≥60% found the app content at least somewhat helpful. Within-group changes for BeFAB among completers were found for increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and decreased fruit/vegetable intake and weight. Findings indicate initial feasibility of recruiting postpartum women to participate in a digital healthy body weight program but limited use, reflecting low acceptability and challenges in engagement and retention. Future research is needed on strategies to engage and retain participants in postpartum interventions.