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 lainiciativadecomunicacion.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Evidence: Looking Back and Planning Ahead: Examining Global Best Practices in Communication for Inactivated Polio Vaccination Introduction in Rwanda

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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.

Editor's note: Click here for a summary of this article on The CI site.

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

Looking Back and Planning Ahead: Examining Global Best Practices in Communication for Inactivated Polio Vaccination Introduction in Rwanda

Name(s) of author(s)?:

Suruchi Sood, Ann Klassen, Carmen Cronin, Philip Massey & Corinne Shefner-Rogers

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

Global Health Communication, 1:1, 10-20, DOI: 10.1080/23762004.2016.1161418

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?:

The global polio community is committed to ensuring that all countries currently using oral polio vaccination (OPV) add at least one dose of inactivated polio vaccination (IPV) to their immunization schedules. Globally, communication efforts have been at the forefront of polio eradication programs for more than 25 years. This article combines research from secondary and primary sources of information on country experiences in polio vaccination and from the polio vaccination program in Rwanda. Secondary data included a review of 20 global articles that describe and analyze communication efforts for polio eradication and highlight best practices in communication approaches to address polio. The primary research consisted of qualitative and participatory data gathered from various stakeholders in two rural sites in Rwanda regarding approaches that could be used to develop culturally sound communication strategies to introduce IPV into the current routine expanded program on immunization schedule. Findings from this research highlighted the importance of identifying multichannel and multiaudience approaches to polio eradication that cut across different levels of the social ecological model. Findings further emphasize the importance of evidence-based and audience-centered communication programming to build and sustain the next big programmatic push for strengthening global routine immunization systems and replacing OPV with IPV. This article provides insights into the critical role that communication efforts have played and will continue to play in polio eradication worldwide.

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

Child Health; Polio Eradication

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

Interpersonal communication and Counseling; Mass Media Communication; Community and Social Mobilization

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

Secondary analysis findings from the published literature on communication interventions, and primary data results from the two rural communities in Rwanda. The literature review was conducted using PubMed Central for peer-reviewed publications and Google Scholar for scholarly literature including reports and books. The review examined all possible combinations of one key term from each of two lists, one with communication approaches and the second on polio efforts. Primary data were collected in Rwanda to build an evidence base for the design and implementation of a communication strategy to address supply and demand dimensions. By understanding the facilitators and barriers to the coadministration of IPV and the planned transition from OPV to IPV, tailored communication strategies can be developed. While the primary data collection is based in Rwanda, the methods used and the results from this research can be considered in other countries and contexts while keeping cultural, social, and economic variations in mind.

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

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23762004.2016.1161418?needAccess=true

Why was this research evidence found to be useful?:

The use of mixed methods - primary/secondary data - provides a novel approach to strengthen integration of evidence into programme design.