Global Health

The Art and Science of Planning for Facility-Based Childbirth in Liberia

by Allison Schachter and Jana Smith

While most rural pregnant women in Liberia intend to give birth in a health facility, there are many barriers that often prevent them from following through on this intention. Facility-based childbirth requires extensive preparation, from determining when and how to leave for the facility to saving for the cost of transportation and drugs and medical […]

Building Behavioral Design Skills: A Conversation with Breakthrough ACTION Innovator Hamsatou Moumouni Moudi

by Finou Thérèse Mendy

This is part of a series of conversations with members of the Niger and Burkina Faso National Innovations Teams (NITs), a group of 54 health professionals across government and non-profit sectors. NIT members engage in a hybrid online and in-person applied learning curriculum developed by ideas42, which includes an introduction to behavioral design and hands-on […]

Is digital feedback useful in impact evaluations? It depends.

by Lois Aryee and Sara Flanagan

Rigorous impact evaluations are essential to determining program effectiveness. Yet, they are often time-intensive and costly, and may fail to provide the rapid feedback necessary for informing real-time decision-making and course corrections along the way that maximize programmatic impact. Capturing feedback that’s both quick and valuable can be a delicate balance. In an ongoing impact […]

The Power of Co-Design: Lessons Learned from Diverse Stakeholder Perspectives

by Rahin Khandker, Anne Stotler, Allison Schachter, ideas42, and James Nyara, Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs

As behavioral designers, we know it’s important for end users and other stakeholders to participate in the design process for any new solution. But when a diverse array of perspectives are important, determining when and how to approach design collaboratively may feel daunting. A recent co-design process in South Sudan illustrates how stakeholders’ input, provided […]

International Women’s Day: Breaking the Bias With Behavioral Science

by ideas42

International Women’s Day is a day of reflection—an acknowledgment that women around the world have long faced barriers to equal economic and social opportunities, and health services (and by extension outcomes). While at times it might seem like many women are fighting an uphill battle with challenging policy environments and resource constraints, behavioral science can […]

Barriers to Feeding Young Children Well During and After Illness: Insight from the Democratic Republic of Congo

by By: Madeline Kau, Emily Zimmerman, and Augustin Ngandu (SBC Advisor, Breakthrough ACTION DRC)

  For young children experiencing an illness, adequate nutrition is critical for recovery. However, children often don’t receive the recommended amounts of food during and after an illness. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 70% of children under five receive less food than usual or no food during episodes of diarrhea. Similar gaps […]

Black History Month: Honoring Black Behavioral Scientists

by ideas42

In the U.S., Black History Month is a time to reflect on the contributions made by Black people in all walks of life, across all industries and in all parts of our society. It’s also a time to celebrate and amplify the voices of those in the Black community and reflect on those who inspire […]