The Communications Unit within the Ministry of Health is looking at ways to
better connect with the public on issues of social and behavioural change.
Two officers within the Ministry, Monifa St. John and J’noure Smith-Kellman
attended a Social and Behaviour Change Communications SBCC Workshop in
Trinidad over the past week.
The workshop, which was held by UNICEF, with funding provided by USAID,
focused on Social and Behavior Change. Social and Behaviour Change is an
interactive process of any intervention with individuals, groups, or communities to
develop communication strategies to promote positive behaviors which are
appropriate to their settings and thereby solve the world most pressing health
problems. This in turn provides a supportive environment that will enable people to
initiate, sustain and maintain positive and desirable behavior outcomes.
SBCC is the strategic use of communication to promote positive health outcomes
based on proven theories and models of behavior change.
SBCC employs a systematic process beginning with formative research and
behavior analysis, followed by communication planning, implementation, and
monitoring and evaluation.
The workshop was facilitated by Social and Behaviour Change Specialist –
UNICEF Dr. Lisa McClean-Trotman, Counseling Psychologist, Dr. Nicole Lynch,
Advisor, Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health – PAHO Dr. Gloria
Giraldo, Advisor, Immunization – PAHO, Dr. Karen Broome and Specialist,
Communications for Health Promotion – PAHO, Lisa Bayley.
As a part of the workshop, participants from various countries and departments had
to select a target group and prepare a Social and Behaviour focused campaign to
address the issue and the methods that will be used to monitor and evaluate, using
different methods that were taught.
In addition to the participants from Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guyana, and
Trinidad and Tobago were also represented.
