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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Commun.
Sec. Health Communication
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2024.1462943

Impact of a Social and Behavior Change Campaign and Volunteer Malaria Tester Program on Malaria Care Seeking Among Gold Miners in Guyana

Provisionally accepted
Suruchi Sood Suruchi Sood 1*Onika Beckles Onika Beckles 2Jennifer Orkis Jennifer Orkis 1Sean Wilson Sean Wilson 2Gabrielle Hunter Gabrielle Hunter 1TrishAnn Davis TrishAnn Davis 1Mona Hussain Mona Hussain 1Kashana James Kashana James 3
  • 1 Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
  • 2 Breakthrough ACTION Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana
  • 3 National Malaria Program, Ministry of Health, Georgetown, Guyana

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The manuscript aligns with the journal's focus on health communication by detailing the implementation and impact of the volunteer malaria tester (VMT) program and the "Lil Mosquito, Big Problem" (LMBP) campaign in Guyana. These initiatives illustrate the effective use of social and behavior change (SBC) interventions to address malaria among migrant gold miners. Utilizing participatory human-centered design and the ideation model, the LMBP campaign addresses psychosocial determinants such as knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and social norms. Surveys from 2019 and 2022 show increased knowledge, improved psychosocial factors related to malaria prevention and treatment, and higher prompt care-seeking levels among those exposed to both the VMT program and the SBC campaign. The manuscript emphasizes the importance of culturally appropriate, stakeholderengaged social and behavior change communicationhealth communication strategies adaptable to shifting contexts, such as changes in the mining population and economic difficulties. Additionally, it highlights the role of community involvement in enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of s o c i a l a n d b e h a v i o r c h a n g e health communication interventions. The evidence-based results and the practical, theory-driven approach offer valuable insights for future interventions in similar settings and for other global health issues, demonstrating the wider relevance of effective s o c i a l a n d b e h a v i o r c h a n g e c o m m u n i c a t i o n health communication strategies.

    Keywords: Formal analysis, Writing -original draft, Writing -review & editing. Gabrielle Hunter: Writing -review & editing. Jennifer Orkis: Conceptualization, project administration, resources, Writing -review & editing. Kashana James: Writing -review & editing. Mona Hussain: Writing -review & editing. Onika Beckles: Writing -original draft. Sean Wilson: Conceptualization, supervision, Writing -review & editing. TrishAnn Davis: Writing -review & editing Guyana

    Received: 10 Jul 2024; Accepted: 30 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sood, Beckles, Orkis, Wilson, Hunter, Davis, Hussain and James. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Suruchi Sood, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 21205, Maryland, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.