Strategy 5 :
Expand demand among priority target groups
Description of the strategy
A key component of any intervention to increase coverage and take-up of products and services in the private sector is the promotion of behaviour change among potential users, and especially among priority target groups. Behaviour change communication (BCC) may be designed to:
◆increase overall demand for products with public health benefits (for example oral
rehydration therapy),
◆direct those with some ability to pay to private sources of supply,
◆encourage more effective health seeking behaviour in the private sector (for example
appropriate malaria treatment), or
◆encourage adoption of healthy lifestyles (for example safe sex practices).
BCC needs to be informed by an understanding of barriers to care at local or target group level, which implies that tailored rather than generalised approaches are more successful. To bring a health benefit, communication to increase demand must be combined with measures to ensure access and supply of the desired product or service in the public and/or private sectors.
Case study
Cautions, pitfalls and evidence gaps of this strategy
◆Behaviour change may not be sustained: sustainability of behaviour change in the
absence of a sustained communication programme and promotion and advertising strategy may be limited.
◆Populations may be not be reached: important target groups may not be reached through
the media used.
◆The very poor may not be able to afford even modest charges in the private sector. ◆Mass media may be inappropriate: mass media marketing strategies for some products,
for example hormonal contraceptives, may be inappropriate because of existing negative attitudes towards them. One-to-one counselling which allows potential users to discuss the advantages or disadvantages of a product in relation to their lifestyle may be important for continued use.
J : Social Marketing of Condoms in Mozambique
A study examined the effectiveness of condom social marketing in increasing safer sex practices among men and women at risk of contracting HIV in Mozambique. The study tested the hypothesis that exposure to programme interventions (communication and improved access to condoms) would increase condom use with non-regular
partners. A large network of peer promoters delivered key messages. Community-level drama was reinforced by radio and TV spots. Take-up, following the social marketing programme, was high; multivariate analyses show that exposure to the advertising and communications was associated with higher levels of condom use with non-regular partners.
(Agha et al. 1999)
◆Promotion may backfire: communication that promotes culturally unacceptable values
and behaviours may be counter-productive and cause a hardening of attitudes towards the use of the product.
◆Participatory approaches may work where mass media fails: BCC approaches based
on building skills in problem identification, communication and negotiation are more likely to work than those solely based on imparting information. Difficult to reach groups may therefore benefit more from participatory BCC as opposed to mass media.
Contextual features which facilitate this strategy
◆Regulations that permit mass media and other types of advertising of relevant products
(see Strategy 1, Box A)
◆Market research and advertising capability, including social research capacity
◆Opinion leaders who can attract the attention of and influence the target group (nationally
known sports people, musicians, popular politicians, etc.)
◆Availability of and access to mass or other media which will reach high proportions of the
target audiences (however see cautions above)
◆Sustained donor or government resources for promotion and advertising Questions for decision-makers
◆Who are the stakeholders? They are likely to include: government (ministries of health,
education, community development), communication media, donors, NGOs and other groups working in the community.
◆What are the information barriers to access among target groups? What belief and
behaviour change is needed to stimulate demand / change other health-related behaviour?
◆What are the sources of information, types of media and opinion leaders that can reach
the target groups? Which sources of information are credible to potential user groups and will influence behaviour change?
◆What level of resources will be required? From where will these resources come? Key information sources
◆Documents: national policies, reports of NGOs and donors, recent project/research reports,
recent demographic health surveys, data on market share and types of population reached by different communication media
◆Informants are likely to include: NGOs and community groups working with the target
groups, potential beneficiaries, commercial advertisers, representatives of different types of national media (TV, radio, newspapers) and social marketing organisations
Conclusions
Demand creation, as part of social marketing, has been effective at increasing the uptake of clearly identifiable products, such as condoms and ITNs, where product supplies have been ensured (see Strategies 2 and 3 above). Knowledge of how different segments of the population can be reached and influenced is necessary if the behaviour of hard-to-reach priority groups, such as commercial sex workers and their clients, is to be changed.
Enabling PEOPLE
Strategy 6 :
Exempt priority target groups from payment
Description of the strategy
Priority groups (the very poor, infants, pregnant women and commercial sex workers) may be offered low cost or free care to increase coverage. Targeted exemptions may be limited to services for specific priority public health problems, such as STIs. In the case of some priorities, such as TB and immunisations, free care may be offered to all who require it. Exemptions are most commonly used where target groups use public sector services, but may also be employed where they choose to use the private sector. Target groups may be exempted from paying contributions to pre-paid health insurance schemes. Alternatively they may be exempt from paying service fees when they visit a PSP (including NGOs). The provider is then later reimbursed – by the government or other purchaser – for the cost of care supplied. Vouchers are one mechanism for ensuring that target groups obtain free care at the point of delivery.
Case study
Cautions, pitfalls and evidence gaps of this strategy
◆False reporting may occur: where PSPs can recoup the cost of care supplied to service
users, it can lead to false reporting of patients (ghost patients) as a way for PSPs to maximise their income. In addition, decisions about qualification for exemption may be made for the wrong reasons.
◆Vouchers may be diverted from the target group: vouchers which allow free or reduced
price access to services may become a ‘traded currency’ and be used by people outside the target group. This can reduce the intended impact of the strategy on the priority target group.
◆Monitoring and quality assurance systems need to be in place to ensure PSPs’ quality
of care.
K : Voucher Scheme in Nicaragua
Between 1996 and 1999, 6,000 vouchers were distributed to female sex workers in Nicaragua, which could be used by them to obtain free STI care from a variety of contracted public, private and NGO health facilities. 39% of the distributed vouchers were used to obtain care from 17 service providers. The scheme is administered by a voucher agency, the Central American Institute of Health (ICAS). "ICAS invites clinics to participate in the scheme; reviews
their credentials and capacity to provide the service package, negotiates contracts, trains medical (and other) staff in the appropriate management of STIs and…monitors quality of service provision." During this period, there were reported improvements in the technical quality of care provided by private clinics. The average price per consultation paid to participating clinics compared favourably with the cost of existing public sector services.
(Sandiford et al. 2000)
Contextual features which facilitate this strategy
◆Target group dissatisfaction with existing (often public sector) services and preference for
using other providers. STIs are an example where both the nature of the health problem and the type of target group who are most at risk confer a particular advantage on PSPs, when compared to public sector services (see Section 2, page 8). These factors mean that vouchers that can be utilised to obtain private sector care can contribute to increased coverage in the target population.
◆Providers, including PSPs, who wish to participate in the scheme.
◆An organisation with the capacity to manage the scheme – including the ability to train,
monitor services and service utilisation, implement quality assurance, and financial management.
◆Resources to set up and manage the scheme.
◆PSPs who can achieve the required quality of care standards. Questions for decision-makers
◆Who are the stakeholders? They are likely to include: government, existing providers,
donors, the target groups and their representatives, insurance companies or other pre- payment scheme managers.
◆From where will come the resources to manage such a scheme and will funding be
sustainable in the long-term?
◆What are the levels of stakeholder interest and capacity for implementing this strategy? Key information sources
◆Documents: research outputs and population surveys showing current health service
utilisation patterns for the target group
◆Informants: disease control programme officers, consumer or other advocacy groups
working with the target group, target group opinion leaders
Conclusions
Exemption schemes are easier to monitor and control when they involve public sector providers. In the private sector they involve transaction costs, both for managers and providers. Control systems are needed to ensure that payment is made only for services that have actually been delivered to the target group. Voucher schemes have been effective in reaching target groups and improving the quality of care available to them from a range of providers, including PSPs. Where they are used alongside measures to improve the quality of care for priority diseases, such as STIs and TB, they can contribute to achieving important policy goals. Management costs may be high, which raise questions about long-term sustainability and scaling up of projects to the national level.