Impact Evaluation of an SMS Campaign to Promote Household Chlorination in Rural Haiti
Despite documented health benefits of household water treatment and storage (HWTS), achieving sustained use remains challenging. In prior evaluations of a long-term HWTS program in Haiti, multiple marketing interventions failed to increase use or had prohibitively high costs. Using mobile phones is...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3095 |
| _version_ | 1797548825265569792 |
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| author | Michael Ritter Eveline Camille Christophe Velcine Rose-Kerline Guillaume Jean Marcel Casimir Daniele S. Lantagne |
| author_facet | Michael Ritter Eveline Camille Christophe Velcine Rose-Kerline Guillaume Jean Marcel Casimir Daniele S. Lantagne |
| author_sort | Michael Ritter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite documented health benefits of household water treatment and storage (HWTS), achieving sustained use remains challenging. In prior evaluations of a long-term HWTS program in Haiti, multiple marketing interventions failed to increase use or had prohibitively high costs. Using mobile phones is a potentially cost-effective way to change HWTS behavior. We conducted a randomized experiment to evaluate the impact of sending short-message service (SMS) messages to promote household chlorination in this program in Haiti. Households (<i>n</i> = 1327) were randomly assigned to: One of four SMS frequencies; one of ten behavioral constructs; “cholera” or “disease” framing; and one or zero household visits from a sales agent. During the three-month campaign, there were no statistically significant relationships between the four outcomes related to chlorine purchases and any SMS frequency, any behavioral construct, or either “cholera” or “disease” framing. Receiving one visit increased the probability of purchasing a bottle of chlorine by 17.1 percentage points (<i>p</i> < 0.001) but did not affect subsequent purchase behavior. Costs of managing the SMS campaign were higher than expected. SMS campaigns may not be cost-effective behavior change interventions in certain contexts. If pursued, we recommend simple interventions, timed with the target behavior, and tailored to mobile phone usage patterns of the target population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:06:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-95b217a3effa451091f016da6aa9db25 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:06:18Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-95b217a3effa451091f016da6aa9db252023-11-20T19:47:52ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-11-011211309510.3390/w12113095Impact Evaluation of an SMS Campaign to Promote Household Chlorination in Rural HaitiMichael Ritter0Eveline Camille1Christophe Velcine2Rose-Kerline Guillaume3Jean Marcel Casimir4Daniele S. Lantagne5Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USADeep Springs International, Léogâne, HT 6210, HaitiDeep Springs International, Léogâne, HT 6210, HaitiDeep Springs International, Léogâne, HT 6210, HaitiDeep Springs International, Léogâne, HT 6210, HaitiDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USADespite documented health benefits of household water treatment and storage (HWTS), achieving sustained use remains challenging. In prior evaluations of a long-term HWTS program in Haiti, multiple marketing interventions failed to increase use or had prohibitively high costs. Using mobile phones is a potentially cost-effective way to change HWTS behavior. We conducted a randomized experiment to evaluate the impact of sending short-message service (SMS) messages to promote household chlorination in this program in Haiti. Households (<i>n</i> = 1327) were randomly assigned to: One of four SMS frequencies; one of ten behavioral constructs; “cholera” or “disease” framing; and one or zero household visits from a sales agent. During the three-month campaign, there were no statistically significant relationships between the four outcomes related to chlorine purchases and any SMS frequency, any behavioral construct, or either “cholera” or “disease” framing. Receiving one visit increased the probability of purchasing a bottle of chlorine by 17.1 percentage points (<i>p</i> < 0.001) but did not affect subsequent purchase behavior. Costs of managing the SMS campaign were higher than expected. SMS campaigns may not be cost-effective behavior change interventions in certain contexts. If pursued, we recommend simple interventions, timed with the target behavior, and tailored to mobile phone usage patterns of the target population.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3095household water treatmentbehavior change communicationmobile healthrandomized experiment |
| spellingShingle | Michael Ritter Eveline Camille Christophe Velcine Rose-Kerline Guillaume Jean Marcel Casimir Daniele S. Lantagne Impact Evaluation of an SMS Campaign to Promote Household Chlorination in Rural Haiti Water household water treatment behavior change communication mobile health randomized experiment |
| title | Impact Evaluation of an SMS Campaign to Promote Household Chlorination in Rural Haiti |
| title_full | Impact Evaluation of an SMS Campaign to Promote Household Chlorination in Rural Haiti |
| title_fullStr | Impact Evaluation of an SMS Campaign to Promote Household Chlorination in Rural Haiti |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact Evaluation of an SMS Campaign to Promote Household Chlorination in Rural Haiti |
| title_short | Impact Evaluation of an SMS Campaign to Promote Household Chlorination in Rural Haiti |
| title_sort | impact evaluation of an sms campaign to promote household chlorination in rural haiti |
| topic | household water treatment behavior change communication mobile health randomized experiment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3095 |
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