Can Mass Media Campaigns Reduce Child Mortality

A cluster-randomised trial will be undertaken in Burkina Faso to investigate whether a comprehensive mass media campaign using local radio stations can change behaviours on a scale large enough to result in measurable and sustainable reductions in under-five child mortality.

It is hypothesised that as a result of the scale and multi-pronged nature of the campaign, reductions of between 10% and 20% in child mortality will be achieved.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Pneumonia; Malaria; Breastfeeding; Diarrhoea; Under-nutrition
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Local radio campaign to reduce under-five child mortality

Detailed Description

The evaluation is conducted in 14 geographical locations throughout Burkina Faso. Seven of these 14 clusters have been randomly allocated to receive the mass media intervention while the remaining 7 clusters will serve as controls.

Data collection includes household surveys in all 14 clusters at three "key" times:

• At baseline: Before the implementation of the intervention, between December 2011 and February 2012 to measure the current level of child mortality and evaluate current knowledge and behaviours of relevance to child health.
• At midline: Fifteen months after implementation of the intervention to evaluate the coverage of the intervention (in the intervention clusters) and, in each cluster, knowledge and behaviours.
• At endline: Two and a half years after implementation of the intervention to evaluate intervention coverage (in the intervention clusters), knowledge and behaviours and child mortality.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 100000
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Burkina Faso
  • Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, BP 390
    • Centre Muraz

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: No older than 5 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Residence in study clusters

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: intervention; seven clusters where radio media campaign will be broadcast.	Behavioral: Local radio campaign to reduce under-five child mortality; The media campaign is designed by Development Media International. It includes short "spots" and long format programs broadcast by rural community radios. Major topics to be addressed include: diarrhoea, water and sanitation, acute respiratory infections, fever/malaria, antenatal consultations, delivery in health facilities, breastfeeding, and child nutrition. The intervention is planned to start in March 2012 after completion of fieldwork for the baseline survey and will continue for 2.5 years.
No Intervention: control; Seven clusters where radio media campaign won't be broadcast.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Post neonatal under-five all cause mortality	1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Under-5 child all cause mortality		1year
Preventive behaviours for main causes of under-five children mortality	Antenatal consultations during the last pregnancy which lasts more than 6 months and place of delivery; Breastfeeding practices for the youngest under-five child; Behaviours to prevent cases of diarrhoea and malaria in the youngest under-five child	1 year
Knowledge	Knowledge about danger signs during pregnancy, delivery and in young ill children; Knowledge about preventive measure against malaria during pregnancy; Knowledge about recommended breastfeeding behaviours; Knowledge about transmission of malaria and diarrhoea; Knowledge about health care seeking behaviours in young children suffering from diarrhoea, bad cough	30-36 months after the start of the intervention
Cost-effectiveness of mass media campaigns in terms of dollars per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted		1 year
Curative behaviours for main causes of under-five children mortality	Health care behaviours to treat cases of diarrhoea, fever, cough and respiratory difficulties in the youngest under-five child during the 15 previous days	15 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• Collaborators: Wellcome Trust; Centre Muraz; Development Media International; Planet Wheeler Foundation
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Simon N Cousens, MA, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Principal Investigator: Nicolas Meda, MD, PhD, Centre Muraz; Study Director: Sophie Sarrassat, PhD, London School of Hygienne and Tropical Medicine; Study Director: Moctar Ouedraogo, MsD, Centre MURAZ / AfricSanté, Burkina Faso

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Kasteng F, Murray J, Cousens S, Sarrassat S, Steel J, Meda N, Ouedraogo M, Head R, Borghi J. Cost-effectiveness and economies of scale of a mass radio campaign to promote household life-saving practices in Burkina Faso. BMJ Glob Health. 2018 Jul 16;3(4):e000809. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2018-000809. eCollection 2018.
• Sarrassat S, Meda N, Badolo H, Ouedraogo M, Some H, Bambara R, Murray J, Remes P, Lavoie M, Cousens S, Head R. Effect of a mass radio campaign on family behaviours and child survival in Burkina Faso: a repeated cross-sectional, cluster-randomised trial. Lancet Glob Health. 2018 Mar;6(3):e330-e341. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30004-4.
• Head R, Murray J, Sarrassat S, Snell W, Meda N, Ouedraogo M, Deboise L, Cousens S. Can mass media interventions reduce child mortality? Lancet. 2015 Jul 4;386(9988):97-100. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61649-4. Epub 2015 Feb 13.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): April 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 9, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 20, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): January 25, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 20, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 19, 2015
• Last Verified: May 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Childbirth; Burkina Faso; Cluster-randomised trial; Comprehensive mass media campaign; Rural community radio; Under-five child mortality; Preventive and curative behaviours; Health care seeking behavior
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Nutrition Disorders; Diarrhea; Malnutrition
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2011-9-56; 6028 (Other Identifier: UK: Research ethics committee)