Social and Behavior Change for Sexual and Reproductive Health Service Delivery

Applying social and behavior change (SBC) approaches and techniques to service delivery efforts can motivate clients to access services, improve client-provider interactions, and boost adoption and maintenance of healthy behaviors. It can improve health outcomes by helping providers enhance the quality of community engagement and dialogue; client education and health promotion; and counseling and shared decision-making. SBC approaches can improve clients’ overall experience of care, which may result in increased satisfaction with health care delivery, improved trust in health care providers and the health system, and improved health seeking or maintenance behaviors.

The primary purpose of this course is to demonstrate how SBC can be integrated into sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to improve acceptability, access, quality, and outcomes. In addition, this course aims to strengthen the ability of service delivery partners to integrate SBC into their work and summarize how and where SBC can be used at each stage of the service continuum, that is, before, during, and after a client receives services.

Allowing for pauses to complete short reflection exercises, this course will take approximately three hours to complete.

Course Audience

This course is aimed at public sector staff overseeing SRH service delivery at the national and sub-national levels, such as SRH Coordinators; service delivery-focused non-governmental and community-based organizations; and private sector service delivery partners, such as franchisees. The course is relevant to all but focuses on those with limited background knowledge about SBC. It may be applicable to other health areas but focuses on SRH service delivery.