Can Mass Media Campaigns Reduce Child Mortality

• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01517230
• Recruitment Status: Completed
• First Posted: January 25, 2012
• Last Update Posted: May 20, 2015
• Sponsor: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• Collaborators: Development Media International; Centre Muraz; Wellcome Trust; Planet Wheeler Foundation
• Information provided by (Responsible Party): London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Study Description

Brief Summary:

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.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Diarrhoea; Malaria; Pneumonia; Breastfeeding; Under-nutrition	Behavioral: Local radio campaign to reduce under-five child mortality	Not Applicable

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 Design

• Study Type: Interventional (Clinical Trial)
• Actual Enrollment: 100000 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)
• Official Title: Can Mass Media Campaigns Reduce Child Mortality
• Study Start Date: March 2012
• Actual Primary Completion Date: April 2015
• Actual Study Completion Date: April 2015

Arms and Interventions

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.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures :

1. Post neonatal under-five all cause mortality [ Time Frame: 1 year ]

Secondary Outcome Measures :

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

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: up to 5 Years (Child)
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Residence in study clusters

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Burkina Faso

Centre Muraz

Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, BP 390

Sponsors and Collaborators

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Development Media International

Centre Muraz

Wellcome Trust

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

More Information

Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):

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.

• Responsible Party: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01517230
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2011-9-56; 6028 ( Other Identifier: UK: Research ethics committee )
• First Posted: January 25, 2012
• Last Update Posted: May 20, 2015
• Last Verified: May 2015

Keywords provided by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine:

Cluster-randomised trial; Comprehensive mass media campaign; Rural community radio; Under-five child mortality; Preventive and curative behaviours; Burkina Faso; Health care seeking behavior; Childbirth

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Malnutrition; Diarrhea; Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Nutrition Disorders