Factors Determining the Effectiveness of Oxfam’s Public Health Promotion Approach in Haiti

In response to the devastating Earthquake of January 12th 2010 and the cholera outbreak of October of that same year Oxfam Great Britain, Oxfam Quebec and Intermón Oxfam conducted public health promotion and cholera response in Haiti. Different promotion activities were applied which aimed at changing hygiene behavior by changing perceptions and beliefs about healthy behaviors amongst people affected by crisis. In February 2011 four Oxfam affiliates in Haiti in partnership with a team of behavior change researchers from Eawag launched the present research project to do an in-depth evaluation of the promotional activities that had been conducted with the goal of further improving the WASH situation for people in Haiti and worldwide by understanding how to make hygiene promotion more effective. The main focus of the research project was around the question which specific promotion activities were strongly associated with perceptions and beliefs about handwashing with soap and were thus capable of changing handwashing behavior at key times.

CONTZEN, N. MOSLER, H.J. (2012): Factors Determining the Effectiveness of Oxfam’s Public Health Promotion Approach in Haiti. Duebendorf: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG) URL [Accessed: 24.04.2012]