Abstract
BackgroundCommunity mobilization (CM) interventions show promise in changing gender norms and preventing HIV, but few have been based on a defined mobilization model or rigorously evaluated. The purpose of this paper is to describe the intervention design and implementation and present baseline findings of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) of a two-year, theory-based CM intervention that aimed to change gender norms and reduce HIV risk in rural Mpumalanga province, South Africa.MethodsCommunity Mobilizers and volunteer Community Action Teams (CATs) implemented two-day workshops, a range of outreach activities, and leadership engagement meetings. All activities were mapped onto six theorized mobilization domains. The intervention is being evaluated by a randomized design in 22 communities (11 receive intervention). Cross-sectional, population-based surveys were conducted with approximately 1,200 adults ages 18–35 years at baseline and endline about two years later.ConclusionsThis is among the first community RCTs to evaluate a gender transformative intervention to change norms and HIV risk using a theory-based, defined mobilization model, which should increase the potential for impact on desired outcomes and be useful for future scale-up if proven effective.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02129530
Highlights
Community mobilization (CM) interventions show promise in changing gender norms and preventing HIV, but few have been based on a defined mobilization model or rigorously evaluated
Evaluations suggest that combining group education with Community Mobilization (CM) strategies, or those that engage communities to dialogue and take action around shared concerns, [20] may be more effective in changing norms and risk behaviors than group education alone [17, 18, 21]
Very few gender transformative programs with a CM approach have been designed around a defined theoretical model of community mobilization
Summary
Community mobilization (CM) interventions show promise in changing gender norms and preventing HIV, but few have been based on a defined mobilization model or rigorously evaluated. Gender transformative interventions, which seek to reconfigure gender roles in the direction of more gender equitable relationships, [16] have demonstrated some success in changing norms and reducing risk behaviors [17,18,19]. CM strategies have shown promise in creating more supportive social environments and social norms to reduce HIV risk and promote safer sexual behaviors [3, 17, 22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30]. Very few gender transformative programs with a CM approach have been designed around a defined theoretical model of community mobilization
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