Estimating the Cost of the Design, Production, and Dissemination of Social Media Videos for Social and Behavioral Change: Evidence From Merci Mon Héros in Niger and Côte d'Ivoire.

Michel Tchuenche,Nicole Bellows,Lori Bollinger,Martha Silva,Denise B Adou,Zamilatou H Labati,Jacqueline Hammond,Erin Portillo

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.761840

Abstract

Merci Mon Héros (MMH) is a youth-led multi-media campaign in Francophone West Africa seeking to improve reproductive health and family planning outcomes using radio, television, social media, and community events. One component to this project is the development of a series of youth-driven videos created to encourage both youth and adults to break taboos by talking to each other about reproductive health and family planning. A costing study was conducted to capture costs associated with the design, production, and dissemination of 11 MMH videos (in French) on social media in Côte d'Ivoire and Niger. The total costs to design, produce and disseminate 11 of the campaign videos for MMH in both Côte d'Ivoire and Niger were $44,981. Unit costs were calculated using three different denominators, resulting in average unit costs of $0.16 per reach, $1.29 per engagement, and $4.27 per video view. These findings can be useful for future studies of SBC interventions using social media for framing the analysis and selecting the appropriate metrics for the denominator, as well as for budgeting and planning SBC programs using social media.

Highlights

Francophone West Africa continues to experience challenges in reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP), including high levels of maternal and child mortality, high unmet need for FP, and high fertility rates [1, 2]
An increase in modern contraceptive prevalence rate among women in West Africa could help improve these health measures, uptake of FP has been low in this region, among adolescents [4, 5]
A literature review of SBC strategies for improving RH/FP outcomes among youth ranging from adolescence to early adulthood in West Africa found evidence on the use and impact of traditional mass media interventions, but limited evidence on interventions using social media platforms [10]

Summary

Introduction

Francophone West Africa continues to experience challenges in reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP), including high levels of maternal and child mortality, high unmet need for FP, and high fertility rates [1, 2]. An increase in modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) among women in West Africa could help improve these health measures, uptake of FP has been low in this region, among adolescents [4, 5]. There are several factors driving the high fertility rate and low levels of FP use in the region, including poor access to FP services, negative attitudes toward FP, and religious and social norms surrounding fertility and early marriage [6,7,8]. Due to cultural norms and taboos around RH, Cost of Social Media Videos adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa typically do not have access to RH information via open dialogue with their parents, elders, or partners, which can improve knowledge and influence attitudes and behaviors [9]. Social media as a tool to convey (i.e., obtaining, sharing, or exchanging) information to the public can help inform or motivate health-related behavior change and/or influence health decision making as well as allow targeted messaging with hard-to-reach groups [11]

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