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After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Published 23 years ago
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Prevention of Diarrhea

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This Zambian project focused on the use of Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques to achieve long-term behaviour change and the adoption of healthier lifestyles. MI is a "client-centred directive intervention" focused on resolving ambivalence in the direction of change. The helper (in this case, the healthcare worker) is active and states opinions, but the final decision for behavioural change is made by the individual. MI was used in this project to teach people about water sanitation to prevent water-borne disease.
Communication Strategies

Training sessions were used to inform nurses and health care workers, and educational materials were used in homes to show the use of treated stored water and the washing of hands and utensils. In MI, nurses visit individual homes once a week to monitor progress and attitudes of the people towards the introduced methods.

Development Issues

Water-borne disease, diarrhoea

Key Points

As this was the reported first use of the technique in a developing world, the project states that problems were encountered, but that there have been very positive results on previous projects in the developed world.

Partners

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases Branch, Medical University of South Carolina - Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Sources

Angelica K. Thevos, MSW, Ph.D., Interim Trip Report - "Behavior Change Intervention, Point-of-Use Disinfection and Safe Storage for the Prevention of Diarrhea, Kitwe, Zambia", May 16 1998.