Evaluation Research - Documenting Success

Dozens of independent, university-based researchers have examined the effectiveness of PCI-Media Impact's entertainment-education methodology and the impact of its programs on family planning, the prevention of HIV, and promotion of gender equality and other educational issues. Numerous books have been written and five research papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals documenting the important role our unique use of serial dramas play in changing the attitudes and behavior of their audience members. Please contact us for information on how to get copies of the books and research papers.

Radio: A Post Nine-Eleven Strategy for Reaching the World's Poor
By Stephen Sposato and Wm. A. Smith
University Press of America (2005)

Co-authors Stephen Sposato and Wm. A. Smith weave true stories about how villagers in some of the poorest countries in the world have been helped by the modern communication tool for social change. PCI’s program Taru in India and Ushikwapo Shikamana in Kenya are featured examples in the book.

Entertainment-Education and Social Change: History, Research and Practice
By Arvind Singhal (ed.), Michael J. Cody (ed.), Everett M. Rogers (ed.) and Miquel Sabido (ed.) Everett M. Rogers, and Corinne L. Shefner-Rogers.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (2004)

This collection of essays provides an indepth history of social change communications from 1958 to present day. In one essay, authors Arvind Singhal, Devendra Sharma, Michael J. Papa, and Kim Witte discuss the process PCI underwent to create the serial drama Taru in India. PCI founder David Poindexter contributes an essay on the history of entertainment education.

Taru Project
By Arvind Singhal, Ohio University; Kim Witte, Michigan State and Johns Hopkins University; and Nithya Muthuswamy and Desiree Duff of Michigan State University
Population Communications International (December 2003)

This research on PCI's radio serial drama Taru broadcast in the Indian state of Bihar highlights the value added when entertainment-education programs are strategically integrated with community-based organizations and locally available health care services. It further validates the impact of utilizing intensive publicity to prime audience receptivity.

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Combating AIDS, Communications Strategies in Action
By Arvind Singhal and Everett M. Rogers
Sage Publishing (November 2002)

This award winning book focuses on communication strategies and how they can effectively mobilize political action, target high-risk groups, and overcome stigma. The authors described and analyzed the value of entertainment-education strategy in HIV prevention and care, highlighting the use of popular, long-running television and radio soap operas to engage audiences emotionally and create a forum for public debate and discussion. PCI's Ushikwapo Shikamana program in Kenya and the Tanzania serial drama Twende na Wakati are featured.

Entertainment-Education and Social Change: An Analysis of Parasocial Interaction, Social Learning, Collective Efficacy, and Paradoxical Communication
By Michael Papa, Arvind Singhal, Sweety Law, Saumya Pant, Suruchi Sood, Everett M. Rogers, and Corinne L. Shefner-Rogers.
The Journal of Communication (December 2000)

Researchers found that PCI’s radio soap opera in India, Tinka Tinka Sukh (Little Steps for a Better Life), promoted discussion among audience members about the program’s educational content, and inspired villagers to engage in collective action to address social practices such as the taking and giving of dowry and the education of children.

Effects of an Entertainment-Education Radio Soap Opera on Family Planning and HIV Prevention in St. Lucia
By Peter W. Vaughan, Alleyne Regis, and Edwin St. Catherine
International Family Planning Perspectives (December 2000)

This is a study of Apwé Plézi (After the Pleasure), a radio program in St. Lucia produced by the RARE Center for Tropical Conservation in partnership with PCI. The study examines the program’s success in promoting the use of contraception, gender equality, and the prevention of HIV transmission. Apwé Plézi’s effect on behavior included listeners’ adoption of family planning methods and improved attitudes toward monogamy and family relations. The drama also helped to increase the number of visits to family planning clinics and was responsible for the increase of condom sales. A decline in births in St. Lucia can also be attributed to the program.

Entertainment-Education and HIV/AIDS Prevention: A Field Experiment in Tanzania
By Peter W. Vaughan, Everett M. Rogers, Arvind Singhal, and Ramadhan M. Swalehe
The Journal of Health Communication (April-June Supplement 2000)

An evaluation of PCI’s radio serial drama in Tanzania, Twende na Wakati (Let’s Go With the Times), indicated that the drama had measurable effects on listeners’ adoption of HIV/AIDS prevention methods. These included a reduction of sexual partners and an increase in condom use. Twende na Wakati influenced these behaviors by increasing the communication among listeners about HIV/AIDS, the awareness of personal risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, and self-efficacy (an individual’s belief that he or she can control specific outcomes in life) with respect to preventing HIV/AIDS.

Efficacy in Letter-Writing to an Entertainment-Education Radio Serial
By Sweety Law and Arvind Singhal
Gazette (October 1999)

Researchers examining letters from listeners concluded that Tinka
Tinka Sukh motivated the listeners to reexamine their personal beliefs, gain confidence from having learned new information, and set goals and put them into action. The program inspired individuals to form community groups to counter superstition and dowry.

Effects of an Entertainment-Education Radio Soap Opera on Family Planning Behavior in Tanzania
By Everett M. Rogers, Peter W. Vaughan, Ramadhan M.A. Swalehe, Nagesh Rao, Peer Svenkerud, and Suruchi Sood
Studies in Family Planning (September 1999)

A national evaluation indicated that Twende na Wakati increased Tanzanians’ perception that marrying at a later age is better, increased listeners’ self-efficacy regarding planning their family size, had measurable effects on listeners’ adoption of contraceptive methods, and influenced listeners to speak with their spouses and peers about contraception. The study concludes that the program played an important role in the early stage of Tanzania’s transition from very high to lower fertility rates.

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