Project Updates
1. New Study on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices on Lead Poisoning and Pollution in Indonesia
Lead exposure has been referred to as a silent epidemic as it can lead to serious health issues without obvious symptoms or awareness about exposure. Children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning, and poorer families are also at a greater risk as they are more likely to live close to areas with high exposure.
This new study aims to fill an important gap in understanding about people's awareness of lead exposure in Indonesia that will support advocacy related to lead poisoning prevention. The study will explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of community members related to environmental and lead pollution in two districts with relatively high exposure, Bogor and Tegal.
Using mixed methods, the study will include Participatory Focus Group Discussions with community leaders, teachers, healthcare workers, parents, and young people; in-depth interviews to explore topics for follow-up or further exploration; and a complementary survey.
This new study aims to fill an important gap in understanding about people's awareness of lead exposure in Indonesia that will support advocacy related to lead poisoning prevention. The study will explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of community members related to environmental and lead pollution in two districts with relatively high exposure, Bogor and Tegal.
Using mixed methods, the study will include Participatory Focus Group Discussions with community leaders, teachers, healthcare workers, parents, and young people; in-depth interviews to explore topics for follow-up or further exploration; and a complementary survey.
2. New project supporting Power of Nutrition project in Malawi - researcher training and Social and Behaviour Change strategy development
This project includes formative research and the development of a social and behaviour change (SBC) strategy for the ‘Empowering Communities so Children can Thrive’ project in Malawi.
The formative research aims to establish a deeper understanding of the behaviours driving poor maternal and child nutrition outcomes along with the barriers and entry points to shifting them, with the intention of identifying priority do-able behaviours through People-Driven Design workshops to support the development of an SBC strategy. These workshops will provide a basis from which additional aspects of the project will be designed and refined, and will inform the programme’s quantitative baseline.
Empatika will be training the project’s local staff on how to carry out their own immersion research for the formative research. Following the formative research and analysis of the initial findings, Empatika will then be supporting project staff in planning for and facilitating People-Driven Design workshops which aim to develop and test SBC interventions. We will then be supporting the development of a full SBC strategy for the project.
The formative research aims to establish a deeper understanding of the behaviours driving poor maternal and child nutrition outcomes along with the barriers and entry points to shifting them, with the intention of identifying priority do-able behaviours through People-Driven Design workshops to support the development of an SBC strategy. These workshops will provide a basis from which additional aspects of the project will be designed and refined, and will inform the programme’s quantitative baseline.
Empatika will be training the project’s local staff on how to carry out their own immersion research for the formative research. Following the formative research and analysis of the initial findings, Empatika will then be supporting project staff in planning for and facilitating People-Driven Design workshops which aim to develop and test SBC interventions. We will then be supporting the development of a full SBC strategy for the project.
3. New Study on Private Sector Policy towards children immunization in Indonesia
This mixed methods study will look at private sector policies towards child immunization in Indonesia which aims to help generate evidence to guide the government of Indonesia and partners in updating and supporting relevant policies and strategic planning that can leverage Private Sector Engagement to support health priorities, specifically for children's vaccination.
The research will gather insights on the experiences and perspectives of workers, families, and employers through Key Informant Interviews with employers along with Participatory Focus Group Discussions with working parents. A complementary online quantitative survey will also be conducted, with an aim to include around 3,000 working parents in labor-intensive industries. The qualitative fieldwork will be conducted in North Sumatra, West Java, and East Kalimantan.
The private sector can have a significant role in improving immunization rate by helping working parents access immunization services and by providing immunization information in the workplace. We look forward to engaging with these efforts and issues as part of this study.
The research will gather insights on the experiences and perspectives of workers, families, and employers through Key Informant Interviews with employers along with Participatory Focus Group Discussions with working parents. A complementary online quantitative survey will also be conducted, with an aim to include around 3,000 working parents in labor-intensive industries. The qualitative fieldwork will be conducted in North Sumatra, West Java, and East Kalimantan.
The private sector can have a significant role in improving immunization rate by helping working parents access immunization services and by providing immunization information in the workplace. We look forward to engaging with these efforts and issues as part of this study.
4. New Study on COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in Indonesia
Although Indonesia’s COVID-19 vaccination rate continues to climb, there remains hesitancy among certain groups and areas due to concerns about vaccine safety and effectiveness. Additionally, studies and surveys have indicated that many people are not consistent with, or are no longer maintaining, practices such as wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing. Both of these issues were also discussed in our COVID-19 Remote Insights Gathering study and have been witnessed throughout this past year by our researchers during fieldwork for other studies. Now through this new study, we will have the opportunity to build off of some of these insights while also developing community-generated solutions. The study will look to better understand the factors that influence people's behaviour to preventive measures and vaccines, along with the effectiveness of messages to encourage positive behaviour and address vaccine hesitancy. This will include adapted immersions to gather insights about factors that influence people's behaviour. Then, we will continue with people-driven design workshops to brainstorm and develop communication prototypes with communities related to encouraging positive behaviour.