Sustainability of hygiene behaviour and the effectiveness of change interventions. Booklet 1. Lessons learned on research methodologies and research implementation from a multi-country research study

From 2000-2003 six research teams from six different countries in Asia and Africa undertook a research study into the effectiveness of hygiene promotion interventions and the sustainability of changes in hygiene behaviour. The experiences and findings gained through this research study were worth sharing. Not only because they gave insight in these areas, but also in do’s and dont’s when undertaking a longitudinal behavioural study. The experiences and findings have therefore been brought together and made accessible to people interested in hygiene promotion and behavioural research.
The study had the following objectives: 1) to assess the level of sustainability of behavioural change one to three years after a hygiene promotion intervention; 2) to develop a methodology for simple, cost-effective long-term monitoring; 3) to gain insight into relationships between project approaches, external conditions and sustainability; and 4) to determine the policy and programming implications of the study findings as a basis for influencing future policy and increasing the effectiveness of programmes.
The first booklet describes methodological findings related to the research, and is intended primarily to help people interested to set up a similar study. It provides useful information on how to proceed and on how to avoid the mistakes of earlier studies. It might also be useful for those responsible for setting up a monitoring framework, for water and sanitation programme managers and for donors wishing to understand the challenges faced by researchers.
The second booklet describes the research findings and the implications these findings have for water and sanitation programmes.

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