Julie Earne, MPH/MBA Canidate
Population Services International (PSI) enlisted Bixby Intern Julie Earne’s help to study the potential of developing social franchising in India to communicate the importance of birth spacing through the use of temporary methods of birth control. She combined the business concept of franchising with the public health aim of promoting widespread quality access to health services in India to help PSI develop a Behavior Change Communication . Julie also applied financial sustainability standards frequently employed in the financial sector to health care industry in developing countries.
The Behavior Change plan was targeted to three levels of Indian society: door to door communications with housewives, village presence with posters and street theatre, and mass media advertising communications. Julie felt that her internship enabled her to learn about quality control in poor areas, the logistics of delivering clinical products and services with little infrastructure, informal local pricing and accountability of staff.
The role that social mores play in health practices, family planning decisions and their economic impact on a family’s financial sustainability is important: most of these decisions are made by men, which impacts the way a social marketing campaign should be designed. PSI is working to expand the modern contraceptive options for women and men, including a future plan for the addition of emergency contraception which Julie helped envision.
Read her full report here: Julie Earne