Social norms are an important way through which hygiene behaviours can be changed, and they shape for example the practice of open defecation.

In this example, a societal expectation is established that people do not defecate in public spaces and should avoid doing so. Public shaming or other forms of punishment are used to enforce this expectation. Social norms are thus a very effective way of changing behaviour because once they are established they are self-sustaining. Currently our knowledge on how to exploit social norms to change hygiene behaviour is scarce. In particular, we do know how best utilise them under different circumstances.

In this research, social norms are measured within three existing studies of hygiene behaviours: surface hygiene during birth in healthcare facilities (in Cambodia), food hygiene when starting to give solids to babies in the home (in Bangladesh), and menstrual hygiene of adolescent schoolgirls (in Uganda).

These studies are each testing interventions which can exploit social norms to bring about change in the respective hygiene behaviours, but none of them have currently planned to do this. The research seizes this opportunity and aims to deliver three objectives: first, to understand if each of these interventions have created or strengthened social norms; second, to identify factors explaining whether some sub-groups of people have stronger social norms than others; and third, to assess whether an intervention focusing on social norms could be effective in changing hygiene behaviour.

The findings from this work are expected to create new knowledge on the role of social norms as agents of change but also show the potential for this pathway to bring lasting benefits to hygiene-related health.