Improving hygiene and health isn’t just about changing individual habits; it’s about understanding the invisible forces that shape them. Many everyday choices, such as how we greet each other, how we clean, and even where we defecate, are guided by social norms —the unwritten rules of what’s considered “normal” or “acceptable” in a community.

In low-resource settings, these norms are often deeply rooted in local realities. To create lasting change, we must understand not just what people do, but why they do it — together.

In this interview-style blog, Dr Giorgia Gon reflects on findings from her recent paper: Social norms research in low resource settings: Opportunities ahead (Read Here)

1. Why is it so difficult to study and shift social norms in low-resource settings?

Social norms are woven into a cycle of behaviours, social expectations, and empirical expectations — what people believe others do and approve of. In low-resource settings, these expectations are often reinforced by necessity, uncertainty, or limited alternatives, making norms especially persistent and adaptive. Changing them means shifting not just individual choices but collective beliefs, which requires deep attention to context, history, and the lived realities that sustain these norms.

2. What new opportunities or approaches does your paper highlight for researching norm change?

One promising opportunity lies in leveraging existing public health trials, many of which are run at the cluster or community level. Embedding social norms research within these studies allows us to observe group-level change and understand how collective behaviours evolve. The paper also calls for deeper attention to social networks, which shape how norms spread, and to social rewards — not just sanctions — recognising that people often change not out of fear, but to gain belonging, trust, or status.

3. How does understanding social norms help us move beyond individual behaviour change towards creating supportive environments for hygiene and health?

Because norms are collective phenomena, they must be measured and shifted at the group level. Many key hygiene behaviours, from food hygiene to community defecation practices, are inherently social, shaped by shared routines, visibility, and expectations. By mapping and transforming these group-level norms, public health programmes can move beyond individual messaging to create enabling environments where healthy practices become the accepted standard — reinforced by peers, institutions, and culture alike.

Social norms research helps us design interventions that don’t just tell people what to do, but make healthy behaviours the easiest, most socially supported choice. When communities embrace change together, progress becomes sustainable.