Applying the Fogg Behavior Model to improve contraceptive social marketing during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria: a case study

The coronavirus pandemic may have harmful effects on use of family planning services. Lockdown regulations make it more difficult for people to visit health providers to obtain information about family planning, to discuss side-effects or problems they are experiencing with their current method, and go out to obtain new family planning supplies (e.g., to renew their contraceptive injection). The inability to earn income during the lockdown may also make family planning products and services unaffordable. As a result, efforts to curb the pandemic may cause unintended interruptions in contraceptive use and may prevent non-users from adopting a contraceptive method. Given these rapidly changing circumstances, it is important that family planning implementers make program adjustments without delay. When a timely programmatic response is of the essence, program implementers need simple behavior change models that can be used to inform programmatic decisions. This paper presents a case study of how DKT/Nigeria applied a behavior change model from persuasive design - the Fogg Behavior Model – to make timely adjustments to their contraceptive social marketing program during the course of the COVID-19 lockdown. Other public health programs, including programs that target health areas other than family planning, may be able to use similar approaches to guide the design of timely and responsive program adjustments.