Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai

Programme Overview

This five-day professional development course equips participants with technical capabilities to design, execute, and monitor social and behaviour change programmes dedicated to maternal and child health. Convened in Chiang Mai, the curriculum concentrates on closing the divide between public health knowledge and everyday care practices. Practitioners examine evidence-based communication frameworks and diagnostic tools that reveal contextual determinants of maternal nutrition, infant care, and household dietary allocation, preparing teams to craft culturally aligned, high-impact community interventions.

Delegates undertake structured analyses of real-world operational challenges, translating clinical guidance into practical community counselling modules. The sessions walk through the socio-ecological model, the Health Belief Model, and barrier analysis methodologies to address root causes of poor nutrition outcomes. Emphasis is placed on creating clear, non-prescriptive interpersonal communication packages that front-line workers can implement efficiently within diverse local contexts, ensuring that critical health messages successfully resonate with expectant mothers, primary carers, and influential community gatekeepers.

The final stage of the programme focuses on strengthening accountability and operational measurement within donor-funded project environments. Participants formulate robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks equipped with standard indicators to measure behavioural adoption, compliance, and sustained practice change over time. By combining programme design principles with rigorous tracking mechanisms, the training enables institutions to optimise resource allocation, refine ongoing outreach, and demonstrate tangible health and nutrition improvements to international financing institutions and national stakeholders.

The programme addresses an urgent need to align financial support with lasting health outcomes across vulnerable settings, directly delivering on the behavioural change and nutrition goals central to initiatives such as the Maternal and Child Cash Transfers for Improved Nutrition Project. Income supplements alone cannot resolve chronic malnutrition without targeted, evidence-based guidance on infant and young child feeding, diverse dietary practices, and antenatal care attendance. Establishing robust social and behaviour change frameworks ensures that cash transfers translate into measurable nutritional gains, improved household care practices, and resilient child development outcomes.

Delivered by Risalat Consultants International in Chiang Mai, Thailand, it combines expert-led sessions, real cases and group work, so that participants can apply what they learn in their own institution.

The Programme Strengthens Institutional Capability

• Principles of social and behaviour change within maternal, newborn, and child health programming
• The socio-ecological model and its application to household nutrition and care practices
• Reviewing global guidelines: WHO and UNICEF standards for infant and young child feeding
• Mapping behavioural pathways from cash transfer receipt to household nutritional outcomes
• Identifying primary, secondary, and tertiary target audiences in community health settings
• Methodologies for conducting rapid formative research in resource-constrained environments
• Designing and executing barrier analysis surveys for maternal and infant nutrition behaviours
• Coding and interpreting qualitative field data to identify determinants of compliance
• Service planning and management
• Quality improvement and standards
• Human resources and workforce planning
• Financing and budgeting for services

It is designed for public health educators and health promotion officers, nutrition programme managers and technical advisers, community outreach directors and field coordinators and others who want practical, current skills in health, education and social services.

The Growing Importance of Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai

Health, education and social services reach people directly, and their quality depends on planning, management and the use of evidence. Governments and partners expect better results from limited budgets.

Leaders and managers in these sectors face rising demand, staff shortages and new technologies. Strong management skills help institutions plan services, use resources well and show results.

Organisations increasingly require professionals capable of:

• Plan and manage services to meet demand
• Improve quality against standards
• Manage staff and resources effectively
• Use data to guide decisions
• Work with communities and partners

Strong health, education and social services systems help organisations:

• Deliver better services to more people
• Use budgets and staff efficiently
• Meet quality standards
• Show results to government and partners

This Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai programme brings these elements together in a practical format, so that participants understand not only what good practice looks like but also how to introduce it in their own setting, with the people and resources they have.

Who Should Attend This Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai Training?

This programme is designed for:

• Public health educators and health promotion officers
• Nutrition programme managers and technical advisers
• Community outreach directors and field coordinators
• Maternal, newborn, and child health project officers
• Social and behaviour change communication specialists
• Civil society programme managers leading community health initiatives
• Monitoring and evaluation specialists supporting nutrition projects
• Technical specialists managing maternal and child cash transfer components
• Public sector health planners focused on primary healthcare delivery
• Service managers and administrators
• Directors and senior officials
• Planning and policy officers

The programme suits experienced professionals as well as those moving into new responsibilities. Groups that mix institutions and countries are encouraged, because participants learn a great deal from each other’s experience.

Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai Training Objectives

Upon successful completion of this Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai Training, participants will be able to:

• Analyse behavioural determinants influencing maternal, infant, and young child nutrition practices within vulnerable communities
• Apply evidence-based social and behaviour change frameworks including the socio-ecological model to health programme design
• Conduct rapid community barrier analyses to identify specific structural, cultural, and social impediments to optimal care
• Design tailored interpersonal communication and community-level nutrition counselling modules for front-line health workers
• Formulate engagement strategies that mobilise household decision-makers, community leaders, and male caregivers
• Construct rigorous monitoring indicators and verification mechanisms to evaluate behavioural adoption among expectant mothers and infant caregivers
• Develop adaptive management plans to refine outreach interventions based on routine field-level monitoring data
• Explain the main challenges facing their sector
• Plan services that match demand and resources
• Apply quality improvement methods

Each objective is practised during the programme through exercises, cases or group work, so that participants leave able to do it, not only to describe it.

Programme Contents and Structure

Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai Training Methodology

The training employs an applied, adult-learning methodology that pairs technical presentations with practical workshop exercises. Participants work through real programme case studies to conduct barrier analyses, draft counselling scripts, and design indicator matrices. Working in peer groups, delegates directly apply theoretical models to live operational scenarios, culminating in the development and peer review of an actionable social and behaviour change package tailored to their respective maternal and child health interventions.

The programme combines:

• Expert-led sessions on current practice
• Regional and international case studies
• Group work and practical exercises
• Simulations and role plays where relevant
• Discussion of participants' own challenges
• Peer learning across institutions and countries
• Practical tools and templates to take back to work
• Daily reflection and action planning

Before the programme, a short pre-assessment helps the facilitators understand each participant’s role and priorities, so that examples and exercises can be adjusted to the group. Each day ends with a short reflection in which participants note what they will apply at work.

Expected Outcomes

Upon completion of this Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai Training, participants will be able to:

• Mastery of social and behaviour change communication frameworks applied to maternal and child nutrition projects
• Capability to conduct rapid barrier analyses and diagnose non-financial constraints to healthy care practices
• Completed draft of a community-level nutrition counselling module tailored for front-line outreach workers
• Comprehensive engagement strategies designed to address household power dynamics and community gatekeepers
• A monitoring and evaluation framework containing specific behavioural indicators aligned with international donor requirements
• An implementation-ready operational action plan for integrating behavioural change components into existing health and nutrition interventions
• Plan services to meet demand
• Improve quality against standards

Participants leave with a personal action plan and practical tools they can use in their institution from the first week back. Institutions that send several participants can use the programme to agree shared methods and templates across teams, which makes improvements easier to sustain.

Institutional Application of Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai Training

This programme supports organisations in strengthening:

• Service planning
• Quality management
• Workforce management
• Data use
• Partnerships

Participants return with practical tools to improve:

• Service plans
• Quality reviews
• Workforce plans
• Performance reports
• Supply planning

The programme is built so that learning moves from the classroom into the institution. Participants work on their own processes and documents where possible, and leave with an action plan that their managers can review and support.

Regional Relevance & Application

Europe

European institutions apply health, education and social services within detailed regulatory frameworks and reform agendas. Participants from Europe can compare their practice with colleagues from other regions and test how established methods work under different conditions.

Africa

Across Africa, ministries, agencies and project teams working in health, education and social services increasingly operate alongside donor-financed programmes that expect clear systems and evidence. The programme helps participants adapt good practice to the institutions and resources they work with.

Middle East

In the Middle East, national development strategies and diversification plans place growing demands on health, education and social services. Participants explore how to build the capability these plans need inside public bodies and companies.

Asia

Institutions across Asia combine rapid growth with ambitious modernisation programmes. Participants from Asia can share their experience of scaling systems quickly and learn from approaches used elsewhere.

Pacific

Small island and Pacific states face particular constraints of size, distance and capacity. The programme highlights practical, proportionate approaches to health, education and social services that suit smaller institutions.

Holding the programme in Chiang Mai, Thailand brings participants together away from their daily pressures, so they can compare how health, education and social services is handled in different settings. The same programme can also be delivered in-house for one institution, in its own country or online, with cases taken from its current work.

Host Country Profile – Thailand

Training programmes and study tours in Chiang Mai suit professionals working in public administration, community development, environmental resource management, and regional tourism planning.

Studying away from their own country gives participants time to focus, a fresh view of their own institution and the chance to build a network with colleagues from other countries.

Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai Training Deliverables

Participants receive support before, during and after the programme, so that preparation, learning and follow-up form one continuous experience.

Before the Programme

• Participant Pre-Assessment
• Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai Readiness Assessment
• Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai Resource Pack
• Preparatory Reading Materials
• Complimentary Visa Support & Advisory

During the Programme

• Airport Pickup & Welcome Assistance
• Accommodation with Breakfast
• Welcome Networking Dinner
• Risalat Training Kit (Bag, Bottle, Mug, T-Shirt, Cap, Passport Cover, Pens, Notebook, Magnet & Keychain)
• Comprehensive Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai Training Manual
• Service Planning Template
• Quality Improvement Plan Template
• Workforce Planning Template
• Performance Dashboard Template
• Practical Workshops & Simulations
• Group Discussions & Peer Learning
• Daily Lunch and Refreshments
• Full Access to Training Venue Facilities
• Mini Pad / Tablet with Digital Learning Materials
• Field Visit (where applicable)
• Entertaining City Tour

After the Programme

• Certificate of Completion
• Risalat Programme Participation Recognition Award
• Post-Training Reference Materials
• Service Review Checklist
• Improvement Tracking Sheet
• Post-Training Support & Follow-Up Guidance
• Programme Report

Institutions can also request a tailored in-house version of this programme, delivered at their premises or online. Request a proposal.

Common Challenges in Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai, And How This Training Helps

How can institutions plan and manage services to meet demand?

The programme addresses this directly on the first day (Foundations of Social and Behaviour Change in Maternal and Child Health), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions improve quality against standards?

The programme addresses this directly on the second day (Formative Research and Community Barrier Analysis), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions manage staff and resources effectively?

The programme addresses this directly on the third day (Designing Nutrition Counselling and Interpersonal Communication Modules), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions use data to guide decisions?

The programme addresses this directly on the fourth day (Community-Level Roll-Out and Multi-Channel Campaign Architecture), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions work with communities and partners?

The programme addresses this directly on the fifth day (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Adaptive Programme Management), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where does the Maternal and Child Health Social Behaviour Change Design in Chiang Mai programme take place?

It runs from 16 Aug 2027 to 20 Aug 2027, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The registration deadline is shown at the top of this page.

Who should attend?

The programme is designed for public health educators and health promotion officers, nutrition programme managers and technical advisers, community outreach directors and field coordinators, maternal, newborn, and child health project officers, and others who want practical skills in health, education and social services.

Will I receive a certificate?

Yes. Participants who complete the programme receive a Certificate of Completion from Risalat Consultants International.

Can this programme be delivered for our institution only?

Yes. We can deliver a tailored in-house version at your premises, in another city or online, built around your own cases. Use the proposal request on this page.

Do I need prior experience in health, education and social services?

No specialist background is required beyond experience in a related role. A short pre-assessment helps the facilitators adapt the sessions to the group.

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