Providers are people, just like their clients, who are motivated by myriad factors—money, recognition, social status or a desire to improve their community. Like anyone else, providers may be more likely to make change in their behavior if they understand how the change will benefit them. Effective provider behavior change interventions identify what motivates providers most before developing messages. A simple statement that frames how a provider will benefit from a specific change is called a “value proposition.”
PSI uses value propositions as the basis for provider behavior change communication in its social franchising programs. For example, family planning providers may be reluctant to counsel on IUDs if they assume that a client who doesn’t directly ask for them is not interested. Meanwhile, these same providers are motivated by increased sales volumes. In order to get providers to introduce IUDs to clients seeking family planning services, value proposition messages are developed to present the ways the providers may benefit from introducing IUDs. For example:
Before developing a value proposition message, use the set of questions from the audience analysis to identify what the providers may value.
For more information on how to communicate value to influence provider behavior change, see the Key Promise section of the PBCC I-Kit. See the Community Health Worker Behavior Change I-Kit for other examples of how organizations have incorporated value-based motivation techniques in provider behavior change efforts.