Behavioral and Social Sciences

Behavioral and social scientists at FHI assess the impact of health attitudes, knowledge, and individual decisions. Before launching a study, we first answer some important questions:

• Which communities and populations are suitable for clinical studies?
• How can they be successfully involved in research?
  Who are prominent local leaders and what are the most viable communication channels?
• Do participants understand the study's purpose, the informed consent forms, and the data collection forms?

FHI uses multiple theoretical approaches and models along with diverse analytic methods such as community diagnosis, ethnography, focus groups, in-depth interviews, participant observations, social network analysis, and process evaluation. We employ a framework that studies individual behaviors and outcomes in the context of social structures, culture, and national and international factors. Determining the behavioral and social factors that influence health and use of services is crucial to preventing and treating illness and disease.

Our first issue of the newsletter Research in Public Health (PDF, 285 KB) describes our work in the behavioral and social sciences in more detail.

For further information, contact services@fhi.org