Incentives
We explored various incentivization schemes with the community of TMK. Although general community preference leans toward unconditional incentives, when we discussed the potential of conditional non-cash incentives, participants agreed that this would be the best way to successfully promote healthy behaviors and practices in TMK. The community believed that if they were in charge of deciding what incentives they would receive after fulfilling the required conditions, there would be greater acceptance and overall success of the incentivization scheme.Non-cash incentives that were most popular among the participants and could have the potential to encourage positive behavioral change included construction of toilets and latrines, installation of hand pumps to access water, and distribution of hygiene kits to facilitate hand washing and bathing. Some community members also demanded the construction of hospitals, animal sheds, roads and sewage lines, and provision of food. They stated that because these non-cash incentives would be relevant to the problems currently faced by the community and could lead to a significant improvement in quality of life, they would appeal most to the local people and will likely be a prominent driver of behavior change.
When asked whether the community would contribute to these incentives, most declined monetary contribution, but agreed to invest time, land, and labor. This would, in effect, stimulate the residents to become involved in community activities, foster a sense of ownership and promote solidarity. As opposed to incentives at an individual level, participants were instead keen on an incentivization initiative that would motivate the community to work in unison towards serial targets and rewards, as this would be most successful in improving overall health-related behaviors and practices.
