02401nas a2200193   4500000000100000008004100001260003400042653005700076653002700133653003300160100001600193700001400209700001100223700001300234245010400247856010400351520172700455022002502182       2021                            d  bOxford University Press (OUP)10aPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health10aHealth(social science)10aSocial behavior change (SBC)1 aAwantang GN1 aHelland A1 aVelu S1 aGurman T00aEvaluating capacity strengthening for social and behavior change communication: a systematic review  uhttps://academic.oup.com/heapro/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/heapro/daab068/38119258/daab068.pdf3 a<jats:title>Summary</jats:title>
               <jats:p>International social and behavior change communication (SBCC) programs often include capacity strengthening (CS). Quality evaluations of CS can help justify investing in these activities and guide the design of future CS activities. To inform and improve future CS efforts, a comprehensive examination of ways in which activities aimed at strengthening capacity for improved SBCC are assessed is needed. Unfortunately, systematic literature reviews about the assessment of CS activities in SBCC programs are rare. This systematic review helped fill this gap and explored ways in which CS interventions for improved SBCC in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) evaluated their success. A search of electronic research databases yielded a total of 1033 potentially eligible publications. Reviewers identified 19 eligible publications that assessed the effects of activities for improved SBCC capacity. Reviewers identified seven findings, including the fact that evaluating CS for improved SBCC is rare, with only three publications having focused exclusively on evaluating SBCC capacity. This current review also identified several shortcomings around the quality of writing as well as sufficient detail to support certain claims and conclusions, especially around issues of sustainability. Until quality evaluations of CS activities are better documented, future CS activities for SBCC will find it difficult to identify effective CS approaches and demonstrate their contribution to improved SBCC in LMICs. The review discusses several implications and offers practical recommendations regarding ways to improve the evaluation of CS activities in SBCC.</jats:p>  a0957-4824, 1460-2245