discussion paper
C’est la vie!: Mixed impacts of an edutainment television series in West Africa
ifpri discussion paper | 2023 | Pages: 76
Open Access
Citation
Dione, Malick; Heckert, Jessica; Hidrobo, Melissa; Le Port, Agnès; Peterman, Amber; and Seye, Moustapha. 2023. C’est la vie!: Mixed impacts of an edutainment television series in West Africa. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2210. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137017
Edutainment shows promise in changing behavior at scale, yet little is known about how to maximize impacts. We undertake an experimental evaluation of a popular television series, C’est la vie!, delivered through film clubs in rural Senegal, on violence against women and girls, and sexual and reproductive health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. We find C’est la vie! improved knowledge three months after film clubs ended, as well as violence-related attitudes nine months later, however, find no impacts on behaviors. We investigate design components intended to strengthen impacts, generally finding no additional impacts from post-screening discussions, engaging men, and podcasts.