Validation and Evaluation Process of the Platform Revela2: from all positions

Jair Vega Casanova, profesor and researcher from Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla Colombia, presented the process of validation and evaluation of the edutainment strategy Revela2 at the 2016 SBCC SUMMIT in Etiopía. 

The professor explained how research has been at the core of Revela2 from the begining. It is a theory-based strategy seeking decisions based on information and evidence. In that sense, it was helped by the groundwork made by the Family and Sexuality Research Group of Uniandes, the conceptual basis of for the design process and communication strategy provided by the Communication, Culture and Social Change PBX research group from Uninorte and the conceptual basis for the production of edutaintment given by Imaginary Foundation. 

Validation

The presentation at the SBCC SUMMIT described the process of validation and evaluation of both season 1 and season 2 of Revela2. In the both cases, the validation process consisted in the following steps:

1. Identification of main themes, with oficial data, literarture and policy documents, formative research.
2. Elaboration of a message brief or message document
3. Consultation with key stakeholders and partners
4. Message design workshop
5. Final message brief or document
6. Creative workshop for the detail design of the series and characters arc as well as magazine sections
7. Validation with partners and key stakeholders (audiences such as teenagers, parents and teachers)
8. Final script version 
9. Production of the fiction tv show, program sections and guides (educational package)
10. Validation with stakeholders and partners 
11. Final edition of each season

Fort he message brief/document validation, four categories or topics where asked to the stakeholders and partners: comperhension, aceptance, relevance, action and atraction of the messages.

In the case of the characters and story arcs, questions like: What do you think of this character? Could it be a real character? It reflects everyday life of a young person ? What kind of young person is this character? And Which is the main idea?  There are some aspects causing confusion or is it clear to you? Which modifications/ improvements would you make? Were asked, among other questions.

Finally, for the magazine section, the validation of the sections such as “Parsex” and “Sexafíos”, allowed us to establish the reception of the sections quality as a young television offer. Defining the format, role and language of the youtubers, among others.

Evaluation

As for the evaluation of both seasons, a couple of studies have been made by the research groups. 

First Season

1. For the firt season, Juan José Igartua of the Universidad e Salamanca and Jair Vega Cassanova from Uninorte, studied the narrative persuasion elements of the series, such as engagement with characters, identification and parasocial interaction. It was established through this research which characters of the series had higher identification with the audience. 

The method was a quasi-experimental study with 208 participants among 14 and 20 years old from 6 municipalities of Colombia. They were distributed randomly into three groups who each watch one episode of the first season. Then a questionary was answered before and after the screening. 

Results showed that some characters  did not reach a high level of identification with the audience among the different chapters. It was established that the characters of Camila and Juan were the ones who accomplished a higher identification in the different chapters according to their role as main characters.

All possible means comparisons were made, taken in pairs, using the Student t test for related samples. In all tests, both for identification and for parasocial interaction, the results were statistically significant (p <.01 or lower).

Other important result was the correlation between cognitive elaboration and behaviors. It was shown during the screening of chapter 8 a more favorable attitude towards sexual decisions (B = .40, p <.038). Likewise, higher cognitive elaboration was associated in chapter 10 with higher rejection towards gender based violence (B= .58, p < .007) and in the chapter 17 a more favorable attitude towards homosexual men that expressed their sexual preference (B = .37, p < .040).

In sum, a higher identification with the main characters of the chapter conveys the educative message associated with a higher reflection or cognitive elaboration, which develops behavioral changes. 

2. An other evaluation was made by Claudia Beltrán and Jair Vega from Uninorte. In this case, to see the lessons learned from dialogue and debate in the strategy. The goal was to identify the participants` perspective about the changes the strategy generated in the social mobilization process in the municipality of San Juan Nepomuceno (Bolívar). From a qualitative methodology, the researchers performed memory workshops, in depth interviews and document reviews. To find the following emerging categories: Affinity of the strategy with the local context, Increased of new leadership, Re-significance of spaces, Conceptual clarity on participation and Collective efficacy.

Second Season

For season 2 the UniAndes research group did an assessment of the use of Revela2 in the school context. 350 students participated from rural municipalities, the researchers did a quasi experimental study to measure a post test and control group, two weeks after the intervention with a sample of 71 students. 

Results showed that the intervened group had higher knowledge t (70) = 4.43, p< .001, consistent condom use intention t (60) = 3.97, p< .001 and higher HIV test taking intention t (60)= 2.65, p= .010, among other significant results.

Finally, the second season of Revela2 was evaluated on 5 locations in Campoalto in Bogotá. The study was done with nursing training programs that took the ethics subject in their second semester of their undergraduate program. The methodology was a pre-test post-test survey with 111 participants, but only 62 completed the surveys (See more).

Results showed higher levels of knowledge about HIV (p .000), positive attitudes about condom use (p 0.001), positive attitudes towards the use of the emergency pill (p .0000), and towards the HIV test (p .007). 

Revela2 is an edutaintment platfomr that aims to facilitate dialogue and critical reflection about adolescents and youth ́s  SRR, and to contribute to transform individual and family behaviors, sociocultural norms and practices. For this it uses the SBCC model.