Action Research in the International Community (ARIC): Listening to Dragonflies in Phong Binh, Viet Nam.

The Listening to Dragonflies Initiative is an action research project, in which the studies we are conducting tests the model of health behavior change as it applies to the developing countries of Southeast Asia, specifically in a remote village of Phong Binh, Vietnam. 

The project's goal is to implement and assess the effectiveness of a model of health behavior change aimed at reducing the 78% infectious and 80% parasitic disease rates in the village of Phong Binh, Viet Nam.

To date three studies have been conducted showing health behavior change for 156 families living in the 13 hamlets that comprise Phong Binh. As action research, this is truly a translational study by applying what we know from western theories of health behavior change to a different culture and exploring the mechanisms that lead to effectiveness both statistically and conceptually. Six students were brought to the village to train people in using student-centered learning to enhance their health curriculum, assist in training village leaders and health advocates on basic sanitation practices, and visiting a pre-school to train children in handwashing.