An Locally-Centered Approach to Health Behavior change

When studying theories of health behavior change during my public health training, I noticed a disappointing lack of representation from African scholars and perspectives. Too often, these models come from a Western, individualistic lens that doesn't fully resonate with our contextual realities and values here in Africa.

This matters immensely because the models we use don't just inform how we understand behaviors - they shape the very strategies and interventions we design to inspire change. If we're applying models divorced from our lived experiences and cultures, we could be missing crucial elements.

So what would an African-centered approach to behavior change look like? At its core, it would place deep emphasis on community collective processes and cultural narratives, rather than just individual cognition.

In many African contexts, health and wellbeing aren't just personal pursuits - they're inextricably tied to the holistic welfare of the community. The individual's identity is fundamentally shaped by their role and responsibilities to the broader collective.

Through this lens, behavior change may be more effectively motivated by elevating one's sense of purpose and contribution to community flourishing, not just individual benefits. Nurturing social bonds, upholding cultural traditions, and drawing from indigenous knowledge systems could be key drivers.

Additionally, such an approach would prioritize community dialogue, participation, and bottom-up solutions over centralized, top-down impositions. The process of co-creating meaning and deriving motivation from within the community itself, not from external forces, allows for deeper resonance and ownership.

As doctors and health workers, this calls on us to shift from a paradigm of prescribing expert-driven interventions to one of humble, authentic partnership with communities, drawing forth their own