Context: In Bangkok, only 7% of children wear helmets when they commute to school by motorcycle due to economic, cultural, and logistical constraints. In 2016, Save the Children Thailand and AIP Foundation launched the 7% Project to increase helmet use through education interventions, collaboration with police and community stakeholders, awareness raising campaigns, and innovations to change children’s and parent’s attitudes and behaviors toward helmet wearing. In 2019, the 7% Project wanted to know what combinations of activities succeeded in increasing helmet use.
Action: As a consultant on the evaluation team (Lead: Min Ma, MXM Consulting), I advised the implementation of a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to identify pathways to success. Using the Theory of Change, we selected measurable factors that could explain, alone or in combination, why some schools showed increases in helmet use and others did not. We developed a phone survey of teachers and school leadership and collected data from 44 schools. I cleaned and calibrated survey responses and ran multiple iterations of the fsQCA until we developed a coherent understanding of which factors were most strongly linked to increased student helmet use, which were most effective for increasing student helmet use, and which packages of interventions made the difference for success, and under what circumstances.
fsQCA software in action. (Image credit: Evan Kuras) 
Safety posters in a Bangkok school, including one focused on helmet wearing (right). (Photo credit: Duang-ramon Paaptanti)
Result: We recommended three tiers of action to the 7% Project, captured in a final report and presentation. As the 7% Project looks at potential next steps, we hope that our recommendations can maximize the success of their interventions, thus increasing helmet use and road safety for children in Thailand.
Check out the link below to learn more:
- Save the Children Thailand’s website and a story about using photovoice to amplify the perspectives of children in Bangkok
- Exploratory QCA references for a Roundtable workshop I led with Min Ma for the Greater Boston Evaluation Network on May 13, 2020.
Evan Kuras 