From Training to Practice: A Case Study of Implementing the PAHO Social Marketing in Public Health Online Curriculum in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

Background and Situation Analysis Accessible online training may expand social marketing capacity, but evidence linking course participation to implementation remains limited. This longitudinal case study examines a free, comprehensive Social Marketing for Public Health curriculum delivered to public health teams across Latin America and the Caribbean. The training and course evaluation are the primary focus; salt-reduction campaigns implemented in Aruba and Sint Maarten in 2024 illustrate how the curriculum was applied and where support was needed. Priority Audience(s) The capacity-building audience was public health professionals in ministries and health organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean. The case study audience was working women in hotels within the tourism sector. Food-service staff, hotel management, and community partners were secondary audiences that influenced access to lower-sodium choices. Behavioral Objectives The training aimed to help practitioners select a behavioral focus and target audience, conduct formative research, develop a marketing mix, and plan implementation and evaluation. The case study focused on Aruba, which sought to increase the availability and selection of lower-sodium meals and to support lower-sodium food preparation, and on Sint Maarten, which promoted lower-sodium purchasing and cooking through workshops, supermarket prompts, and social media. Strategy/Intervention Planning and Development The five-module curriculum combined a self-paced prerequisite with four applied, tutor-supported modules and bilingual technical assistance. Curriculum implementation revealed gaps in research, segmentation, ethics, budgeting, governance, and evaluation. Social marketing tutors extended the research period and added instruction in study design, sampling, recruitment, data collection, analysis, and ethics. Aruba used local health checks, formative research, an external creative agency, message pretesting, and hotel activities. Sint Maarten adapted Aruba’s approach through workshops, supermarket prompts, and social media. Evaluation Methods and Results Course evaluation sources included post-module surveys, program records, 24 semi-structured interviews, and campaign documents. Twenty-nine participants completed the tutor-supported curriculum. Participants valued flexibility, clear resources, and expert feedback, while limited research experience, staffing, time, internet access, and local data constrained application. For the case studies, Aruba and Sint Maarten delivered staff briefings and cooking workshops, distributed materials, and used social media; pre-and post-surveys indicated improved knowledge. Findings demonstrate implementation, reach, learning, and the start of organizational institutionalization of social marketing. Recommendations for Social Marketing Practice Online training should be designed as an implementation pathway, not merely a content delivery vehicle. Programs should assess organizational readiness, require team participation and dedicated staff training time, strengthen applied research and ethics instruction, include budgeting and governance modules, provide structured technical assistance and implementation resources, and adopt a common evaluation framework. Training should also reinforce social marketing as a strategic practice by building competencies in audience insight, co-design, stakeholder engagement, and continuous adaptation, enabling practitioners to integrate evidence-based social marketing principles into routine organizational decision-making and program delivery.