Effects of Health Marketing Interventions on Cookstove Purchasing, Health Awareness and Willingness to Pay

The study tested three behavioral interventions to increase the adoption of improved cookstoves in Kenya. While initial results showed improvements in health awareness, these findings lost statistical significance when controlling for village fixed effects and baseline imbalances. No significant increase in cookstove purchases was observed, with cost and lack of financing identified as primary barriers.

• Initial analysis indicated that all three treatment groups experienced a statistically significant increase in the health awareness index at the 1% or 5% level, though these results were not robust when village fixed effects and control variables were applied.
• Contrary to the researchers' hypotheses, the treatments were initially associated with a decrease in willingness to pay for an improved cookstove: the SMS group decreased by 1,189KSh (1% significance), the graphic imagery group by 963KSh (5% significance), and the goal setting group by 895KSh (10% significance).
• The goal setting treatment showed a small, statistically significant increase (at the 10% level) in the likelihood of respondents changing their cookstove between the baseline and endline surveys, although this effect disappeared when baseline covariates were included.
• Overall cookstove adoption was very low, with only 1.4% of the total sample changing their cookstove during the study period.
• Qualitative interviews revealed that the most critical factors influencing cookstove purchase decisions are cooking time, smoke emissions, and the price of the stove.
• Durability of materials is the primary physical feature considered by buyers, with a strong preference for metal and stainless steel over ceramic, which was perceived as prone to cracking.
• Financial constraints are a major barrier to adoption; only 49% of the sampled population reported having any savings, and loans and business proceeds were identified as the most helpful financing options.
• Respondents reported high qualitative satisfaction with the interventions: 78% found SMS messages useful (mean score 8.3/10), and all respondents in the graphic imagery group found the images of lungs effective in conveying the dangers of smoke.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). Effects of Health Marketing Interventions on Cookstove Purchasing, Health Awareness and Willingness to Pay. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SNV-2015-Cookstoves-health-Kenya-study.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Effects of Health Marketing Interventions on Cookstove Purchasing, Health Awareness and Willingness to Pay. n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SNV-2015-Cookstoves-health-Kenya-study.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Effects of Health Marketing Interventions on Cookstove Purchasing, Health Awareness and Willingness to Pay |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SNV-2015-Cookstoves-health-Kenya-study.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendeffects, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Effects of Health Marketing Interventions on Cookstove Purchasing, Health Awareness and Willingness to Pay}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SNV-2015-Cookstoves-health-Kenya-study.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }