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

This report evaluates the impact of three health-based behavioral interventions—SMS messaging, graphic imagery, and goal setting—on the purchase of improved cookstoves (ICS), health awareness, and willingness to pay (WTP) among households in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study utilized a randomized evaluation across eight villages, comparing treatment groups against a control group that received only general marketing. While some initial results showed increases in health awareness, these findings lost statistical significance when controlling for village fixed effects and baseline imbalances. The report concludes that high costs and lack of financing remain the primary barriers to ICS adoption, regardless of health awareness levels.

• Initial analysis indicated that all three behavioral treatments (SMS, graphic imagery, and goal setting) led to a statistically significant increase in the health awareness index at the 1% or 5% level. However, these results were no longer statistically significant once village fixed effects were incorporated into the analysis.
• Contrary to the researchers' hypotheses, the treatment groups showed a decrease in willingness to pay (WTP) for an improved cookstove compared to the control group. The SMS group saw a decrease of 1,189KSh (1% significance), the graphic group a decrease of 963KSh (5% significance), and the goal setting group a decrease of 895KSh (10% significance).
• The rate of cookstove adoption was very low, with only 1.4% of the total sample changing their cookstove between the baseline and endline surveys. While the goal setting treatment showed a small increase in the likelihood of changing stoves (significant at the 10% level) when using village fixed effects, this effect disappeared when controlling for baseline covariates.
• Qualitative interviews revealed that the primary drivers for purchasing a cookstove are cooking time, price, and smoke emissions. Respondents prioritized durability, specifically preferring metal and stainless steel over ceramic materials, which they feared would crack.
• Financial constraints are a major barrier to the adoption of improved cookstoves. Only 49% of the sampled population reported having any savings, and respondents identified loans and business proceeds as the most helpful financing options.
• The study found that individuals above average age were 39.6% more likely to use an open or surrounded fire (significant at the 1% level). Additionally, those who were not the primary decision-maker in the household were 16.4% less likely to use such stoves (significant at the 1% level).
• Qualitative feedback indicated that graphic imagery was highly effective at conveying the dangers of smoke, often causing 'shock' and making respondents realize the impact on their lungs even if they felt healthy. SMS messages were also viewed as useful, with a mean effectiveness score of 8.3 out of 10.

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} }