Featured Publications
Below are publications on Positive Deviance including articles, books and blogs that caught our eyes. To see a biblography list, please see the bibliography page.
To feature a publication on this page, please directly email us and include the link of the publication.
General | Business | Education | International Development | Child Development
Health Care | Nutrition | Public/Global Health | Governance/Civil Society | Wisdom Series
General
- "Book review: The Power of Positive Deviance", The World Bank
- "Exceptional responders in conservation", Society for Conservation Biology
- “Diffusion of Evidence-based Interventions or Practice-based Positive Deviations”, Arvind Singhal
- “Dr. Arvind Singhal on Finding Positive Deviants”, UTEP Population Health
- "Nuts and Bolts: Positive Deviance", Learning Solutions
- "On PD and Ebola" Equal Times
- "Positive Deviance: A Non-Normative Approach to Health and Risk Messaging", Arvind Singhal, Lucia Dura
- "Positive Deviance: An Elegant Solution to a Complex Problem", Curt Lindberg, Thomas Clancy for Managing Organizational Complexity
- "Positive Deviance in Theory and Practice: A Conceptual Review", Matthew J. Herington, Elske van de Fliert
- “Positive deviance, big data, and development: A systematic literature review”, Basma Albanna, Richard Heeks
- “Professor’s Efforts Make UTEP a Hub for Positive Deviance”, UTEP
- "Quality Improvement Approaches: Positive Deviance", Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
- “Should Positive Deviance be my next Big Thing?”, From Poverty to Power
- Social Justice Initiative: Just Drum Roll, The University of Texas at El Paso
- "The practicalities of change: Positive deviance and land reform in Vanuatu", Developmental Leadership Program
- "Unleashing the power of positive deviance", devex.com
- "Using a 'Positive Deviance' Framework to Discover Adaptive Risk Reduction Behaviors Among High-Risk HIV Negative Black Men Who Have Sex with Men", AIDS and Behavior
- “Why some children from poor families do well—an in-depth analysis of positive deviance cases in Singapore”, Chelsea J.Y. Cheang, Esther C. L. Goh
- The Power of Positive Deviance: How Unlikely Innovators Solve the World's Toughest Problems
Business
- “A Positive Deviance Inquiry on Effective Communicative Practices of Rural Indian Women Entrepreneurs”, Pallavi Jain, Anu Sachdev, Arvind Singhal, Peer J. Svenkerud, Sakshi Agarwa
- “Determinants of success and intensity of livestock feed technologies use in Ethiopia: Evidence from a positive deviance perspective”, Yitayih Birhanu, Girma, Puskur
- Faire réussir les acteurs clés de l'entreprise avec les interventions brèves, Gregory Le Roy
- “Positive Deviance as Design Thinking: Challenging Notions of Stasis in Technical and Professional Communication”, Lucia Dura, Lauren Perez,and Magdalena Chaparro
- "The Power of Positive Deviance in Compliance", Bruce Horowitz
Education
- "Alcohol use among university students: Considering a positive deviance approach", Journal of Health Psychology
- “Communicative practices that lead to the timely high school graduation against all odds: A positive deviance inquiry in a predominantly Hispanic school”, Patricia T Ayala
- “Conditions forschool success of young people from marginalized Roma communities (MRC)in Slovakia -Looking for Positive Deviance practices”, Estera Kövérová, Slovak Academy of Sciences and Comenius University
- Evaluation of the Hawai’i Parental Information and Resource Center, Christina Simmons
- "From hunger aid to school reform: An interview with Jerry Sternin”, Journal of Staff Development
- From the Inside Out: Learning from the Positive Deviance of Your Organization, Joan Richardson
- "How schools amplify psychological resilience - A Positive Deviance Inquiry", Centrum Media & Gezondheid
- Kau Project Update, Christina Simmons
- “Life without boundaries: A positive deviance inquiry of communication behaviors that influence academic success of learning-disabled university students”, Davi Israel Kallman
- “Positive Deviance and Teacher Change”, Sharon Carroll Quinteroa
- "Positive deviance: learning from positive anomalies", Paul G. LeMahieu, Lee E. Nordstrum, Dick Gale
- “Quality Improvement Approaches: Positive Deviance”, Sarah McKay
- “Social-emotional learning practices: insights from outlier schools”, Taylor N. Allbright, Julie A. Marsh, Kate E. Kennedy, Heather J. Hough, Susan McKibben
- "Teaching and Learning about Positive Deviance: Boosting Metacognition to Grasp Global Communication Theory and Practice", Jean Claude Kwitonda, Arvind Singhal
- "Transformer l'education..par la deviance positive", Arving Singhal
- "Transforming Education from the Inside-Out: Positive Deviance to Enhance Learning and Student Retention”, Arvind Singhal
- "Uncovering Innovations that are Invisible in Plain Sight: A Call to Amplify Positive Deviance in School Settings”, Arvind Singhal
- "What Explains Enhanced Psychological Resilience of Students at VMBO schools in the Netherland: The Positive Deviance Approach in Action”, Dr. Martine Bouman, Dr Sarah Lubjunh, Dr. Arvind Singhal
- “Why some children from poor families do well—an in-depth analysis of positive deviance cases in Singapore”, Chelsea J.Y. Cheang and Esther C. L. Goh
International Development
- Aid on the Edge of Chaos: Rethinking International Cooperation in a Complex World, Ben Ramalingam, Oxford University Press
- “Characteristics of Positive Deviants in Western Chimpanzee Populations”, frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
- "Explaining Positive Deviance in Public Sector Reforms in Development", Matt Andrews
- ”Habits as Building Blocks for the Resilience of Vulnerable Populations: Two Positive Deviance Case Studies From the U.S.–Mexico Border Region", Maria Sajquim de Torres, Lucia Dura
- “Prioritizing options for multi-objective agricultural development through the Positive Deviance approach”, Steinke, Gaspar Mgimiloko, Graef, Hammond, van Wijk, van Etten
Health care
- “A multicenter study using positive deviance for improving hand hygiene compliance”, American Journal of Infection Control
- "A Practical Guide to Using the Positive Deviance Method in Health Services Research", Adam Rose, Megan McCullough
- “A qualitative positive deviance study to explore exceptionally safe care on medical wards for older people”, Ruth Baxter, Natalie Taylor, Ian Kellar, Rebecca Lawton
- “Advancing Antimicrobial Stewardship in Outpatient Dialysis Centers Using the Positive Deviance Process”, Claire M. Lindberg, Curt C. Lindberg, Erika M.C. D’Agata, Brandi Esposito
- “Beyond the hospital infection control guidelines: a qualitative study using positive deviance to characterize gray areas and to achieve efficacy and clarity in the prevention of healthcare-associated infections”, Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control
- “Combating infections at Maine Medical Center: Insights into complexity- informed leadership from positive deviance”, Curt Lindberg, Marguerite Schneider
- “Deconstruction of central line insertion guidelines based on the positive deviance approach—Reducing gaps between guidelines and implementation: A qualitative ethnographic research”, Ricky CohenI, Anat Gesser-Edelsburg, Arvind Singhal, Shmuel Benenson, Allon E. Moses
- “Deviance and resistance: Malaria elimination in the greater Mekong subregion”, Chris Lyttleton
- “Embracing collaboration: A novel strategy for reducing bloodstream infections in outpatient hemodialysis centers”, Curt Lindberg DMan, MHA, Gemma Downham MPH, CIC, Prucia Buscell BA, Erin Jones RN, BSN, Pamela Peterson RN, BSN, MBA, Valdis Krebs MLIR
-"Exploring the Concept and Use of Positive Deviance in Nursing", JC Gary
- "Front-line ownership: generating a cure mindset for patient safety", Healthcare Papers
- “How can Competing Patient Safety Improvement Strategies Be Harnessed”, Jon C. Lloyd
- “Identification of outliers and positive deviants for healthcare improvement: looking for high performers in hypoglycemia safety in patients with diabetes”, Brigid Wilson, Chin-Lin Tseng, Orysya Soroka, Leonard M. Pogach and David C. Aron
- “Identifying positive deviants in healthcare quality and safety: a mixed method study”, Jane K O’Hara, Katja Grasic, Nils Gutacker, Andrew Street, Robbie Foy, Carl Thompson, John Wright and Rebecca Lawton
- “Impact of the Positive Deviance Approach on Breastfeeding Practices among Tribal Pregnant Women: A Before – After Intervention Study”, Abhay Srivastava, Kanchan Gwande, Sudip Bhattacharya, Vijay Kumar Singh
- "La déviance positive : analyse de concept selon l'approche évolutionniste de Rodgers", Josiane Letourneau, Marie Anderson, Chantal Caux, Lucie Richard
- "Learning from positively deviant wards to improve patient safety: an observational study protocol", Ruth Baxter, Natalie Taylor, Ian Kellar, Rebecca Lawton
- “Letting Go, Gaining Control: Positive Deviance and MRSA Prevention”, Curt Lindberg, Patricia Norstrand, Mark T Munger, Christine DeMarsico, Prucia Buscell
- “Positive deviance: A program for sustained improvement in hand hygiene compliance”, American Journal of Infection Control
- “Positive Deviance: A Non-Normative Approach to Health and Risk Messaging”, Arvind Singhal and Lucia Dura
- “Positive Deviance Inquiry of Breastfeeding in Egypt”, Ayah Ebada Sarhan
- “Reducing Bloodstream Infections in an Outpatient Hemodialysis Center — New Jersey, 2008–2011”, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- “Research in action: using positive deviance to improve quality of health care”, Elizabeth H Bradley, Leslie A Curry, Shoba Ramanadhan, Laura Rowe, Ingrid M Nembhard and Harlan M Krumholz
- “The positive effects of an antimicrobial stewardship program targeting outpatient hemodialysis facilities”, The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
- "The wicked question answered: positive deviance delivers patient-centered care." JC Gary
- “Using Positive Deviance and the Citizen Healthcare Model for Coproduction”, Cole Zanetti DO, MPH; Preeti Zanwar, PhD, MPH, MS; Aimee Valeras, PhD
- "Value co-creation in healthcare through positive deviance", Cole Zanetti, Natalie Taylor
- “What Distinguishes Top-Performing Hospitals in Acute Myocardial Infarction Mortality Rates?”, Annals of Internal Medicine
Nutrition
- "Applying Positive Deviance for Improving Compliance to Adolescent Anemia Control Program in Tribal Communities of India", Vani Sethi, Monique Sternin, Deepika Sharma, Arti Bhanot, Saba Mebrahtu
- "Identification and Characterization of Families That Are Positively Deviant for Childhood Obesity in a Latino Population: A Case-Control Study", Journal of Obesity
- "Parent Mentors Using Positive Deviance in Childhood Obesity", The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- “Positive Deviance— An Expeditious Tool for Action to Ameliorate Malnutrition in Resource-Poor Settings”, Mercy Sosanya, University of Texas at Austin
- ”Positive Deviance Gizi Pada Keluarga Miskin Di Desa Baru, Sarolangun Jambi”, Jurnal Ipek Terapan
Public/Global Health
- "Complete Child Immunisation: A Cluster Analysis of Positive Deviant Regions in Ghana", Paul Kyere
- "Deviance and resistance Malaria elimination in GMS", Chris Lyttleton
- “Identification and Characterization of Families That Are Positively Deviant for Childhood Obesity in a Latino Population: A Case-Control Study”, Byron A. Foster, Christian A. Aquino, Sharol Mejia, Barbara J. Turner, and Arvind Singhal
- "Positive deviance as a novel tool in malaria control and elimination: methodology, qualitative assessment and future potential", Malaria Journal
- "Sanitation and Health practices: A Positive Deviance study of three Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) host villages in Uganda", Jannette Abalo
- “The Development of a Positive Deviancy Strategy to Identify Excellence in Patient Experience”, Rubens, Chen, Ramsay, Forster, Wells, Sundaresan
- “The Positive-Deviance approach for translating evidence into practice to improve patient retention in HIV care”, BMC Health Services Central
- "The potential of positive deviance approach for the sustainable control of neglected tropical diseases", Tropical Medicine and Health
- “The Sweet Taste of Health: A Positive Deviance Inquiry into Communicative Acts that Lead to Effective Management of Diabetes Among Hispanics”, Claudia Martinez Boyd, UTEP
- “Using a ‘Positive Deviance’ Framework to Discover Adaptive Risk Reduction Behaviors Among High-Risk HIV Negative Black Men Who Have Sex with Men”, Lucia Dura, Arvind Singhal
- "Using a positive deviance framework to identify Local Health Departments in Communities with exceptional maternal and child health outcomes: a cross sectional study.", BMC Public Health
Governance/Civil Society
- “THE THINGS THAT WORKED Examples of successful activities on the level of local administration aimed at improving the situation of the Roma”, Alexander Mušinka, PhD.
- "Becoming a 'Positive Outlier': A Case Study of Oman", Developmental Leadership Program
- “Cases of Positive Deviance in Public Financial Management”, CABRI
- Center for the Study of Bribery, Extortion, and Coercion Situations, Bruce Horowitz
- "Engaging Community Resilience for Security: Development and Peace building in Afghanistan", Future Generations Afghanistan
- Having Nothing, Possessing Everything: Finding Abundant Communities in Unexpected Places, Michael Mather
- “Positive Approaches to Peacebuilding”, Sampson, Abu-Nimer, Liebler, Whitney
- "The Power of Positive Deviance in Compliance", Bruce Horowitz
- "Why Positive Deviance could be the answer to working in complex, messy places like Papua New Guinea", From Poverty to Power
Wisdom Series
Download English PDF
Download Japanese PDF
The Positive Deviance Wisdom Series is a collection of powerful stories about how the Positive Deviance (PD) approach has been used in the field. The Positive Deviance Initiative, in collaboration with the Social Justice Initiative in the Department of Communication at University of Texas El Paso, invites readers to explore the use of the Positive Deviance approach to address intractable social problems with local resources and wisdom.
These highly illustrated, and captivating case studies document the use of Positive Deviance approach to reduce malnutrition in Vietnam, increase school retention in Argentina, reintegrate child soldiers and vulnerable girls in Uganda, and reduce hospital acquired infections in the United States. Please share widely with students, scholars, and practitioners who value asset-based, culturally-appropriate, and indigenous wisdom approaches to social change.