It is based on the idea that, within a community, some individuals engage in unusual behaviors allowing them to solve problems better than others who face similar challenges, despite not having additional resources or knowledge.
It is always appropriate, as it operates within the assets of a community, and it, therefore, caters to its specific cultural context, e.g., village, business, schools, ministry, department, or hospital.
Evaluation allows the community to track their progress toward their goals and reinforces the changes they are making in behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs.
Irrespective of the mechanism employed, the community discovery process of PDs in their midst remains vital to the acceptance of new behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge.
[citation needed] The PD approach has been applied in hospitals in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, and England to stop the spread of hospital-acquired infections such as Clostridioides difficile and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) evaluated pilot programs in the U.S. and found units using the approach decreased their infections by 30-73%.
[10] Additionally, it has been used in healthcare settings by increasing the incidence of hand washing and improving care for patients immediately after a heart attack.
[11] Termed "Bright Spotting",[12] instead of positive deviance, the primary care pilot initiative first took place in rural New Hampshire and is still ongoing.
[22] A five-year PD project starting in 2003 to prevent girl trafficking in Indonesia with Save the Children and a local Indonesian NGO, helped them find viable economic options to stay in their communities.
[3] A PD project to stop Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Egypt began in 1998 with CEDPA (Center for Development and Population Activities), COST (Coptic Organization for Services and Training), Caritas in Minya, Community Development Agency (CDA), Monshaat Nasser in Beni Suef governorate, and the Center for Women's Legal Assistance (CEWLA).
[23] In Uganda, a project with the Oak Foundation and Save the Children helped girls who were child soldiers with the Lords Resistance Army in Sudan reintegrate into their communities.
[3] PD projects in New Jersey, California, Argentina, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso have addressed dropout rates and keeping girls in school.
[citation needed] Proponents of PD within management science argue that, in any population (even in such seemingly mundane groups as service personnel in fast food environments), the positive deviants have attitudes, cognitive processes, and behavioral patterns that lead to significantly improved performance in key metrics such as speed of service and profitability.