Population Council Research that makes a difference

American Public Health Association (APHA)
138th Annual Meeting and Exposition
6–10 November 2010

Abstract

"Gender in family planning communication: Preliminary results from an intervention study in Tanzania"
Elisabeth Ann Rottach, Sidney Ruth Schuler, Jane Alaii, and James Foreit

It is often hypothesized that transforming gender norms will lead to desired public health and social outcomes for both men and women. Documented attempts to accomplish this have been small and feature interventions too expensive to scale up on a national level, raising questions about the feasibility of improving public health and family planning in the developing world. Therefore, there is a need to test an affordable intervention with the potential of making a public health impact. A study to test the effectiveness of radio programming addressing gender norms in support of a community-based distribution of contraceptives program is under way in Tanzania. The study uses a Latin Square design with pre-, post-, and midline surveys and service statistics. Community-based distributors were trained to address gender norms that constrain the use of contraceptives in talking with clients in the "gender sites." The effects of the gender-sensitive family planning communication strategy will be compared with that of the generic strategy. This paper will present preliminary findings on the effects of the two strategies on knowledge, attitudes, and distribution of contraceptives and other products, as well as gender-equitable attitudes and behaviors among men and women.

Learning areas

• Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
• Public health or related research
• Social and behavioral sciences
  
  

Learning objectives

• Describe an approach for making a family planning communication intervention gender focused and discuss barriers to doing so
• Identify a research design and measurement tools that can be used to evaluate the impact of gender-focused communication strategies
• Determine whether "gender" messages are more effective than "generic" messages in promoting family planning
  
  

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