Family planning communication through mass media and health workers for promoting maternal health care utilization in Nigeria

Studies have demonstrated that health communication programmes, through community health workers or mass media, are a key strategy to promote awareness and uptake of essential maternal health services. This study investigated whether or not family planning communication through mass media and health workers has any association with maternal health care utilization uptake in Nigeria. Cross-sectional data were extracted from the 2003-13 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys. The study sample comprised 41,938 women aged 15-49 years who had a live birth during the 5 years preceding the survey. Outcome variables were adequacy of antenatal care visits and place of delivery. Receiving family planning messages from the radio, TV, newspapers, a family planning worker or during a health facility visit were considered as possible sources of exposure to family planning information. Radio (32.6%) was the most commonly reported source of family planning information, followed by TV (17.5%) and newspapers (6.1%). Less than one-tenth of respondents were visited by family planning workers (9.5%) and about one-third visited a health facility during the previous 12 months (30.3%). Those who reported receiving family planning information from the three types of mass media and who had contact with a family planning worker and/or health facility were more likely to have at least eight antenatal care contacts (odds ratio for TV use=1.172, 95% CI=1.058-1.297) and deliver at a health facility (odds ratio for TV use=1.544, 95% CI=1.350-1.766). These findings indicate that family planning communication through mass media and health workers could potentially improve the utilization of antenatal and health facility delivery services in Nigeria.

Automated summary

The study suggests that family planning communication through mass media and health workers could potentially improve the utilization of antenatal and health facility delivery services in Nigeria.