CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

This chapter seeks to look into the role of mass media in family planning. Family planning has always being an issue of discussion in this our contemporary times

1.1 Background to the Study

Recognized as an important global health initiative, family planning behaviour reduces the risks of maternal and new-born deaths and contributes to the overall health of communities and countries by lessening unsustainable population growth and poverty rates (WHO, 2016).

Family planning is especially important in developing countries where high fertility rates lead to millions of unintended pregnancies each year, contributing to abortions, maternal mortality, and infant mortality (Cleveland et al., 2006).

Recent estimates indicate that more than 700 women in low-income countries die each day from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth (Starbird, Norton & Marcus, 2016).

Family planning through contraceptive methods (e.g. male/female condoms, birth control pill, and injections) help to prevent maternal deaths from unplanned pregnancies by giving women the ability to choose when to have children and how to space their children.

An analysis of modern family planning methods in 172 countries found that in 2008 alone nearly 272,000 maternal deaths were averted by contraceptive use (Ahmed, Li, Liu, & Tsui, 2012).

A related finding in a 2014 report from the U.S. Agency for International Development, argued that the use of effective family planning methods could help prevent approximately 450,000 maternal deaths in 22 developing countries between 2012 and 2020.

Additionally, family planning methods that allow for fewer pregnancies or longer spaces between pregnancies, add to the health of surviving children by giving mothers the ability to allocate more time and resources to them (Conde-Agudelo, Rosas-Bermúdez, & Kafury-Goeta, 2006; DaVanzo et al., 2005; Rutstein, 2005).

In fact, the likelihood of a child reaching the age of five increases by more than one third when the mother is able to space her pregnancies by three 2 or more years (Kuruvilla, 2014). In addition to increasing the health and survival of women and children, the positive impact of family planning can also be seen on a macro level affecting change in communities and countries.

Rapid population growth is a significant concern for many developing countries as it threatens to exhaust already strained environmental resources. Effective family planning programs have a positive impact on unsustainable population growth by helping to reduce the fertility rate (Cleveland et al., 2006; Starbird et al., 2016).

Rapid population growth is shown to exacerbate the issue of poverty, especially in developing countries with low employment rates and where lack of food is a concern (Cleveland et al., 2006; United Nations, 2015; Yavinsky, Lamere, Patterson, & Bremner, 2015).

The more children in a family the more likely the household is to become poor over time and the more difficult it is for them to recover from poverty (Aassva et al., 2005). As a result, by helping to raise the prevalence of contraceptive practice, family planning programs play an important part in reducing the number of people living in poverty, particularly in countries with diminishing resources.

Research indicates that family planning programs to reduce unwanted births in developing countries could lessen this population growth by as much as 20% (Cleveland et al., 2006).

Family planning programs may also impact overall global health by freeing women from involuntary reproduction and empowering them to contribute to the workforce in non-domestic capacities.

In fact, the need to better understand predictors of effective communication of family planning messages has only increased in importance.

Recent changes in U.S. policy reducing funding for the United Nations Population Fund and the United States Agency for International Development have raised concerns about provoking a global health and population crisis (Robinson, 2017).

According to the Guttmacher Institute, U.S. foreign assistance for family planning in 2016 prompted 27 million girls, women, and couples to use contraceptives, helping to prevent six million pregnancies and 11,000 maternal deaths (Guttmacher, 2017).

The number of women in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy but are not using modern contraception has declined from 225 million in 2015 to 214 million in 2017 (Guttmacher, 2017).

While this is progress, the Guttmacher Institute argues that ongoing investments in family planning are essential to maintain the gains made and make further advancements.

The current reduction in reproductive health funding in this area by the U.S. government necessitates an even greater understanding of how to both effectively and efficiently overcome barriers to contraceptive use for the developing world.

As studies indicate women often do not use modern contraceptives due to a lack of awareness and knowledge about them, the ability to effectively communicate such information is instrumental in increasing their use (Guttmacher, 2016).

1.2 Statement to the Problem

Scholars have also argued that the relationship between information and family planning utilization not always a linear relationship.

This underscores the call for analysing the effect of access to family planning information on the utilization of modern contraceptives by different populations and subgroups to guide audience segmentation for tailored family planning behaviour change interventions.

Observed evidence, which has been documented in copious studies, is chiefly promising regarding the effects of mass media campaigns in promoting family planning and Individual contraceptive choices. There are at least dual reasons why exposure to mass media can help to promote the use of contraceptives.

First, effective communication plays an important role in facilitating social interaction and development in general.

In the context of developing countries, in particular, mass media plays an instrumental role in enhancing health communication by bridging the language gap in policy information dissemination to promote different health behaviours, including contraceptive behaviours.

As health policies are often written with technical terms at the governmental level, mass media need to decode policy content to non-technical and understandable languages, which can effectively inform public perceptions about health issues.

Second, in Ethiopia, health policies are typically written in English and at times in Amharic, Ethiopian’s official language.

Given the diverse linguistic nature of Ethiopia, coupled with the relatively low educational attainment, the mass media plays a crucial role in translating policy content into the various local languages for the wider audience.

Unfortunately, research assessing the impact of mass media family planning messages on the use of modern family planning methods in Ethiopia has lagged.

Therefore, the current study endeavours to bridge this dearth by examining the association between family planning messages through mass media and the utilization of modern contraceptive methods among youth women in rural and urban areas of Ethiopia.

Undeniably, family planning helps to reduce poverty, increase gender equity, prevent the spread of HIV, and lower infant deaths. Multicountry studies have shown that accessing family planning can reduce maternal deaths by as much as 40%, infant mortality by 10%, and childhood mortality by 21%.

Despite the advantages of accessing family planning, the contraceptives utilization rate for modern contraceptive use by currently married Ethiopian women is 35%.

In the same vein, the unmet need for family planning for currently married women is 25% and 11% in rural and urban areas, respectively.

Evidence showed that the provision of targeted, easily accessible, and accurate information about family planning through multiple channels increased the use of modern contraceptives, and influence social norms on its utilization.

Studies have also shown that information through health care providers or the media can influence people positively in adopting family planning methods and encourage discussion about contraception between partners.

A study conducted in Post-Soviet Central Asia illustrated that viewing family planning messages on television (TV) improves the chances of using modern contraception for a woman who saw the messages by about 8−11%.

1.3 Research Questions

The main research question of this research is what is the role of mass media on family planning in the Buea Municipality?

In line with the main question the specific research questions are going to be,

1. What is the role of mass media sensitization campaigns on the effective use of contraceptives in the Buea Health Area?
2. What are the attitudes towards media promotion of family planning in the Buea Municipality?

1.4 Hypotheses

H0: Mass media has no significant role on family planning in the Buea Municipality.

H1: Mass media has a significant role on family planning in the Buea Municipality.

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