Abstract

International Family Planning Perspectives. 1994; 20(3): 96-100.

The Gambia Family Planning Association initiated a two-year IEC and Training Materials Project in 1989 with technical assistance from the Johns Hopkins University and US Agency for International Development funding. The project's main objectives were to improve awareness and knowledge of family planning and STDs, to increase the number of new and continuing contraceptive users at Gambia Family Planning Association clinics, and to increase the couple years of protection provided through the clinics. Radio materials were designed to convey the beliefs that Islam supports the use of modern contraception, that the modern methods are safe, that family planning service providers are knowledgeable and caring, and that couples should discuss family planning. 30-second radio spots and a 39-episode radio drama were aired as components of the campaign. Approximately 400 randomly chosen men and women living in a selected area of the Gambia were surveyed in 1991 to determine the effects of the radio drama about family planning issues. People who heard the serial drama could name significantly more contraceptive methods than those who had not and they were significantly more positive about family planning. Those who heard the program were also more likely to use a modern method than those who did not. The effect of the campaign was greatest among uneducated individuals; program exposure was associated with an increase in knowledge from 3.8 to 5.2 contraceptive methods, an increase in positive values from 9.9 to 11.3, and an increase in contraceptive users from 10% to 27%.

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• Radio promotion of family planning in The Gambia