The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #38946

Sahar Hegazi, MA¹, Suzan Kelini, PhD², and Gihan Rashti². (1) Program of Communication, UNICEF, Egypt, 8 Fathalla Refaat St., 7th District, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, 20 2 404 2982, saharhegazi@yahoo.com, (2) Faculty of Arts, Department of Mass communication and journalism, Ain Shams University, El Khalifia El Mammoun St, Cairo, Egypt

Egypt has one of the most successful family planning programs in the region. However, some serious challenges remain. Studies reveal that the majority of Egyptians still want to have three children. Though, a series of family planning broadcasting campaigns started since 1980s to address such issues, their overall impact was not comprehensively assessed. This study investigates the significance of frequent exposure to family planning TV spots and the recall of family planning messages on the correct knowledge of contraceptives, attitudes and requesting family planning methods of urban women residing in two slum areas in Cairo. Special knowledge and attitude scales were tested and proven to be significantly reliable. A cross sectional survey was conducted where 400 women were randomly selected for interviewing from the waiting areas of MCH clinics in the two study sites. Findings revealed that knowledge score was significantly correlated with higher levels of exposure to TV family planning spots and with the recall of family planning messages. Attitudes were not affected by the frequency of exposure. However, the higher the number of messages a woman recalled, the more significantly positive her attitudes were, particularly with more deeply rooted values like son preference. Finally, higher levels of exposure to TV family planning spots had a significant effect on requesting family planning methods, especially for newly introduced ones like the injectables. However, this was not affected by the recall of messages. These findings are crucial to reproductive health managers and media planners especially in the coming phase.

Learning Objectives:

• Assess the impact of frequent exposure to TV family planning spots on the general and detailed knowledge of family planning of Egyptian women in two slum areas in Cairo
• Explore attitudes and practices influenced by frequent exposure.
• Learn about the impact of recalling family planning messages on knowledge, attitudes and practices
• Suggest new communication strategies to address challenges facing the population program in Egypt.

Keywords: Communication Effects, Family Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.