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TV, RADIO, AND KNOWLEDGE ON CONTRACEPTION AND HIV/AIDS

Tuesday, 22nd of May 2012

TV, RADIO, AND KNOWLEDGE ON CONTRACEPTION AND HIV/AIDS

‘Television viewing in particular is found to be strongly associated with the use of modern contraception. . .’

Full text is at http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/AS24/AS24.pdf

Executive Summary

This is a study of the association of radio and television exposure with different aspects of reproductive

behavior and with knowledge, attitudes, and behavior in connection with HIV/AIDS. The measures of

mass media are limited to the frequency that women and men report listening to the radio and watching

television, which are standard questions in the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Only the

frequency is assessed; the DHS does not obtain information on programmatic content.

The first part of the report focuses on contraceptive behavior, the number of children desired, and the

number of births in the preceding three years. The guiding rationale is that the media open windows to the

outside world, presenting aspects of modern life that can compete with traditional values about marriage

and childbearing. The analysis is based on DHS data from 48 developing countries. Television viewing in

particular is found to be strongly associated with the use of modern contraception and with a smaller

number of children desired and fewer births in the recent past. These associations generally persist after

adjustment for the amount of schooling, wealth, urban residence, and other covariates.

The second part of the study focuses on 27 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and explores the implications

of radio and television exposure for HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and risk behavior. Similar to the

analysis of reproductive behavior, the conclusion is that exposure to television and radio is an important

covariate for knowledge of the causes of HIV/AIDS and how to prevent infection. In this part of the

study, the main assumption is that the media provide valuable information on the sources of infection,

how to avoid it, where to get tested, the importance of condom use, and various other related subjects. In

general, radio exposure appears to be more important than television as a conduit of such information.

INCREASED BIRTHWEIGHT

‘[P]roviding women with deworming and weekly iron-folic acid supplements before pregnancy is associated with increased birth weight in rural Vietnam.’

Public Library of Science Open Access Research Article

Increased Birth Weight Associated with Regular Pre-Pregnancy Deworming and Weekly Iron-Folic Acid Supplementation for Vietnamese Women

Full text is at http://www.plosntds.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pntd.0001608

Author Summary

Low birth weight is an important risk factor for neonatal and infant morbidity and mortality and may impact on growth and development. Maternal iron deficiency anaemia contributes to intrauterine growth restriction and low birth weight. Hookworm infections and an iron-depleted diet may lead to iron deficiency anaemia, and both are common in many developing countries. A pilot program of deworming and weekly iron-folic acid supplementation for non-pregnant women aiming to prevent iron deficiency was implemented in northern Vietnam. We compared the birth weight of babies born to women who had had access to the intervention to babies born in districts where the intervention had not been implemented. The mean birth weight of the intervention districts' babies was 124 g more than the control districts' babies; the prevalence of low birth weight was also reduced. These results suggest that providing women with deworming and weekly iron-folic acid supplements before pregnancy is associated with increased birth weight in rural Vietnam. This intervention was provided as a health system integrated program which could be replicated in other at-risk rural areas. If so it could increase the impact of prenatal and antenatal programs, improving the health of both women and newborns.