Multi-Media Campaigns, Interpersonal Contacts and Contraceptive Behaviour in Southwest Nigeria

Recent evidence suggests that mass media may be an effective tool for motivating people to adopt family planning. Little is known, however, about the process by which this takes place. In this exploratory study, we argue that following an exposure to mass media message(s) about family planning, interpersonal discussion of such message(s) is an important intermediate stage in the process of deciding to use or not to use contraception. If this is the case, interpersonal discussion is expected to enhance or attenuate the effects of exposure to media messages on contraceptive behaviour. Our results show that there is a significant positive relationship between exposure to media messages and contraceptive use in Southwest Nigeria. Furthermore, among women who are exposed to media messages, those who discuss the messages with other people are more likely to use contraception compared with those who did not discuss the messages.