Background Low uptake of various recommended modern family planning methods is associated with inadequate family planning literacy among potential beneficiaries of the methods. As such, understanding factors affecting family planning literacy is key to addressing this problem. This study, therefore, explored factors affecting family planning literacy among women of childbearing age in the rural Lake Zone of Tanzania. Methods The study utilized an exploratory descriptive qualitative research approach using focus group discussions to collect data. A total of eight focus group discussion sessions were held to solicit information from childbearing age women involved in the study. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the study participants. Results Several factors were found to negatively affect the family planning literacy of women of childbearing age in the communities under review. These factors were low levels of education, religious affiliation, and low family income. Other factors that were also found to negatively affect women’s family planning literacy include fertility preference, negative perceptions of family planning, preference of unproven family planning methods, limited access to reliable sources of family planning information, household responsibilities, and poor male partner support on family planning matters. Conclusion This study has identified a multitude of factors affecting the family planning literacy of women of childbearing age. These factors can limit the women’s capacity to make informed decisions on the utilization of modern family planning methods. Thus, addressing these factors is pivotal in increasing the women’s overall uptake of various recommended family planning methods and enhancing their reproductive health outcomes.
This study examined the effectiveness of the channels used to deliver agricultural information and knowledge to smallholder farmers in Tanzania. A descriptive cross-sectional design alongside quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed to collect data from 341 respondents. While the data collected through the questionnaire was analysed by using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 21, the data collected through the interview was analysed by using thematic analysis. The findings suggest that delivery of and access to timely and relevant agricultural information and knowledge, appropriately packaged, is one of the critical problems undermining smallholder farmers’ efforts to increase their production. As a result, most smallholder farmers mainly depend on informal channels. Besides informal channels, farmer groups and demonstration plots are becoming popular channels to deliver and access agricultural information and knowledge. To make a difference in agricultural production, deliberate efforts should be made to enhance the delivery of agricultural information and knowledge.
This paper presents findings of a study that examines how the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) of the University of Dar es Salaam library is used; the extent to which users succeed in locating information; and the reasons behind search failure. OPAC transaction logs were collected unobtrusively between January and December 2015, which were then subjected to transaction log analysis. The results indicate a relatively low use of OPAC, with default keyword search, author, title and subject terms being the most preferred access points. Only 102,037 (19.2%) of the search queries received zero hits. Reasons for search failure were multiple. They included spelling mistakes, use of wrong syntax, searching in inappropriate search fields, users' lack of knowledge of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and materials unavailability. Thus, the paper suggests redesigning OPAC interface to include features of the 'next generation' catalogue and exposing users to evidence-based information literacy.
Background Low uptake of various recommended modern family planning methods is associated with inadequate family planning literacy among potential beneficiaries of the methods. As such, understanding the factors affecting family planning literacy is key to addressing this problem. This study, therefore, explored factors affecting family planning literacy of women of childbearing age in the rural Lake Zone of Tanzania.Methods The study utilized an exploratory descriptive qualitative research approach using focus group discussions to collect data. A total of eight focus group discussion sessions were held to solicit information from women of childbearing age involved in the study. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the respondents.Results Inadequate family planning literacy has been found among women of childbearing age in the studied communities. Socio-demographic factors such as education level, religious affiliation, and family income have been found to negatively affect the family planning literacy of the women in this study. Other factors such as fertility preference, negative perceptions about family planning, preference of unproven traditional family planning methods, limited access to reliable sources of information, household responsibilities, and poor male partner support were also found to affect women’s family planning literacy. Conclusion Inadequate family planning literacy among women of childbearing age reduces the women’s chances of obtaining relevant family planning information as well as limiting their abilities to process and understand the information so as to be able to make informed decisions about their reproductive health. Therefore, addressing factors affecting family planning literacy of the women is imperative in increasing their overall uptake of various recommended modern family planning methods.
This article presents the results from a descriptive cross-sectional survey that was conducted to assess the health information literacy skills of women of childbearing age in rural Lake Zone, Tanzania. A total of 349 women were involved in the study. The study found that most rural women in the study area have low levels of health information literacy. The aggregate scores of health information literacy indicate a mean of 42.86% with a normal distribution curve, and estimated close-to-zero skewness (0.172) and kurtosis (−0.297) measures. The causal relationships between health information literacy and women’s socio-demographic factors indicate a positive and statistically significant effect ( p < .01) of women’s level of education, income, ownership of means of communication and access to health facilities on their level of health information literacy. The women’s inadequate ability to access, read, understand, appraise and use health information is a barrier to their acquisition of relevant health information. Enhancing the health information literacy skills of these women is most likely to improve their health outcomes.
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