The Association of Television and Radio with Reproductive Behavior

Abstract

This note analyzes the association between media exposure and reproductive behavior in 48 developing countries. A summary of part of a more extensive Demographic and Health Surveys report, it shows strong connections between media exposure and the use of modern contraception, the number of children desired, and recent fertility. Television viewing is particularly important; it is assumed to expose viewers to aspects of modern life that compete with traditional attitudes toward the family and is associated with greater use of modern contraceptive methods, with a desire for fewer children, and with lower fertility. These relationships are particularly noteworthy because the data measure only the frequency of media exposure with no information about its content.

Factors associated with male involvement in reproductive care in Bangladesh

“…The urban-rural divide regarding reproductive health behaviour is explainable by the fact that people in urban areas tend to have higher literacy and socioeconomic status, enjoy better access to healthcare service and receives greater media exposure, all of which are likely to improve health behaviour in general [32, 33]. In our study, men who reported having the habit of reading newspaper occasionally or regularly had higher participation in reproductive care.…”

“…Despite that, TV and radio programs remain a source of entertainment and pastime for many. In China, watching television was found to be strongly associated with adoption of modern contraceptive methods and the number of children desired [33]. As the population in Bangladesh is predominantly rural, the media sector should take innovative actions to design TV/radio entertainments more interesting and effective by incorporating health messages into age specific programs to encourage positive attitude towards reproductive health.…”

Bringing Patients' Social Context into the Examination Room: An Investigation of the Discussion of Social Influence During Contraceptive Counseling

“…Social influence was defined as any mention by the patient or provider of influence from any member of the patient's social network (a friend, family member, coworker or partner) or the media (online, TV or radio) with regards to contraception. Media was included in the analysis of social influence because it is a non-clinical source of patient information with documented effect on contraceptive use (Westoff & Koffman, 2011). Visits were also coded regarding whether mention of social influence had been patient or provider-initiated.…”

“…There are many complex factors that have been studied as influences on women's contraceptive use, including knowledge about contraception, pregnancy intentions, and concerns about side effects and safety (Carter, Bergdall, Henry-Moss, Hatfield-Timajchy, & Hock-Long, 2012; Cheung & Free, 2005; Crosby, 2002; Frost & Darroch, 2008; Gilliam, Warden, Goldstein, & Tapia, 2004; Jaccard & Dodge, 2003; Ryan, Franzetta, & Manlove, 2007; Schunmann, 2006; Zapata, Steenland, Brahmi, Marchbanks, & Curtis, 2012). An additional factor that has begun to receive attention is the role of women's social context on contraceptive behavior (Ali, Amialchuk, & Dwyer, 2011; Blackstock, Mba-Jonas, & Sacajiu, 2010; Carter et al, 2012; Gayen & Raeside, 2010; Valente, Watkins, Jato, van der Straten, & Tsitsol, 1997; Westoff & Koffman, 2011). Social context includes the members of the woman's social network (friends, family, partners), as well as her exposure to various media.…”

“…Only one quantitative study of social influence has been conducted in the United States, which found that, among adolescents, having a higher proportion of classmates using contraception increased the likelihood of an individual using contraception (Ali et al, 2011). Additionally, investigation of the effect of media-such as television - on contraceptive use has largely been conducted in the developing world, finding that increased TV exposure was found to be associated with increased contraceptive use (Westoff & Koffman, 2011). In the United States, research on media influence has focused on social media such as Facebook.…”