Health Promotion Alliance of Cameroon (HPAC), Yaounde, Cameroon.
Bruyere Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Reprod Health. 2024 Aug 26;21(1):124. doi: 10.1186/s12978-024-01842-w.
Family planning (FP) is crucial for reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, particularly through the prevention of unsafe abortions resulting from unwanted pregnancies. Despite Cameroon's commitment to increasing the adoption of modern FP strategies, rural and poor populations still exhibit low demand due to limited access to healthcare services. This study documents the approach in developing family planning messages for the BornFyne prenatal management system as a platform to improve family planning awareness and enhance uptake.
This is a mixed-methods study that employed the Health Belief Model (HBM). The study included a cross-sectional survey and focus group discussions in four districts of Cameroon. The survey explored household perspectives of FP and the use of mobile phone. Focus group discussions involved women, men, and community health workers to gain in-depth insights. Thematic analysis using themes from the HBM guided the analysis, focusing on perceived benefits, barriers, and cues to action.
The survey included 3,288 responses. Thematic analysis of focus group discussions highlighted knowledge gaps and areas requiring additional information. Identified gaps informed the development of targeted FP messages aligned with BornFyne objectives and the Health Belief Model. Results revealed that most respondents recognized the benefits of FP but faced knowledge barriers related to side effects, cultural influences, and communication challenges between partners. Focus group discussions further highlighted the need for education targeting both men and women, dispelling misconceptions, and addressing adolescent and youths' ignorance. The study emphasized the importance of tailored messaging for specific demographic groups and culture.
Developing effective FP intervention messages requires a nuanced understanding of community perspectives. The BornFyne-PNMS family planning feature, informed by the Health Belief Model, addresses knowledge gaps by delivering educational messages in local dialects via mobile phones. The study's findings underscore the importance of community-based approaches to contextualizing and developing FP content targeting specific populations to generate tailored messages to promote awareness, acceptance, and informed decision-making. The contextualized and validated messages are uploaded into the BornFyne-family planning feature.
计划生育（FP）对于降低母婴死亡率和发病率至关重要，特别是通过预防因意外怀孕而导致的不安全堕胎。尽管喀麦隆致力于增加现代 FP 策略的采用，但由于医疗保健服务有限，农村和贫困人群的需求仍然较低。本研究记录了为 BornFyne 产前管理系统开发计划生育信息的方法，该系统是提高计划生育意识和增强采用率的平台。
这是一项混合方法研究，采用健康信念模型（HBM）。该研究包括在喀麦隆的四个地区进行横断面调查和焦点小组讨论。调查探讨了家庭对 FP 和手机使用的看法。焦点小组讨论涉及妇女、男子和社区卫生工作者，以深入了解情况。主题分析使用 HBM 的主题指导分析，重点关注感知益处、障碍和行动线索。
调查包括 3288 个回复。焦点小组讨论的主题分析突出了知识差距和需要更多信息的领域。确定的差距为制定与 BornFyne 目标和健康信念模型一致的针对性 FP 信息提供了依据。结果表明，大多数受访者认识到 FP 的好处，但面临与副作用、文化影响和伴侣之间沟通挑战相关的知识障碍。焦点小组讨论进一步强调了需要针对男女进行教育，消除误解，并解决青少年和年轻人的无知。研究强调了为特定人口群体和文化量身定制信息的重要性。
制定有效的 FP 干预信息需要对社区观点有细致的了解。BornFyne-PNMS 计划生育功能，受健康信念模型的启发，通过手机以当地方言提供教育信息来解决知识差距。该研究的结果强调了以社区为基础的方法的重要性，以便针对特定人群对 FP 内容进行本地化和开发，以生成有针对性的信息来促进意识、接受和明智决策。经过本地化和验证的信息被上传到 BornFyne-计划生育功能中。
