Contextualizing family planning messages for the BornFyne-PNMS digital platform in Cameroon: a community-based approach

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 sti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Reproductive health Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. 124 - 33
Main Authors:	Nkangu, Miriam, Detchaptche, Sarah Pascale Ngassa, Njoache, Mildred, Fantaye, Arone, Wanda, Franck, Ngo, Valery, Obegu, Pamela, Kasonde, Mwenya, Buh, Amos, Sinsai, Regina, Kepgang, Evrard, Kibu, Odette, Tassegning, Armel, Fobellah, Nkengfac, Elate, Nfongue, Tabebot, Alice, Weledji, Donald, Little, Julian, Yaya, Sanni
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 26-08-2024 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Adolescent Adult Cameroon Community health care Content contextualization Contraceptives Cross-Sectional Studies Digital health E-health Family planning Family Planning Services - methods Female Focus Groups Health Belief Model Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Health promotion Humans Male Methods Middle Aged Pregnancy Study and teaching Surveys Technology application Young Adult Cameroon Pregnancy Content contextualization Contraceptives Family planning Digital health Community health care
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Summary:	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.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1742-4755 1742-4755
DOI:	10.1186/s12978-024-01842-w