Abstract
BackgroundThe objectives of this study were to 1) measure the percentage of women who received SMS-based family planning communication, and 2) its association with modern contraception and maternal healthcare services among mothers. In recent years, there has been a growing interest surrounding mobile phone-based health communication and service delivery methods especially in the areas of family planning and reproductive health. However, little is known regarding the role of SMS-based family planning communication on the utilisation of modern contraception and maternal healthcare services in low-resource settings.MethodsCross-sectional data on 94,675 mothers (15–49 years) were collected from the latest Demographic and Health Surveys in 14 low-and-middle-income countries. The outcome variables were self-reported use of modern contraception and basic maternal healthcare services (timely and adequate use of antenatal care, and of facility delivery services). Data were analysed using multivariate regression and random effect meta-analyses.ResultsThe coverage of SMS-based family planning communication for the pooled sample was 5.4% (95%CI = 3.71, 7.21), and was slightly higher in Africa (6.04, 95%CI = 3.38, 8.70) compared with Asia (5.23, 95%CI = 1.60, 8.86). Among the countries from sub-Saharan Africa, Malawi (11.92, 95%CI = 11.17, 12.70) had the highest percent of receiving SMS while Senegal (1.24, 95%CI = 1.00, 1.53) had the lowest. In the multivariate analysis, SMS communication shown significant association with the use of facility delivery only (2.22 (95%CI = 1.95, 2.83). The strength of the association was highest for Senegal (OR = 4.70, 95%CI = 1.14, 7.33) and lowest for Burundi (OR = 1.5; 95%CI = 1.01, 2.74). Meta analyses revealed moderate heterogeneity both in the prevalence and the association between SMS communication and the utilisation of facility delivery.ConclusionAlthough positively associated with using facility delivery services, receiving SMS on family planning does not appear to affect modern contraceptive use and other components of maternal healthcare services such as timely and adequate utilisation of antenatal care.
Highlights
The objectives of this study were to 1) measure the percentage of women who received SMS-based family planning communication, and 2) its association with modern contraception and maternal healthcare services among mothers
Prevalence of modern contraceptive use was highest in the age group of 30–34 years (21.8%), whereas that of timely ANC contact, adequate ANC visits and facility delivery was highest among those aged 25–29 years
Our findings extend the understanding of the broader role that family planning communications can play on the uptake of maternal health services
Summary
The objectives of this study were to 1) measure the percentage of women who received SMS-based family planning communication, and 2) its association with modern contraception and maternal healthcare services among mothers. Little is known regarding the role of SMS-based family planning communication on the utilisation of modern contraception and maternal healthcare services in low-resource settings. Non- and underutilisation of maternal healthcare services and associated maternal morbidities and mortalities constitute another serious public health challenge in most low-middle-income countries [8,9,10,11,12] This way, family planning has a key role to play in promoting overall sexual and reproductive health and achieving maternal health related SDGs [4, 5]. Persistent barriers to promoting contraceptive prevalence rate underscore the need for developing more equitable and long-lasting intervention strategies in a costeffective manner
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