Impact of the Integrated Radio Communication Project in Nepal, 1994-1997

Abstract

The Radio Communication Project (RCP) in Nepal is an ongoing, theory-based, multimedia reproductive health campaign which began in 1995. It consists of two entertainment-education radio serials (a soap opera for the general public and a dramatized distance education serial for health workers), additional radio spot advertisements and promotions, and complementary print materials. This paper examines impact data from a variety of sources, including a pre- and postpanel survey of currently married women (N=1905), three waves of clinic-based observations of client-provider interactions (N=240 per wave) and client exit interviews (N=240 per wave), and 2 years of clinic service statistics , in order to draw inferences about the separate and combined effects of the RCP components. The study found increased health worker interpersonal interaction skills, improved quality of client-provider interactions, increased client self-efficacy in dealing with health workers, improved client attitudes toward health services and toward the practice of family planning, increased adoption of family planning, and increased family planning service utilization, all attributable to the RCP. The panel data allowed statistical control of the influence of predisposing factors before the campaign on postcampaign ideation and behavior. The effect of the RCP on contraceptive behavior was largely indirect through its influence on ideation. Implications for the design of integrated, multimedia, entertainment-education campaigns and integrated evaluation designs are discussed.