SOCIAL RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
MR Case Understanding the contraceptive usage
Submitted to: Av Surya
Submitted by: Shilpi Rai (09502917)
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The broad objective of the research is to promote the usage of modern contraceptive methods and conducting communication programs to generate demand for the contraceptive in tribal areas of India. To launch flagship family planning (FP) social marketing activities. For this the marketing and communication strategies would be tested in rural areas within 3 districts each in the states of Rajasthan, Bihar and Chhattisgarh to pilot social marketing activities. TARGET AUDIENCE From the three different districts of three states target group would be as follows: Married Women: Married women in the age range of 13-49 years would be the first target because in the rural areas of India child and early marriages are common. We can seek information about their perception, attitude and behavior towards the usage of contraceptives and the barriers they face for the usage of contraceptives.
Aganbadi Centers: We can also collect information from women employed in the Aganbadi centers. Women living in rural areas are in direct contact with these employees and hence are comfortable in sharing information with these women rather than someone new coming and asking them about usage of modern contraceptives
Doctors: The third target group would be the doctors working in the maternity ward in the government & private hospitals. We can get information such as number of pregnancies, no of abortions and number of people seeking information about contraceptives.
Frontline health workers/pharmacists: The fourth target group is the people who are distributing the products to the local people living in the remote areas. We can seek information from them. They can provide unbiased information needed for the research.
RESEARCH DESIGN For this study we can conduct descriptive research to get an idea about the usage of modern contraceptives, ease of access to the contraceptive products, information related to the selling and distribution of the products in rural and remote areas of the states. The research would be similar to conducting Audience research in the selected areas. The target group here in this research is specific so we need to gather information about their attitudes, knowledge, interests, preferences, or behaviors with respect to prevention issues. We can define segments which can be based on various grouping strategies, such as race and ethnicity, age, education. The research would help us to develop a descriptive, rich understanding and insight into individuals' beliefs, concerns, motivations, lifestyles, culture, behaviors, and preferences. In the initial stages of program development, exploratory audience research can be used to learn about potential audiences and the types of incentives and barriers that the audiences perceive exist to the use of modern contraceptives, as well as which incentives and barriers might be addressed effectively by a communications effort. In addition to this, information often is obtained about the audience's preferred channels or formats of communication, respected or credible sources of information, and other issues that program planners may be considering. We can gain insight into what and how people think and feel about the usage of contraceptives. Since, communication campaigns and product distribution is already happening by the state governments in the selected areas. Audience research also can be used to assess the impact of the communications programs going on at different districts in the three states. In this research we will be testing the target audience and seeking information concerning awareness of the message, the exposure to or use of the products, or the intention to change behavior. In the remote areas people are not educated especially girls and women and they hardly have any exposure to the mass media. Education and access to the mass media are the two factors which are very important developmental indicators that bear a highly significant positive relationship with usage of modern contraceptives.
Most villagers do not own a radio or a television, and access to media is limited for all but the wealthiest families; media access has positively correlated with contraceptive use in India, as has education of women. Women's lack of correct knowledge regarding mechanisms and side-effects directly affected the risks that they perceived in using the temporary methods they know about. These perceptions were largely formed by the experiences other women related to them, which, in turn, were colored by misunderstandings. Sales of contraceptive products would increase only when people would be aware about the positive effects of the product. People are lacking in education so social learning process can be used to educate women about contraception: by training other women in the community to teach them. Those women who had lived in urban areas, who were literate, and who had attended secondary school were often looked up to by other women in the community to teach them. In order to provide the information about the modern contraceptive products we an conduct in-depth and focus group interviews. The data points to visualise the finding are: Socio demographic characteristics of women: This would tell us about the age group, their status whether they are married, widowed or divorced, education level, and year of marriage, no of children, marital duration, religion, child surviving and standard of living. Sales of contraceptive products: Data related to the sales and distribution of the contraceptive products can be collected from the frontline distributors, pharmacists, & doctors working in the government and private hospitals. If the overall sales of these products have increased after the marketing activity we can say the campaign is successful. Awareness and utilization of modern contraceptive methods by the women: We would get to know about the exposure to or use of the products, or the intention to change behavior. We will get data related to the current users of modern or those who wants to use them in the future. The most frequent reason for not using contraceptives was fear of side effects Change in number of pregnancy cases: We can get the data from the nursing home about the change in number of pregnancy cases before and after the campaign. If the number has decreased then the campaign is successful.
