ArticlePloS one2022
Which communication technology is effective for promoting reproductive health? Television, radio, and mobile phones in sub-Saharan Africa.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effectiveness of mobile technology and utilization of maternal and neonatal healthcare in low and middle-income countries (LMICs): a systematic review.BMC women's health · 2023Pooled it
- Challenges and enablers in accessing paediatric inguinal hernia surgical care in Sierra Leone: a qualitative exploratory study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Epidemiological Survey on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) in Uganda's Karamoja Sub-Region, Using a KAP Questionnaire Within a One Health Framework.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Pragmatic lessons for harnessing social media for health research through digital data donation post-API access.npj digital public health · 2026Review
- Determinants of quality antenatal care among adolescent girls and women in Sierra leone: insights from the 2019 demographic health survey.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- Education, economic autonomy and digitalization as factors associated with married women's ability to make sexual and reproductive health decisions in sub-Saharan Africa: a multi-level analysis of 16 countries.BMC women's health · 2025Observational
- Application of machine learning algorithms to model predictors of informed contraceptive choice among reproductive age women in six high fertility rate sub Sahara Africa countries.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Maternal media exposure and child anthropometric failures across 40 low- and middle-income countries.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Influence of socio-contextual factors on the link between traditional and new media use, and young people's sexual risk behaviour in Sub-Saharan Africa: a secondary data analysis.Reproductive health · 2024Article
- Mobile Phones and HIV Testing: Multicountry Instrumental Variable Analysis From Sub-Saharan Africa.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Access to quality contraceptive counselling among adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa.Contraception and reproductive medicine · 2024Article
- Factors associated with family planning use among refugee and host populations in Adjumani district, West Nile, Uganda: a comparative study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Unlocking the potential of telehealth in Africa for HIV: opportunities, challenges, and pathways to equitable healthcare delivery.Frontiers in digital health · 2024Article
- Use of a media campaign to improve access to contraception in Nigeria amid the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.BMJ public health · 2023Article
- Mobile phones and infant health at birth.PloS one · 2023Article
- Maternal Mortality in Africa: Regional Trends (2000-2017).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The use of radio and television as means to spread reproductive health awareness in Sub-Saharan Africa has been extensive, and its impacts significant. More recently, other means of communication, such as mobile phones, have received the attention of researchers and policy makers as health communication tools. However, evidence on which of the two types of communication (i.e. passive communication from TV/radio, or active communication through phones) is more effective in fostering better reproductive health choices is sparse. This study aims to identify the potential influence of TV or radio ownership as opposed to cell phone ownership on contraceptive use and access to maternal healthcare. Cross-sectional, individual analysis from eleven high-maternal mortality Sub-Saharan African countries is conducted. A total of 78,000 women in union are included in the analysis. Results indicate that ownership of TV or radio is more weakly correlated to better outcomes than mobile phone ownership is. Results are stronger for lower educated women and robust across all levels of wealth. Interestingly, the study also finds that decision-making power is a relevant mediator of cell phone ownership on contraceptive use, but not on maternal healthcare access. A key takeaway from the study is that, while the role of television and radio appears to have diminished in recent years, mobile phones have become a key tool for empowerment and behavioural change among Sub-Saharan African women. Health communication policies should be designed to take into account the now prominent role of mobile phones in affecting health behaviours.
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