Communication and Contraceptive Behaviour: Insights and Evidences from India and Bangladesh

Manoj Raut, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
P.K. Murthy, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

This study explores the differential impact of exposure to mass media and interpersonal communication on current use and future intention to use contraception in two socio-religio-culturally contrasting countries of India and Bangladesh. It is a well-known fact that mass media performs only the knowledge function, while interpersonal communication performs an additional function of persuasion (Rogers, 1971). Using India National Family Health Survey (INFHS-II) 1998-99 for India and Demographic Health Survey (BDHS-III) 1999-2000 data for Bangladesh, this study corroborates this statement that among those who are less motivated, the role of interpersonal communication becomes more important. The findings show that both mass and interpersonal media are strong positive predictors of current contraceptive use and future intention to use contraception. But, when socio-demographic characteristics, mass media and interpersonal communication are controlled, interpersonal communication seems to be more effective in case of Bangladesh than mass media in predicting future intention to use contraception.