Nepal: Support communication to enhance young mothers' reproductive health

From 2000 to 2003, FRONTIERS supported a study by the Center for Research on Environment, Health, and Population Activities to test communication-based models for improving young couples’ access to and use of reproductive health (RH) information and services in the Udaypur district of eastern Nepal. The 14-month intervention, undertaken as part of an RH project implemented by the Nepal Red Cross Society and the Center for Development and Population Activities, sought to improve social norms that leave young women vulnerable to health risks related to early marriage and childbearing and limited access to RH services. The study compared two experimental models with two control groups. The two experimental groups received training, assistance with group interaction, outreach, and educational materials about sexually transmitted infections and condom use. Researchers administered surveys to young married women in both the control and experimental sites before and after the intervention. As noted in this brief, communication-based support for mothers’ groups and newly formed youth communication groups improved RH knowledge and behavior among young married women in Nepal.