Increasing coverage of reproductive health issues in the Indonesian print media

With the reform movement in Indonesia, the FRONTIERS project recognized the new opportunities for influencing public debate and informing public opinion on reproductive health issues and undertook a project for disseminating the results of contemporary research on reproductive health. The project had three main objectives: 1) to increase print media coverage of critical reproductive health issues by enhancing journalists’ role as responsible communication agents; 2) to contribute to public debate on emerging reproductive health issues in order to influence policy development and guide program management; and 3) to increase public awareness of key health issues, with a particular focus on crisis-related reproductive health needs. The impact of this project was assessed in terms of the gains in journalists’ technical knowledge about the themes of the media forums and the number and quality of their published articles. Based on the results of the process and media monitoring evaluations, the 18-month media information dissemination project had a positive impact on the coverage of reproductive health in the Indonesian print media. The project demonstrated that media could be effectively utilized to extend the reach of research findings and to initiate public debate regarding important reproductive health issues.