Preferences for perinatal health communication of women in rural Tibet

Abstract

Objective: To describe the most acceptable methods for educating women in Medrogongkar County, Tibet, about healthy pregnancy and safe motherhood.

Design: Focus group discussions with key informants were used to develop a quantitative, orally administered random sample survey.

Setting: Thirty-two randomly selected villages in Medrogongkar County.

Participants: One hundred and forty-eight multigravida over the age of 18 living in Medrogongkar County.

Results: Most participants reported receiving pregnancy-related information either from family members (n=85, 57.4%) or from community health workers (n=81, 54.7%), while very few reported group teaching or radio/television/videos as sources. When asked what modalities of health communication are most effective for them, participants preferred discussions with family members (n=59, 39.8%), specifically their mothers (n=34, 23.0%). Community health worker teaching (n=15, 10.1%) or group teaching (n=7, 4.7%) were reported as less effective.

Conclusions: Despite recent efforts in Tibet to use group teaching, television/radio programs, and health professionals visiting patients' homes as health communication modalities, participants preferred to learn pregnancy-related health messages from their close family, especially their mothers. Future health communication interventions in rural Tibet and similar communities should consider targeting close family members as well as pregnant women to maximize acceptability of advice on healthy pregnancy and delivery.