Preferences for perinatal health communication of women in rural Tibet.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the most acceptable methods for educating women in Medrogongkar County, Tibet, about healthy pregnancy and safe motherhood.


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


METHODS
Thirty-two randomly selected villages in Medrogongkar County.


METHODS
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.
Le
Phuoc V
PV
Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Global Health Equity at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Division of Social Medicine and Health Inequalities, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA 02114, USA. pvle@partners.org
Jones-Le
Erin
E
Bell
Carolyn
C
Miller
Suellen
S
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003142:Communication; D003150:Community Health Workers; D005190:Family / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D020073:Gravidity; D006801:Humans; D008402:Mass Media; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D020380:Needs Assessment; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018609:Tibet; D055815:Young Adult