The Selection of Family Planning Discussion Partners in Nepal

This article is from the Journal of Health Communication, Volume 10, Issue 6, September 2005, pages 519-536.

Abstract:
There is growing evidence that the information women receive about family planning from their social network is influential in their decisions to use a contraceptive method. Less is known, however, regarding the role individuals play in constructing their social network and, thereby, determining the nature of its influence. This study examined the criteria women use to select their family planning discussion partners and the individual-level factors that promote the addition of a contraceptive user to one's discussion network. Sociometric data were collected in November 1997 and February 1999 from all currently married women aged 15 to 49 years in three villages of Dang District in the Mid-Western Region of Nepal (panel N = 281). Preference for women from one's ethnic group and the strategic selection of contraceptive users was observed. Contraceptive use and attitudes toward family planning were both positively associated with the addition of a contraceptive user to one's discussion network, suggesting that women seek contraceptive users to confirm their existing beliefs and behaviours. Understanding the dynamics of social network formation can assist programs to better utilize the behaviour change potential of peer networks.