The PHD Group successfully conducted “Oral Contraceptive Pill (OCP) KAP Baseline Market Research Survey” forAcademy for Educational Development (AED) for a program called Social Marketing and Franchising Project: AIDS, Reproductive Health (RH), and Child Survival (N-MARC), to support social marketing of family planning, maternal and child health, and HIV/AIDS prevention products and services.

The primary objective of the survey was to explore media habits, awareness of and attitudes towards contraception, recall of family planning and OCP messages, behaviors, including OCP purchasing and usage behaviors among married women aged 18-30 from 15 different districts across the country.

The method employed was a quantitative approach and the sample design was a multi- stage, stratified cluster sample selected with principles of probability. In all 1,075 currently married women aged 18-30 were successfully interviewed.

Knowledge of at least one modern method of family planning is universal among women. Former pill users were significantly older (median age 27) than current (median age 26) and they are significantly older than never users (median age 25). Never users were more likely to be illiterate.Never users more likely to consider themselves as religious compared to others. Hindus were more likely to be never users; Buddhist’s more likely to use or have used OCPs.

The great majority (nearly 90%) of respondents said they heard/saw some message on OCPs, with never pill users lowest (88%) and current pill users highest (94%). The five main sources of information on OCPs were the radio (85%) and TV (82%), followed (much lower) by shop (56%), poster/hoarding board (54%), and newspapers/magazines/brochure (36%).

Current users were most likely to listen to radio every day and former user most likely not to listen at all.Radio news (44%) is the most listened to program on radio, with Shubha Din being second.Radio Nepal is listened to most by all groups, with Kantipur FM being the 2^nd most listened-to station; remaining radio stations are listened to by less than 10 percent.Overall, 58 percent of women watch television every day – least among never users, who are more likely to watch 2-3 times a week.  Tito Satya, Meribasai, and JireKhursaani are the most popular TV programs across all users.

The three main responses of what was understood from the messages heard/seen were -Pills prevent pregnancy; a woman can conceive when she stops using pills and pills help to space births.

The average age for women to start using contraception, pills or other, was 21 years (minimum 14 and maximum 30).Among women age 18-30 most popular modern method is Injection (18 %) followed by pill (17%), condom (8%), female sterilization (7%), and male sterilization (4%). Slightly over half of all women did not use any method because of absentee husbands (2 in 3 among former pill users), 1 in 3 wants to have children (4 times higher among never users), 15 percent are postpartum and 8 percent currently pregnant.

Most important source of contraceptives supply is government facilities (53.6%), 2nd important source is pharmacy (23%), and private sector third important (15.1%). NGOs role appear the least (7%). Three in four women were counseled on possible side effects of the methods they used and 1 in 5 were not (high among current pill users). This means more counseling on pill use has to be done.Three in four women said pill is very effective to prevent pregnancy, two in three said it is easy to use, one in three dislikes other methods, one in four women said it was recommended by service provider, one in five said it was recommended by husband, one in six said it is safe/few side effects, and some also said it regulates menstruation.

Recommendations

• Overall, women showed positive attitudes to pill use. Pill use can be promoted in urban and peri-urban areas provided appropriate media strategies are put in place
• Of the total sample, 72% were never pill users, 18% current pill users and 12% former pill users.
• The never pill users are generally poor, less educated, but they are young and are accessible as they live in urban and peri-urban areas.
• The study shows that women believe the pill is effective, easy to use; helps improve health and increase blood. Poor Nepalese women are anaemic and constantly suffer its consequences. A media blitz can attract women to use pill.