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Relative to neighboring countries, Zambia has among the most progressive abortion policies, but numerous sociopolitical constraints inhibit knowledge of pregnancy termination rights and access to safe abortion services. Multistage cluster sampling was used to randomly select 1,486 women aged 15-44 years from households in three provinces. We used latent class analysis (LCA) to partition women into discrete groups based on patterns of endorsed support for legalized abortion on six socioeconomic and health conditions. Predictors of probabilistic membership in latent profiles of support for legal abortion services were identified through mixture modeling. A three-class solution of support patterns for legal abortion services emerged from LCA: (1) legal abortion opponents (∼58 percent) opposed legal abortion across scenarios; (2) legal abortion advocates (∼23 percent) universally endorsed legal protections for abortion care; and (3) conditional supporters of legal abortion (∼19 percent) only supported legal abortion in circumstances where the pregnancy threatened the fetus or mother. Advocates and Conditional supporters reported higher exposure to family planning messages compared to opponents. Relative to opponents, advocates were more educated, and Conditional supporters were wealthier. Findings reveal that attitudes towards abortion in Zambia are not monolithic, but women with access to financial/social assets exhibited more receptive attitudes towards legal abortion., (© 2024 The Population Council, Inc.)

A multimedia communication campaign was conducted between 1988 and 1989 to promote family planning among men in Zimbabwe. The campaign consisted of a 52-episode semiweekly radio soap opera, about 60 motivational talks, and two pamphlets about contraceptive methods. Changes over time were measured by comparing a subset of a follow-up survey conducted from October to December 1989 to a baseline survey conducted from April to June 1988. Men exposed to the campaign were also compared to men who were not exposed. The follow-up survey revealed that the campaign reached 52 percent of men aged 18 to 55. Among married Shona-speaking men, use of modern contraceptive methods increased from about 56 percent to 59 percent during the campaign. Condom use increased from about 5 percent to 10 percent. Awareness and current use of modern contraceptives was also higher among men exposed to the campaign, primarily because of their greater awareness of condoms. Men exposed to the campaign were significantly more likely than other men to make the decision to use family planning and to say that both spouses should decide how many children to have.

This report describes, for a sample of Zimbabwean men, sources of family planning information, media exposure, media preferences, and whether they would like to learn more about family planning methods. The data are from the 1988 Zimbabwe Male Fertility Survey, a representative sample of 711 currently married men aged 20 and over. The analysis is restricted to the 512 men whose wives were aged 49 and under at the time of the survey. The radio and personal communications, followed by posters and newspapers, are the most frequently reported sources of family planning information. The radio is considered to be the best medium for learning about family planning, followed by community-based distributors. Nearly 85 percent of respondents indicated that they would like to learn more about family planning. Information from men should be included in information, education, and communication programs in order to enhance male involvement in the family planning process.

The purpose of this report is to describe knowledge, attitudes, and practices in family planning among male Zimbabweans. Understanding the role of men in inhibiting or promoting contraceptive adoption could affect the design of family planning promotion programs and program success in Zimbabwe and other African countries. Data from the 1988 Male Fertility Survey, a representative sample of 711 currently married men aged 20 and over, showed that men have a major role in the decision to use family planning methods and in determining the number of children a couple should have. Male knowledge of various family planning methods was high, as was approval and ever-use of family planning. Attitudes toward family planning information, obtaining methods, couple communication, and family size were also investigated. It was concluded that men should be included in information, education, and communication programs, without delay. Program efforts should move beyond emphasis on child spacing to stress family size limitation in order to increase contraceptive prevalence, resulting in a commensurate decline in the level of fertility.