Beneficial impact of theory of planned behavior (TPB) model on family planning in tribal women of reproductive age in Jangalmahal, West Bengal: A longitudinal study

Globally, higher contraceptive use is associated with improved outcomes for mothers and babies. Schedule Tribes had relatively lower levels of contraception use and greater unmet demand for contraception results higher mortality rate among mothers and infants. This community-based, long-term, quasi-experimental study examined how family planning and the use of contemporary contraceptives were affected by an awareness intervention based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Total 445 tribal women of reproductive age group from West Bengal were enrolled in this study through stratified multistage random sampling method where 220 participants in control group and 225 were in intervention group. Pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data at baseline, midline and endline. At six months interval two family planning awareness campaign were conducted for experimental group. Chi-square, independent sample t-test, linear regression analysis and one-way repeated measure ANOVA were used for data analysis. At base line, there was no statistically significant difference between control and experimental groups. The participants in the experimental group showed significantly better scores after awareness intervention. Significant effect of intervention within group and between groups analyses for all parameters were observed with large to small effect sizes. It can be stated that TPB-based intervention program regarding family planning is effective for tribal community.