Community Education and Engagement in Family Planning: Updated Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Reproductive Health
• Health Education

Background:

• Community education and engagement are crucial for effective family planning initiatives.
• Previous systematic reviews assessed interventions up to February 2011.

Purpose of the Study:

• To update two systematic reviews on the impact of community education and engagement interventions on family planning outcomes.
• To assess studies published between March 2011 and April 2016 in high-development settings.

Main Methods:

• Searched sixteen electronic databases for relevant studies.
• Included studies met pre-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria.
• Updated systematic reviews incorporating new research.

Main Results:

• Nine new community education studies were included; no new community engagement studies met criteria.
• Mass media and interpersonal interventions showed positive impacts on pregnancy and contraception use.
• New studies indicated mostly positive, though inconsistent, short-term family planning outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Community education, including modern modalities like text messaging, positively influences family planning outcomes.
• Findings align with previous reviews, showing benefits for short-term and now long-term outcomes.
• More research is essential to build a robust evidence base for family planning interventions.