Using radio jingles to promote use of a family planning call center: A comparative interrupted time series analysis

This paper measures the effect of a radio jingle campaign promoting a family planning call center in Nigeria on the number of information requests received. Campaign effect is measured using comparative interrupted time series. Without the radio campaign, the number of calls from the intervention group is assumed to have been parallel to that observed in the control group. The campaign effect is estimated as the difference between the actual and projected number of calls received. Before the campaign, the monthly number of calls was stagnant, averaging below 500 calls per month. The campaign increased the monthly number of calls increased by about 360. However, this effect was temporary, which minimal gain after the campaign ended. Discussion: The comparative interrupted time series show that the radio campaigns substantially increased the demand for family planning information from the call center. However, there is no solid evidence that the radio jingle campaign had a longer-term effect on use of the call center after the radio broadcasts ended. Although short-term effects could be important if they benefited disadvantaged groups that cannot easily be reached through other means, we recommend that future campaigns be re-designed to facilitate permanent increases in call center use. Key lessons learned include that traditional mass media campaigns may not suffice to achieve widespread use of phone-based health services, that it is important to consider alternative strategies to promote the services, and that analyses of routine data (e.g., the monthly number of clients), can be invaluable for assessing their impact.