Community and Individual Education Influences on Sexual and Reproductive Health Knowledge in Uganda: A Human Capital and Social Learning Perspective

Higher levels of both individual education and community education may facilitate improved sexual and reproductive health knowledge, but our understanding of this relationship in sub-Saharan Africa remains limited. Drawing on human capital and social learning theories, and Demographic Health Survey data from Uganda, we examine the independent and interactive associations between individual and community education and two outcomes—HIV prevention knowledge and knowledge of different contraceptive methods—including differences by gender. Consistent with human capital and social learning theories, results from multilevel regression models show that both individual education and community education levels are independently and positively associated with more accurate sexual and reproductive health knowledge. Further, in support of the idea that human capital and social learning theories work in tandem, we find that the association between individual education and HIV knowledge is stronger in less educated communities, and grows weaker as community education increases, for both men and women. Similarly, for men, but not women, the association between individual education and contraceptive knowledge is stronger in less educated communities and weaker as community education increases. Among women, individual education was strongly and positively associated with contraceptive knowledge, an association that varied little across more or less educated communities. Our findings suggest that policy makers should consider community education levels when developing priorities for sexual and reproductive health knowledge interventions.