Between August and September 1994, the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) and the Johns Hopkins University Population Communication Services (JHU/PCS) implemented the Kenya National Information, Education, and Communication Situation Survey (KNIECSS). This study was intended to be used as a baseline for new information, education, and communication (IEC) initiatives, an impact evaluation for ongoing activities, and as a measurement of media patterns to supplement the 1993 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS).

A total of 6,320 adults and adolescents were interviewed in the KNIECSS, including 997 adolescents ages 10 to 14 and 953 of their parents, 1,476 adolescents aged 15 to 19, and 2,894 adults ages 20 and older. Half the respondents were male, just under 20% resided in urban areas, over 90% were Christian, and about 75% of adults were married. Roughly 90% of adult women had children, each had an average of two boys and two girls. Data reveal high levels of education in Kenya - virtually all adolescents (over 95%) had attended school compared with 85% of adults. Among working adults, the main occupation for both men and women was farming.

A large percentage read the newspaper, with 73% of adult males reporting regular usage versus 34% of adult women. While most read a newspaper only 1-3 days a week, 23% of adult men read daily. Over 70% of readers read The Nation, making it the most popular paper in Kenya. Two-thirds to three-fourths of respondents had a radio in their house, and one- to two-thirds of the sample listened to the radio every day. News was the most popular programme across all age groups. Most listeners (80% or more) listened to the radio at home; the remainder, especially males, listened at a neighbour's or friend's house, school, shops, markets, or other commercial outlets. Slightly less than 14% had TV sets in their houses, but whether they lived in a house with one or not, 30% said they watched TV, though less frequently than they listened to radio.

27% of men and 33% of women said they had not spoken in the last year with their spouses about family planning issues. Data did show though that some males do initiate discussions about family planning. Of those who had discussed the subject, 44% of males, compared with 57% of females, said they usually initiated the discussion. Conversations were generally supportive of family planning practices. Nearly one-third of those who had not talked to their spouse about family planning said they wanted to, and roughly one-half also said they intended to speak to him/her.

The majority of adolescents, however, did not discuss any family planning with their parents. Less than half the parents had talked to their teenage children about boy/girl relationships (42%), HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (45%), or sexual relationships (37%) in the previous year. Data also revealed gender-specific communication patterns - fathers were more likely to have talked to their adolescent children about school-oriented topics such as academics and future career, while mothers were more likely to have talked to the children about reproductive health issues. Parents are often the last to be spoken to about such matters; out of 11 individuals listed in the questionnaire, adolescents said they were most uncomfortable talking to fathers (for girls) and mothers (for boys), and were far more comfortable talking to friends, brothers (for males), sisters (for females), and health care workers.

Levels of knowledge about pregnancy prevention were low, with adolescents consistently less knowledgeable than adults. For example, less than 30% of both adolescent (M=17.9%, F=20.9%) and adult groups (M=21.7%, F=29.1%) knew a woman could become pregnant even if she took two birth control pills just before intercourse. Although adults were more likely to know the correct response than were adolescents, the majority still did not have correct information. Far more than half of respondents thought that a man could take the birth control pill to prevent pregnancy while close to 60% of adolescents and nearly 50% of adults did not know that a woman could become pregnant if she had intercourse standing up.

The authors note that: "The low levels of knowledge found in this survey are especially significant. They suggest that while adults in Kenya are often expected to advise young people about sexuality they themselves are inadequately informed. When compounded with other factors deterring parent-child communication, such as shyness and awkwardness, lack of accurate information by adults only adds to the obstacles to communication with adolescents."

73% of adolescent males and 67% of adolescent females could spontaneously name a method of family planning and just under 90% of both genders could name a method after prompting. Adolescent males most commonly recognised the condom while it was the pill for females. Norplant implants and the diaphragm were the least recognised methods among adolescents. The majority of adults, almost 90%, could name any family planning method spontaneously; and 97% could with assistance.

Adolescent females generally knew more methods than adolescent males - 5.4 compared with 5.0. Adolescent males knew 3.9 modern methods and 1.1 non-modern ones, while adolescent females knew 4.2 modern methods and 1.2 non-modern ones. Adults knew more methods than adolescents and adult males knew more methods than adult females. Adult males knew an average of 8 methods - 5.8 modern and 2.2 non-modern. Adult females knew 7.6 methods - 5.7 modern and 1.8 non-modern.

Support for family planning methods was widespread. This includes agreement that smaller families are better amongst both adolescents (M=88%, F=91%) and adults (M=93%, F=94%); that family planning will improve one's standard of living amongst adolescents (M=80%, F=81%) and adults (M/F=87%); that too many pregnancies are bad for a woman's health among adolescents (M=80%, F=85%) and adults (M/F=87%); and that couples who care for each other use family planning among adolescents (M=66%, F=69%) and adults (M=82%, F=78%).

The trends of contraceptive use over the past two decades were compared using data from the 1977-1978 Kenya Fertility Survey (KFS), the 1984 Kenya Contraceptive Prevalence Survey (KCPS), the 1989 and 1993 KDHS's. Results showed that ever-use of any method has risen by over 20 percentage points in the past 15 years, from 29% in 1977-1978 to 49% in 1994. This represents a 70% rise in "ever-use" of contraception during the period. Ever-use of a modern method more than tripled from 11% in 1977-1978 to 39% in 1994. The sharpest rise appears to have been in the ever-use of injectables, which rose from 2% in 1977-1978 to 14% in 1994.

At interview, 15% of males ages 15 to 19 were using a method of contraception, compared with 14% and the modern method of choice for both was condoms. Contraception was higher among adults - 42% of adult males and 36% of adult females were using a method of contraception at the time of the survey. The same proportions of men and women were using modern methods. Among men, the condom was the most commonly used method; among women, it was the pill.

Kekovole, J., Kiragu, K., Muruli, L., and Josiah, P., Reproductive Health Communication in Kenya: Results of a National IEC Situation Survey. Country Report. [PDF]. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, March 1997.