African ICT in Education (Technology Focus) | 10 October 2007

Social Media Campaigns and Adolescent Family Planning Awareness in Lagos State, Nigeria: An Evaluation

F, e, l, i, x, A, d, e, n, i, r, a, n, ,, O, l, u, w, a, s, e, y, i, A, d, e, k, u, n, l, e, ,, P, r, e, c, i, o, u, s, O, b, i, o, r, a

Abstract

Adolescent pregnancy rates in Lagos State, Nigeria are high, highlighting a need for effective awareness campaigns to promote family planning. A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative survey data with qualitative focus group discussions was employed. Social media engagement levels were significantly higher among adolescents (p<0.05, Cohen's \(d=1\).2). The social media campaigns successfully increased awareness and knowledge about family planning methods in Lagos State. Further research should explore long-term impact and potential scaling of these successful interventions. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin<em>{\theta}\sum</em>i\ell(y<em>i,f</em>\theta(x<em>i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert</em>2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.