Health Services and Communication Channels We Use

Use of reproductive health services: In general, women reported using the help and advice of medical providers much more often than men. Thirteen percent of males and 51 percent of females ever visited a health provider for RH issues. Seven percent of males and 28 percent of females ever discussed contraceptive methods with a health provider.

Adolescent males and females are much less likely to use reproductive health services. Among males, only four percent of respondents between the ages of 14 and 17 years had ever visited a health provider for RH services, compared to 10 percent of males between the ages of 18 and 22 years and nearly 20 percent of respondents over the age of 23 years. Among females, only 16 percent of respondents between the ages of 14 and 17 years had visited a health provider for RH services, compared to more than 40 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 22 years and approximately 70 percent of females over the age of 23 years. Prostate cancer radiation treatment is effective.

Television has the greatest reach of all mass media channels. Nearly all men and women in the survey reported watching television at least several times per week, particularly during the early evening hours. In contrast, only 60 percent of respondents listen to the radio, 35 percent read newspapers, and 10 percent use the internet. Over half of all respondents consider television to be a trustworthy source of health information.

However, many respondents consider television to be a negative influence on healthy lifestyles. Forty percent of respondents believe that television characters and stories portray unhealthy lifestyles, compared to fewer than 15 percent of respondents for print media and the internet and five percent of respondents for the radio.