The Impact of Families Matter Project on Parent-Child Communication : Case Study of Mbagala- Temeke District in Dar es Salaam Tanzania

Masanja, Perpetua (2016) The Impact of Families Matter Project on Parent-Child Communication : Case Study of Mbagala- Temeke District in Dar es Salaam Tanzania. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of Families Matter! Project in enhancing paentchild communication on sexual related matters using a quasi-experimental study design. The project was implemented by TMARC and Health Promotion Tan-zania (HDT) focusing on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) behavior of the adolescents and consisted of 4 communities in Mbagala kuu ward-Dar es Salaam. The study sampled 200 respondents from beneficiary communities and another 200 respondents from control communities. Purposive sampling technique was used to sample the respondents from treatment group while random sampling was used to select the respondents from the control group. The main research instrument used in this study was Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and interview guide. Frequency ta-bles and graphs were used to present the research findings. The findings led the re-searcher to conclude that the implementation of Families Matter Project was an ef-fective approach in enhancing positive parenting and parent-child communication about sexuality and sexual risk reduction in the treatment communities. Thus, the study did impact the beneficiary communities ranging from enhanced family envi-ronment, adolescents abstinence from sex, delay in sexual debut, to increased chil-dren self-efficacy including increased school attendance and dramatic decrease of the pregnancy cases. Moreover, project beneficiary communities would like to see the Families Matter Project sustained and scaled up to reach other communities in Tanzania. Since Families Matter! Project has been implemented in Tanzania for the first time; it has provided some important lessons for future implementation and scaling up. It has provided opportunities for partnerships between key health stake-holders, the media and local community leaders for effective parenting education.

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