Development of Community-Based Health Communication Models in the Early Marriage Partners

Rembang Regency is a district in Central Java that has a Child-Friendly District Policy in the form of Regent Regulation No. 22 of 2010 about RAD Kabupaten Rembang Layak Anak. The number of child marriage cases in Rembang Regency was very high where in 2014 the number of child marriages reached 1183 married women under the age of 18 and 44 married men under 19 years (Departemen Agama Kabupaten Rembang, 2014). The high number of child marriages raises various health problems including mothers under the age of 18 who have a 35% to 55% higher risk of giving birth to babies with low birth weight (LBW). The infant mortality rate is 60% higher in mothers who are under 18 years of age. Teenage fertility is an important issue in terms of health and social because it is related to the level of maternal and child morbidity and mortality. This can be anticipated by increasing the participation of adolescents in accessing contraceptives. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the community-based health communication model related to contraceptive methods in young married couples in Rembang Regency. This study used Research and Development design. The population in this study were married teenagers in Rembang Regency, while the study samples were married teenagers in Sedan and Kragan Village (as intervention group), Rembang and Sarang (as control group). Quantitative data analysis of this study is univariate and bivariate, while for qualitative data using grounded theory. Keywords— Communication, Community Based, Early