Evaluating What's My Method? in Barbados

Contraceptive self-care has been identified by the WHO as critical to achieving milestones for female empowerment and well-being. This focus reflects a shift in global public health attitudes regarding contraceptive provision from a top-down approach, where childbearing persons receive directives from medical providers, towards an approach that encourages self-determination and individual agency. Implementing contraceptive counseling and education through the lens of reproductive empowerment requires that the focus of the intervention be on the childbearing persons and their needs. There is a clear need for improvement in contraceptive counseling in Barbados. As per the United Nations dashboard, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate is 49% and providers report that abortion is often used as birth control.

Digital health interventions have been validated as successful high-impact practices to support healthy reproductive behaviors. These interventions include SMS campaigns , artificial intelligence-based chatbots, and interactive websites which provide information and offer tools to help choose appropriate methods. These studies demonstrate that digital media are an effective way to reach the target audience and communicate information about reproductive health. Barbadian clinics have not yet integrated digital technology to support CC; they rely on pamphlets and posters for information dissemination.

This study seeks assess the impact of supplementing SOC counseling with a digital game that provides detailed information about family planning methods, their benefits and side effects. The information is communicated through using animations and images and reinforced through experimentation and context.

Inclusion criteria

• - English-speaking
• Capable of using a tablet
• Childbearing individuals
• Individuals/Couples seeking family planning counseling (one response collected per couple)

Exclusion criteria

• Unable to provide informed consent due to intellectual or physical impairment - Under the age of 18 unless accompanied by a parent