An explorative study of beliefs in two groups of community health promoters of adolescent reproductive health in Indonesia: informed by theory of planned behavior

Objective To explore beliefs in specific social context and potential individual-level behavioral strategies used by two groups of community health promoters to foster their participation of promoting ARH. Design Two phases of formative studies based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was conducted with community health promoters in the integrated service center (pos pelayanan terpadu/posyandu), posyandu cadres and peer educators of three villages in Tengger, East Java, Indonesia. Result The phase one, conducted with posyandu cadres (n = 20) and peer educators (n = 21). A survey using open-ended questions and focus group discussion was carry out to elicit accessible behavioral (advantages and disadvantages), normative (references of who have significant roles for promoters) and control (personal or situational factors) beliefs related to ARH promotion. The content analysis, elicited 15 salient beliefs for posyandu cadre and 21 for the peer educators. In phase two, the participants who previously participated in phase 1 (posyandu cadres (n = 14 and peer educators (n = 21))), completed two questionnaires to measure the belief strength and evaluation of the beliefs. Conclusions The result showed that each group has different characteristic in the strength of their beliefs in promoting reproductive health. The findings highlight the social context underlying beliefs associated with ARH promotion and opportunities to enhance engagement with the different groups of community health promoters.