The importance of field-workers in Bangladesh's family planning programme
Janowitz, B.; Holtman, M.; Johnson, L.; Trottier, D.
Asia-Pacific Population Journal 14(2): 23-36
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0259-238X PMID: 12349400 Document Number: 234092
This study explored the importance of field-workers in Bangladesh's Family Planning Programme. Three separate sources of data were used to develop the analysis. The first data set provides information that was collected as part of a study to calculate the costs of both clinic and home service delivery program of the government. The second data set provided information on the perspective of the field-workers' clients to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning specific issues of oral contraceptive compliance. The third source of data provided information on the willingness and ability to pay for doorstep delivery of contraceptives in two rural areas. Using the three independent studies, it was shown that the length of client-provider interactions was short, and that the percentage of visits in which various family planning, and maternal and child health topic discussion was low. Furthermore, clients lack important information on contraceptives and do not put a high value on interactions with field-workers. The vast majority of clients view the field-worker program as a convenience and not as an important source of information. Furthermore, the studies show even poorer quality of care services, and the reported visits of the field-workers often do not involve discussions on family planning methods. The results indicated that field-workers are not doing a good job in motivating women to adopt contraceptive use. In addition, the high cost and low quality of services indicate that other models of service delivery need to be considered.