From consent to choice in family planning: application of an international framework to the United States
Pine, R.N.; Wypijewska, C.
Journal of the American Medical Women's Association 55(5): 265-269
2000
ISSN/ISBN: 0098-8421 PMID: 11070644 Document Number: 514935
Building on the broad agenda set forth at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, this article articulates similarly broad expectations for informed choice in family planning service delivery. A framework developed by a Global Working Group in 1998 sets forth various issues into a single analysis of informed choice. In an effort to bring international perspectives to bear on the articulation of new objectives for the home front, the article applies this framework to the US research literature in family planning. Review of the literature indicates a heartening degree of attention to issues of access and choice, but it also uncovers challenges faced by clients and providers and gaps in what is known. Few studies look beyond access to how providers actually do or could better facilitate informed decision making within the family planning setting. Such studies could help improve innovative and ambitious service delivery approaches that go beyond meeting the reproductive health needs of clients to ensure rights, improve choice, and empower individuals.