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  • Title: The role of information, education, and communication in family planning service delivery in Tunisia.
    Author: Coeytaux FM, Kilani T, McEvoy M.
    Journal: Stud Fam Plann; 1987; 18(4):229-34. PubMed ID: 3629665.
    Abstract:
    In an effort to measure the value of outreach, a prospective study using an experimental comparison group design was implemented in a rural region of Tunisia, where an outreach program had been implemented in 1981 to increase contraceptive prevalence. The main components of the program included the improvement and expansion of rural health care services through mobile clinics, and the implementation of an information, education, and communication (IEC) outreach program. While the program tended to focus on the implementation of the mobile clinics, service statistics suggested that the IEC outreach component in fact accounted for much of the success of the program. The study shows that the addition of outreach to existing services more than doubles the number of new family planning acceptors, and that outreach has a more positive impact on service output than does the creation of new services. In an effort to measure the value of outreach, a prospective study using an experimental comparison group design was implemented in a rural region of Tunisia, where an outreach program had been implemented in 1981 to increase contraceptive prevalence beyond the comparatively high levels achieved in 1982 (an estimated 34% of women of reproductive age were using modern contraception). The main components of the program included the improvement and expansion of rural health care services through mobile clinics, and the implementation of an information, education, and communication (IEC) outreach program, making use of 36 village workers. The workers were recruited from the villages, trained in contraceptive technology, counselling, and record-keeping, and charged with promoting the mobile clinic program through home visits. A preliminary study showed that the addition of outreach to existing services increased the number of new family planning (FP) acceptors by 27% in the 1st year. A more in-depth study compared 4 regions: 1 with an IEC outreach program in addition to the mobile clinics, 1 without IEC, 1 without the mobile clinic program, and 1 with neither mobile clinics. While the program tended to focus on the implementation of the mobile clinics, service statistics suggest that the IEC outreach component in fact accounted for much of the success of the program. In 1 region, the addition of outreach to existing services appears to have increased the number of new FP acceptors by 125% whereas only increasing the availability of medical services increased users by 65%.
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