The Model Family Planning Project in Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

In the 1972-74 Isfahan Model Family Planning Project, which grew out of previous family planning projects in Isfahan, contraceptive education and services were provided by private doctors, family planning clinics, health centers, nurses, midwives, full-time field-workers, functionaries, and the mass media on a comprehensive and integrated basis. The percent of married women aged 15-44 using modern methods rose from 6 percent to 21 percent by the end of the project period. Continuation rates for the pill and IUD were comparable to those in other, more urban programs. Field-workers proved to be more effective in recruiting new acceptors than health workers and functionaries; mass media and relatives played indirect roles.