title: The impact of outreach on the continuity of contraceptive use in rural Bangladesh.
abstract: In 1978, the Bangladesh family planning program launched a national program of outreach services that continues to the present. Young married women were hired and trained to visit women in their homes, offer contraceptive services, provide information, and support sustained use over time. This report uses data from two rural districts to assess the effect of the household visitation program on the continuity of contraceptive use. Results of a multivariate analysis show that household outreach has had a pronounced net effect on the continuity of contraceptive use throughout the study period and that the magnitude of this effect has increased with time. This finding suggests that sustained contraceptive use continues to benefit from home-based outreach even after a decade of service encounters. Policy implications of this finding are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Maternal and Child Health-Family Planning Extension Project, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Hossain
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001459:Bangladesh; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003267:Contraception / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003268:Contraception Behavior; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*