Informed policy making for the prevention of unwanted pregnancy. Understanding low-income women's experiences with family planning.
California health and welfare officials asked the authors to identify ways that their programs could encourage service use among low-income women. The project posed a challenge: The clients wanted to identify supply-side barriers amenable to intervention, but prior research suggested other factors might be more influential. The approach was to examine service-related issues, but in the broader context of women's experiences. The authors identify factors amenable to intervention, including inaccurate beliefs about methods. Other important influences--such as instability of relationships, skepticism about planning, or unsatisfactory method experiences--may be beyond the reach of specific policies, but are nevertheless critical to understanding program context. Findings suggest that punitive messages and policies based on a simplistic model of behavior may be unrealistic and ineffective.
Chetkovich
C
C
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA.
Mauldon
J
J
Brindis
C
C
Guendelman
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011050:Policy Making; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted