Quality of Care Within the Indian Family Welfare Programme: A Review of Recent Evidence

India's family planning program represents one of the earliest and most ambitious efforts in a developing country to address the issue of high fertility. Despite its more than four decades of existence, little is known concerning how the program is implemented at the field level, especially in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Studies in family planning 2000-03, Vol.31 (1), p.1-18
Main Authors: Koenig, Michael A., Foo, Gillian H.C., Joshi, Ketan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access
Birth control
Delivery Systems
Family Planning
Family planning services
Family Planning Services - organization & administration
Family Planning Services - standards
Family policy
Female
Fertility
Health care quality
Health policy
Health Services Accessibility
Health surveys
Humans
India
Male
Medical service
Observational research
Patient Education as Topic
Patient Satisfaction
Population Control
Population policy
Professional-Patient Relations
Program Evaluation
Public assistance
Public assistance programs
Quality control
Quality of care
Quality of Health Care
Quality of service
Reproductive sterilization
Rural Population
Social aspects
Social policy
Social service
Social Values
Welfare
Womens health
Womens health services
Work with families
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Summary:India's family planning program represents one of the earliest and most ambitious efforts in a developing country to address the issue of high fertility. Despite its more than four decades of existence, little is known concerning how the program is implemented at the field level, especially in relation to the quality of services provided. In this article, empirical evidence on the accessibility and quality of services provided through the Indian family planning program is reviewed and synthesized. The review highlights the serious and systemic shortcomings in quality of care that characterize the Indian program in such areas as restricted method choice, limited information provided to clients, poor technical standards, and low levels of follow-up and continuity of care. The factors constraining higher service quality are subsequently reviewed, and the prospects for improving quality of care within the Indian program are assessed.
ISSN:0039-3665
1728-4465
DOI:10.1111/j.1728-4465.2000.00001.x