Title: Family planning outreach and credit programs in rural Bangladesh.

POPLINE Document Number: 110263

Author(s):

Schuler SR
Hashemi SM

Source citation:

HUMAN ORGANIZATION, 1995 Winter;54(4):455-61.

Abstract:

A 1992 study in rural Bangladesh examined the effects of the Grameen Bank program (which provides credit for women's self-employment schemes) and of home visits by family planning (FP) workers on reproductive norms. Data were gathered through two random samples of women who had been members of the Grameen Bank or the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee for at least 18 months. These data were compared with 1) eligible nonmembers from Grameen Bank villages and 2) eligible nonmembers from nonserved villages. Specific hypotheses tested were that 1) FP home visits are positively related to contraceptive use, 2) membership in credit organizations or residence in credit-available villages increases contraceptive use, 3) women's physical mobility increases contraceptive use, and 4) the greater propensity of credit program members to use contraception is not entirely explained by increased mobility. It was found that women living in Grameen Bank villages are 16% more likely to use contraception than women in villages without a program (this is highly significant upon Chi-square analysis). When other variables were controlled in regression analysis, the significant effect of the presence of the Grameen Bank was not explained by the FP home visits, but home visits had strong independent effects (raising contraceptive use rates 21% and 30% among the comparison group and the nonmember credit-village group, respectively) along with age, relative wealth, and presence of a surviving son. A significant difference was also found to be caused by mobility, with 60% of the more mobile using contraception compared with 46% of the less mobile. When "relative mobility" is added to the regression, Grameen Bank membership is still significant; significance disappears for nonparticipants living in a credit-available village. These results indicate that programs which decrease women's isolation and dependence upon men can influence fertility. The presence of a Grameen Bank in a village in combination with a FP outreach program can have a dramatically positive impact on contraceptive usage as reproductive norms change. The study also revealed that fear of side effects and potential health problems associated with contraceptive usage remains a major obstacle to fertility control. Women need increased economic opportunities, improved access to health care, and improved contraceptive quality.

Keywords:

Bangladesh
Family Planning Programs
Financial Activities
Community Participation
Home Visits
Contraceptive Usage
Rural Population
Women's Status
Female Role
Gender Relations
Women
Asia, Southern
Asia
Developing Countries
Family Planning
Programs
Organization and Administration
Economic Factors
Communication
Contraception
Population Characteristics
Demographic Factors
Population
Socioeconomic Factors
Social Behavior
Behavior
Gender Issues