DAY, FREDERICK ALBERT; PHD
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, 1982
GEOGRAPHY (0366)
This study of family planning utilization delineates two conceptual models.
The first, a macro-model called
the General Model of Diffusion of Family Planning, places the large and fragmented
family planning
literature in a framework that reflects the most recent perspective on innovation
diffusion. The second
conceptual model elaborates a portion of the first, looking more closely at
the transaction between the
family planning propagator and the acceptor emphasizing the role of four major
components: (1)
characteristics of the potential user (the demand side), (2) characteristics
of the provider (the supply
side), (3) the 'gap' between the potential user and provider, for example, social
and physical distance,
and (4) the socioeconomic setting in which the family planning transaction takes
place. After a review of
the philosophical roots and literature of family planning, the population characteristics
and family planning
efforts of Thailand and the rural Central Plains province of Suphanburi, the
survey site are discussed.
Using a data base drawn from a random sample survey of 2,110 respondents and
a survey of 108 public
health/family planning workers, variables and indices were constructed to account
for important aspects
of the four components of the Family Planning Transaction Model. These variables
are used to address
two principal questions: (1) the decision to use or not use family planning,
and (2) among the users, the
decision to choose a government or private provider, a less frequently approached
problem in the
literature and the emphasis of this study. These questions were analyzed through
discriminant analysis.
The analysis indicates that all four components of the Family Planning Transaction
are relevant to the
decision to use (or not use) family planning and to choose a government or private
provider. However,
the characteristics of the potential user are more important in the initial
decision, whereas the presence of
alternative providers in the private sector, the rural/urban composition of
the setting, and the
characteristics of the potential users are more important in the choice of a
provider. In the context of
these findings, policy implications for the ongoing national family planning
programs in Thailand and
other Third World countries are suggested.
Social
Systems Simulation Group
P.O. Box 6904 San Diego, CA 92166-0904 Roland Werner, Principal Phone/FAX (619) 660-1603 |