Implementing the user perspective

Evaluation of birth planning programs has heretofore been done from the service provider or the policy-planner's point of view. It is time to begin evaluating family planning programs from the viewpoint of the user. This type of evaluation would involve measuring continuation rates over time and the degree of benefit over a reproductive lifetime. Evaluation should include individual and subgroup acceptance of various methods of birth control. Knowledge of the clients' needs can be assessed and applied at 3 points in the provision of family planning services: 1) during the planning stage of programs; 2) in response to modern programs, e.g., in response to perceived risks and benefits of certain offered methods; and 3) on a longterm basis, focusing on consequences of birth planning systems to individual health and well-being.