COST-EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION OF A HOME VISITING TRIAGE PROGRAM FOR FAMILY-PLANNING IN TURKEY

Graduate Turkish midwives were trained in triage rules for determining family planning home visit frequency based on risk of couples. In a sample of 542 couples followed for six months, modern contraceptive use increased 22% among high-risk and about 15% among moderate and low-risk couples. After making assumptions about the fecundity, contraceptive success, and pregnancy complications, the estimated average cost per complication averted was $ 61 for high-risk, $177 for moderate-risk, and $526 for low-risk couples.; The Population and Development Project in Egypt is a 3-tiered program, designed in 1977, to coordinate development and family planning policy at the village, governate, and central levels. The village committee is comprised of both elected and social members and includes the physician, social worker, schoolteacher, Imam of the Mosque, Bank Director, and other village representatives. 1425 villages out of 4066 are managed by 27 village councils. The program emphasizes rural areas and rural governments. Rural female extension workers have been recruited, trained, and deployed by the villagers. They promote family planning by home visits. A Regional Council for Population and Family Planning (RCPFP) has been organized in each of the 12 governates. At the central level the Department of Population and Development (DPD) has been created to evaluate and monitor the program. Indications of progress are intense involvement of village councils; increased awareness of quality of life improvement by rural populace; performance of local government; and decreased birth rates.