Training of Family Planning Counselors in Jordan: Developing Human Resources through Adult Education

Training of Family Planning Counselors in Jordan: Developing Human Resources through Adult Education

Sinaria Kamil Abdel Jabbar
DOI: 10.4018/javet.2012100104
OnDemand:
(Individual Articles)
Available
$37.50
No Current Special Offers
TOTAL SAVINGS: $37.50

Abstract

This paper briefly describes the development and status of family planning (FP) services, including counseling, in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It also reports extensively on a FP counseling training course organized by the Jordanian Association for Family Planning and Protection (JAFPP) which is a local NGO. A field survey approach, with qualitative and quantitative dimensions, was adopted. Questionnaires were used to solicit information about the trainees’ backgrounds, the course material, the methods and techniques of presentation employed by the trainers, and the benefits derived from the course. The findings provide statistical results which shed more light on FP in Jordan, and lay the foundation for specific measures for improvement which the author recommends at the end of the paper.
Article Preview
Top

Family Planning (Fp) In Jordan

Jordan has progressed significantly in the area of reproductive health and family planning. According to a study conducted in support of USAID, fertility rate dropped from 6.6 children per married woman in 1983 to 3.6 in 2007 (USAID, 2010). The promotion of family planning “the planning of when to have children and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans”, reducing the total fertility rate and increasing the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) have been some of the main goals of the Government of Jordan’s National Agenda (El- Khoury & Murad, 2008). The 2007 Jordan Population and Family Health Survey (JPFHS), shows that 57% of married women ages 15-49 were using family planning (42% were using modern methods and 15% relied on traditional methods such as periodic abstinence and withdrawal) compared to 26% in 1983 (20.8% using modern methods and 5.2% relying on traditional methods). However, despite the advances made so far, the unmet need for family planning is still significant and the discontinuation rate among FP users is also high. An unmet need is defined as “the percentage of married women who desire to space their births at least two years apart or limit childbearing entirely but are not using contraceptives” (USAID, 2010). Thus, according to the 2007 Jordan Population and Family Health Survey (JPFHS), 12% of married women had an unmet need for family planning, (5% for spacing the next birth at least two years and 7% for limiting childbearing) (USAID, 2010).

Complete Article List

Search this Journal:
Reset
Open Access Articles: Forthcoming
Volume 10: 4 Issues (2019)
Volume 9: 4 Issues (2018)
Volume 8: 4 Issues (2017)
Volume 7: 4 Issues (2016)
Volume 6: 4 Issues (2015)
Volume 5: 4 Issues (2014)
Volume 4: 4 Issues (2013)
Volume 3: 4 Issues (2012)
Volume 2: 4 Issues (2011)
Volume 1: 4 Issues (2010)
View Complete Journal Contents Listing