Several frameworks for understanding the quality of family planning care have been proposed. However, efforts to measure and quantify their components remain underdeveloped, especially with regard to nonclinical care and community-based distribution. This study examines a large-scale field survey conducted among married women of reproductive age in rural Bangladesh in 1989 and 1990 to measure and evaluate rural women's perceptions of the quality of outreach services they received. Initial analysis indicates that rural women are able to distinguish between good and poor quality of care and that these perceptions can be accurately documented and quantified through sample survey approaches. Implications of the use of a survey in the measurement of quality of care are discussed, as well as implications of the results for managers within the Bangladesh government family planning program, which has been regarded by donor agencies as having limited responsiveness to clients' needs.
PIP: While frameworks have been proposed for understanding the quality of family planning care, there has been too little effort to measure and quantify program components, particularly with regard to nonclinical care and community-based distribution. Findings are presented from a study which analyzed data from a large-scale field survey conducted among 10,127 married women of reproductive age in rural Bangladesh during 1989-90 to measure and evaluate their perceptions of the quality of outreach services they received. The initial analysis indicates that rural women are able to distinguish between good and poor quality of care and that these perceptions can be accurately documented and quantified through sample survey approaches. The authors discuss the implications of the use of a survey in the measurement of quality of care, as well as the implications of the results for managers within the Bangladesh government family planning program.