Client-Centered Counseling Improves Client Satisfaction with Family Planning Visits: Evidence from Irbid, Jordan

Authors: Kamhawi S, Underwood C, Murad H, Jabre B

High levels of unmet need for family planning and high contraceptive discontinuation rates persist in Jordan, prompting the initiation of a client-centered family planning service program called ‘‘Consult and Choose’’ (CC), together with community-based activities to encourage women with unmet need to visit health centers. Exit interviews with 461 family planning clients were conducted to assess, from the clients’ perspective, whether trained providers followed the CC protocol and used the CC tools to measure client satisfaction. Referrals were also tracked and service statistics examined to explore trends in family planning use. The results show increased compliance with standards, increased satisfaction with clinic visits and statistic trends indicate an increase in the number of new family planning users and in couple-years of protection after starting the CC program.