This paper presents a general model demonstrating the need for informational and educational methodology within family planning programs. There are several steps in designing a family planning program's goals and objectives in quantitative and qualitative terms. In addition, it is necessary to determine what conditions must obtain in order to achieve the goals of the program. Within thes conceptual framework the implementation of a program must be seen as the creation of the conditions necessary for success; the need for informational and educational components in family planning is a must. Much of this responsibility falls on the educational community and the health educato r, in particular. Assuming that there are resources to make contraceptive technology available to the target population, the 1st step is to make this availability known. Next it is important that those in the target group who respond are educated in the proper use and inherent risks of the contraceptive method they choose. (The great problem the program administrators and health educators face is the development of a comprehensive program to reach those who are not really conscious of the relevance of family planning). The goals of the educational component have to be defined 1st, however. Thus, it is apparent from this study that information and educational programs are essential for the success of family planning programs.
Population education teaches students the nature and meaning of population processes, changes, and characteristics. Students learn what these processes, changes, and characteristics mean to himself, his family, his community, and his world. Students learn that individual actions can have demographic consequences. It is hoped that such education will help students make rational and responsible decisions, individually and collectively, about population issues. The content of population education programs will be interdisciplinary. The program will not be the same as sex education or family life education which focus on the individual. Population education programs can vary but all will include discussions of demographic processes, of human reproduction, and of the interaction between population factors and governmental policy. At present there is a scarcity of well-planned and integrated curricula, trained teachers, and good teaching materials in the population field. Funds to aid in filling these gaps are lacking.
The widest range of message inputs available giving information directly related to the needs and interests of potential users must be communicated in order to get people to change their contraceptive behavior. Both communication and clinical services are necessary for an adequate population and family planning program. The communication aspect requires many diverse information and education activities. Public information activities include mass media use, advertising and promotion, public relations, and commerical marketing of nonmedical contraceptives. Education has been identified as population education, education for parenthood, and sex education, and it should be offered in the clinic, in community extension education programs, and as in-school education. Some type of coordination of public information and education is needed. Possibly they could be combined under a program activity termed "Communications." A communications program which coordinates information and education should have a planning component which includes in its tasks research and evaluation. Each of the tasks in a communications program requires specific kinds of materials. Audiences need to be identified, messages and media selected, formats designed, and the material produced. The communicators require more job-specific training.
The Planned Parenthood Association of Alameda-San Francisco established a clinic in 1967 for girls under 18 years of age, offering contraceptive care, pregnancy testing, pregnancy and abortion counseling, venereal disease testing, and counseling and rap sessions. The clinic is held twice weekly after school hours, on a drop-in basis, currently averaging 70 patients per afternoon. Confidentiality is safeguarded. Requests for birth control and worries about pregnancy are the two main concerns of the patients. Rap sessions allow teenagers to discuss sexuality without embarrassment or restriction. Counselors interview the girls about their attitudes concerning sex, relationships with their parents and boyfriends, and past birth control experience. The oral contraceptive is chosen by 90% of the new patients. The next most popular methods are the IUD and diaphragm. 90% of all girls found to be pregnant choose abortion. Boys also come to the clinic and can receive free condoms. An awareness of population and ecology should be introduced at the junior high school level to establish an early understanding of the interrelationship of birth control, population and environmental issues. The San Francisco Teen Clinic has gained wide acceptance in the teenage community by providing a responsbile and responsive service.
Schools are the ideal place for teaching population education because: 1)they are existing institutions; 2)they deal with students at an age when they can still be influenced; 3)they have a captive audience; and 4)they are already participating in the process of social change. Population education courses should teach the population situation on the local and the international scene. The courses should seek to instill rational attitudes and behavior toward the population issue. Population education could be included in health classes--physical, mental, and social. The courses must be relevant to students from varying backgrounds. Out-of-school programs, aimed at working children, adults, and unemployed people, must supplement the educational program in schools.
