THE IMPACT OF OUTREACH ON THE CONTINUITY OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE IN RURAL BANGLADESH

In 1978, the Bangladesh family planning program launched a national pr ogram of outreach services that continues to the present. Young marrie d women were hired and trained to visit women in their homes, offer co ntraceptive services, provide information, and support sustained use o ver time. This report uses data from two rural districts to assess the effect of the household visitation program on the continuity of contr aceptive use. Results of a multivariate analysis show that household o utreach has had a pronounced net effect on the continuity of contracep tive use throughout the study period and that the magnitude of this ef fect has increased with time. This finding suggests that sustained con traceptive use continues to benefit from home-based outreach even afte r a decade of service encounters. Policy implications of this finding are discussed.