Korea: Household Distribution Program Resulted In One-Third Increase in Effective Method Use

Abstract

The government subsidized family planning program in South Korea is the most successful in the developing world. Although 36% of the married women of childbearing age are users of modern contraceptive methods, the program has been stabilized at this level for the past several years. Lee Jay Cho of the East-West Population Institute and the University of Hawaii and his colleagues have identified the following 6 major problems with the clinic-based national program in Korea as possibly responsible for the plateauing in contraceptive use: 1) too large a caseload for each worker; 2) target setting, resulting in an emphasis on quantity rather than quality; 3) too much stress on the IUD even when a preference for another method is indicated; 4) not enough supply and service points to take care of the needs of rural residents; 5) obstacles to acceptance created by red tape and complicated bureaucrataic administrative procedures; and 6) poor quality and limitation of contraceptive supplies. Cho and his group went on to initiate an experiment in comprehensive household distribution in May 1975 in an attempt to stimulate an increase in contraceptive use. 3 methods of household distribution were used in the experiment and, despite the limitations of 2 of the approaches, for the 4-month period of the experiment there was a 1/3 increase in the use of modern contraceptives in these villages.