Author: United Nations. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Publisher:

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 118

ISBN-13:

Sample survey reports from 8 villages in Malaysia, 8 villages in Korea, and 2 villages in India constitute this regional pilot study on the role of community communication networks (cliques) on the acceptance and continuance of family planning (FP). NEGOPY software was used in the analysis. The prototype questionnaire for ever-married men and ever-married women are included in the appendix. The convergence model of communication, which focuses on interrelationships (dyads and cliques) between individuals, subsystems, and systems, and the social network method on acceptance and continuance of family planning practice, were selected to overcome the deficiencies in atomistic and mechanistic models of communication. Several assumptions were made: 1. family planning communication is unique, 2. husband's and wives communication structures are different, 3. interconnectedness based on frequency of interaction is considered to be different from closeness structure, and 4. the number, size, and composition of cliques and individuals communication roles vary based on socio-economic characteristics and the number of users of family planning methods in cliques. The findings are ungeneralizable due to small sample size. In spite of methodological differences, some non-statistical evidence shows that family planning behavior is shaped by cliques. Some of the findings were that other members of a clique where there is maximum connectedness and persons using FP will also use FP, and the converse. Strong clique leadership influences FP and the selection of methods. When clique leaders act as a bridge, they exert more effective influence on other cliques. Young educated women tend to be bridges. There is a need to continue the work through the region on a theoretical and methodological level with some standardization of network concepts. NEGOPY needs to be replaced or made user friendly and accessible. Categorization of cliques, comparison of different cliques, valid generalization of communication roles, diffusion of information within and between cliques, and changes in formation and leadership in cliques require further analysis. Policy implications for long term strategy and service delivery involve the need to improve women's education. FP field staff in training or work settings need to focus on cliques and convergence models of communication, thus increasing individual contact and maximizing effectiveness.