The impact of household delivery of family planning services on women's status in Bangladesh

CONTEXT. Qualitative studies assessing the impact of the household delivery of family planning services on women's social status have yielded contradictory findings. Given the resumption of these services in Bangladesh in 2003, it is important to reevaluate the social impact of the doorstep program using quantitative techniques. METHODS. Longitudinal and cross-sectional data from 3,783 women using doorstep services in two rural districts of Bangladesh are used in ordinary least-squores and logistic regression analyses to assess the effect of doorstep services on changes in women's status between 1988 and 1993. RESULTS: In analyses controlling for background characteristics, women's status in 1988, previous service use and visit selection bias, household outreach is associated with increases in women's status between 1988 and 1993. However, this effect is largely attributable to the impact of doorstep services on women's ability to regulate their fertility rather than to the home visits themselves. CONCLUSION. The decision of the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to resume household family planning services should not be detrimental to women's status, and may be associated with gender benefits to female clients served by the program.