| Abstract: | Dr. Juan M. Flavier of the International Institute of Rural Reconstr uction (IIRR) found medical terms used by family planning teams had little meaning for rural audiences. In addition, the family planners lectured too much and did not truly reach their farm audiences. The Institute developed a series of materials based on agricultural parallels with captions in verse, capitalizing on the rural Filipino's love of balagtasan (debate in verse) and duplo (couplets). The IUD is likened to a stone which prevents a seed from germinating. The ill-effect of frequent childbirth is likened to a citrus tree laden with too many fruit. The program talks about birth control or limitation in number, spacing, and infertility. Dr. Flavier believes it is important to include infertility if only to show that family planning is an aid to all couples. Many times the farm illustration will spark discussion, which allows the group to bring up questions about birth control which otherwise they would not. A 3-year grant to study the IIRR approach found that this adaptive technique, though slower in the beginning, led to greater continuation rates and more confidence in family planning. It could be used in urban poor areas as well because many slum and working-class families have rural backgrounds. Also, the household illustrations (comparing a cervical cap to the lid of a pot which keeps unwanted items out) would be understandable to most women. |
