International Workshop on Communications in Family Planning Programs (Teheran, June 6-18, 1970)
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 057 346 AC 012 207 AUTHOR Blake, Robert R., Ed.; Wolfe, Suzanne, R., Ed. TITLE International Workshop on Communications in Family Planning Programs (Teheran, June 6-18, 1970). Final Pecort. INSTITUTION North Carolina Univ., Chapel Hill. Carolina Population Center. SPONS AGENCY Ford Foundation, Beirut (Lebanon). Middle East Office.; Ministry of Health (Iran). PUB DATE 71 NOTE 177p. EDRS PRICE MF-$0.vi5 HC-$6.58 DESCRIPTORS Changing Attitudes; Clinics; *Communications; Conferences; Educational Programs; *Family Planning; *Informqtion Dissemination; *Policy Formation; Population Growth; Problem Solving; Questionnaires; SimulatiOn; *Workshops IDENTIFIERS Africa; Iran; Middle East; *Teheran ABSTRACT This report presents some of the proceedings of a workshop on communications in family planning programs held in Teheran, Iran. A total of 82 participants from 15 Mid-Eastern and African countries attended.. The purpose of the workshop was to assist each country to prepare a work plan for information and education activities related to population programs. A major feature of the workshop was the development and use of two simulation exercises. The first exercise describes a country called Arcadia,H which had no population policy and no real interest in developing a population program. With the help of resource advisors, country teams were systematically lead through the educational problem; setting clear objr'ctives and deciding program strategy for achieving objectives. The second exercise described a country called 'Walhalla," which had a stated policy to reduce population growth rates and a large r. of established clinics, largely unused. Again, conference participants worked at solving the problem of information dissemination and changing attitudes. After the completion of the two simulation exercises, country work plans were developed with the help of a questionnaire completed by the delegates prior to their arrival in Teheran.(Author/CK) ) U.S. DEPARTIVIENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION 8t WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN R EPRO - DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM TH E PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG INATI NG IT POINTS OF VI EW OR OPIN- IONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARI LY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDU- CATION POSITION OR PO LI CY_ FINIAL FRaFic)Fri-- NIT'EFRNIA-T I (DNIAL. WC)1R KSFICDP (DNI COMMUN., ICAMIC)NIS I NI F-Pavi I L PLAN) NI I NIG P RC) G FR A NIS FROE3a 1R-r EEDI-r-cD}R SUZANN 6f=?. WOLFE IkSrDGIACTE E IDITC)FR a 0 ,,- ; w'wfIMPIR. tiq'.,'Irr ," " "; I ,o111410+,0 . ,h6,1, f,"?*, ;, 44,.;;;i',4 e 0,';,1v 1.1, ;4001',4'416',.040,6 poory'r,.1rf;,41Vat'"""nwao#00641145,10ZU2410, FINAL REPORT I NTERNAT IONAL WORKSHOP ON COMMUN [CATIONS IN FAM I LY PLANN I NG PROGRAMS TEHERAN, IRAN 6 THROUGH 18 JUNE, 1970 ROBERT R. BLAKE EDI TOR SUZANNE R. WOLF": ASSOCIATE EDF OR Sponsored by Family Planning Division The Ford Foundation Ministry of Health Middle East Regional Office Government of Iran Beirut, Lebanon Carolina Population Center University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, N. 7. 2 Published by The Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1971. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For any success achieved by the Teheran workshop, primary credit should be given to the large number of people from the Iranian Ministry of Health who worked so tirelessly on workshop organization. I especially want to thank H. E. Dr. Amir M. Sardari, Dr. Khalil Asayesh, and Dr. Ali Zahedi, who carried the major burden for conference arrangements. Their lieutenants in this effort included Dr. Masood Khatarnee, Mr. Tofigh Ghafoori, Dr. Bahram Mohit, and Dr. Khosrow Farhang. Ialso wish to thank Mr. A. A. Gaffary, Head, Conference Department, Iranian Centrc for International Conferences, and his colleagues who handled transportation and translations and provided secretarial assistance. Dr. John Friesen and Mr. Robert Gillespie, Population Council representatives in Iran, provided much needed assistance in the planning stages and also served as Chief Resource Advisors to the Iranian delegation. The conference was funded by the Middle East 0' Ff.'Foul,Ja- tion, Beirut, Lebanon. The encouragement anu .,uppurt o: Mr. J. Donald Kingsiey, Ford Foundation Representative, is gratefully acknowledged. Further, I want to express my warm appreciation to my assistant, Mrs. Suzanne Wolfe, who accepted major organizational responsibilities during the conference. The preparation of the two simulation exercises is largely the work of Mrs. Wolfe. Filially,Iwish to acknowledge the skilled editorial assistance of Mrs. Bonnie Powell in compiling this report. ROBERT R. BLAKE Chapel Hill 7 INTRODUCTION PAPERS 10 The Shahanshah Aryamehes Message 12 The Things We Know About Family Planning Wilbur Schramm 22 Communications Issues Lyle Saunders 32 Epidemiologic, Sociologic, and Theo logic Aspects of Muslim Fertility Abdel Rahirn Omran SIMULATION EXERCISES 56 1: Developing an Information and Education Program for Arcadia Susanne Wolfe, Robert Blake, and Robert Gillespie 78 2: Developing an Information and Education Program for Valhalla Suzanne Wolfe, Robert Blake, and Robert Gillesrie WORT< PLAl-c 104 Ghana MartinTay, Janet Adu-Aboagya, and Reuben Ex.ri Nyatepe-Coo 125 Kenya E.R.Ikiutwa, G.Kogondu,F.M. Mudoga, _aid T. Ndabari 140 Sudan A. R. Kabashi 147 United Arab Republic Naiwal ElSaadawi,KadiaKhairy, and Mohamr,i Khazbak 152 Ishfahan Communications Project Mdidi Loghnai, Wilbur Schramm, and 1Z')bert Gillespie APPENDICES 158 A: List of Participants, Observers, and Resource Advioz)rs 170 B: Conference Program 177 C: Papers Presented at Teheran 178 BIOGRAPHIC NOTE INTRODUCTION This report presents some of the proceedings of a workshop on communications in family planning programs held in Teheran, Iran, from June 6 through June 18, 1970. The workshop was sponsored by the Iranian Ministry of Health, the Carolina Population Center, and was funded by the Middle East Office of The Ford Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon. A total of eighty-two (forty-seven from Iran) participants from fifteen Mid-Eastern and African countries attended the workshop. Through a special request of the Agency for International Devel- opment (Washington, D.C.) a delegation from the Philippines also participated. Six observers from international agencies attended, along with ten resource advisors from four countries. Thirteen Iranian resource advisors participated. A complete list of delegates and resource advisors is provided in Appendix A. The purpose of the workshop was to assist each country to prepare a work plan for information and education activities re- lated to population programs. A secondary purpose was to clarify to delegates the importance of these activities in their population programs. We feel the first objective, was pretty well achieved plans were completed by all country teams. In addition, three provincial plans were developed for Iran, including an experimen- tal research design for the Ishfahan communications research project. One noteworthy feature of the workshop was the development and use of two simulation exercises. The first exercise describes a country called "Arcadia" whi-± had no population policy and no real interest in developing a population program. After reading a fairly extensive description of Arcadia, participants were asked: "What should the information and education officer of the Family Planning Association of Arcadia be doing?" With the help of re- source advisors, country teams were systematically lead through the educational problem: setting clear objectives; deciding pro- 7 6 gram strategy for achieving objectives; selecting target groups; list- ing activities to reach the target groups and finally; the scheduling of activities on a monthly basis. The second simulation exercise described a country called "Val- halla," which had an entirely different educational problem. Val- halla has a stated policy to reduce population growth rates; it also has a large number of established clinics, largely unutilized. Val- halla's information and education problem is to recruit patients into existing facilities. It seemed to the organizers that the participants enjoyed work- ing through the above simulation exercises. They were successful probably because they weTe able to look at problems in Arcadia and Valhalla objectively, without reference to real or imagined barriTrs. If barriers were brought up ("How much money does the Progfam Office have to allocate?"), resource advisors simply changed the ground rules. ("Let's assume he has all the money required.") The simulation exercises, then, were the keystones on which delegates based systematic studies of educational and promotional problems in their own countries. During the workshop, each day began with the presentation of a major paper. (See Appendix B.) Since papers were distributed to delegates one day prior to presentation, speakers were encouraged not to read their papers, but to spend thirty to forty-five minutes discussing major points. Each presentation was followed by a panel discussion, then by floor discussion. Each delegate served on a panel sometime during the conference. Group sessions, held each afternoon, consisted of four to six delegates and a resource advisor. After completion of the two simulation exercises, country work plans were developed with the help of a questionnaire completrA by the delegates prior to their arrival in Teheran. Two reporting sessions were scheduled during the workshop. On the first day of the conference a representative from each country made a ten-minute