Family planning education: a role for volunteers?

Abstract

This study was concerned with participant reactions to a volunteer-staffed education outreach program in family planning. The program was sponsored by Calgary Birth Control Association from April 1, 1973 to April 1, 1976. The study involved all of the participants in the program during the period from February 1 to March 31, 1976, and all individuals who requested an educational presentation on behalf of a group or organization in 1975. Data were collected from over three hundred people, primarily adolescents, by means of two questionnaires developed by the writer. Examination of the results indicated an extremely positive reaction to the educational program. Approval was indicated for the information content of the program, the role played by the leaders, and for the concept of volunteer leadership of family planning educational presentations. Suggestions were made for improvements in the program. The findings of this study may be of assistance to organizers in the field of family planning who are concerned with developing community action programs.