Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Bridging the Gap: Integrating Family Planning with Abortion Services in Turkey

2001; Guttmacher Institute; Volume: 27; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/2673821

1943-4154

P Senlet, Levent Cagatay, Julide Ergin, J Mathis,

Global Maternal and Child Health

In Turkey the inadequacy of family planning services leads many women to have repeat abortions which constitutes a major public health issue. In response the postabortion family planning program established linkages between abortion and family planning services. This paper reviews a decade of experience in postabortion family planning services which were delivered through three related phases: 1) a pilot program in a single public maternity hospital 2) an expansion of the program into 10 public facilities and 3) further expansion into 12 private-sector and two public-sector hospitals in Istanbul. Overall the experience in Turkey shows that women turn to abortion because of lack of contraception options. In an analysis of abortion trends it is noted that the postabortion family planning program efforts implemented throughout the 1990s contributed to the decline in abortion both by increasing the use of contraceptives among women who had had an abortion and by tilting the method mix toward more effective methods. The commitment of decision-makers was a particularly important criterion in the success of postabortion interventions. At the national level the program required support from management at the Ministry of Health and at the Social Insurance Organization. The most important challenge for the postabortion family planning program in Turkey was reaching the private sector.