Turkey: moving toward a national strategy for family planning IEC: a needs assessment.

This report presents the results of a family planning (FP) IEC (information education communication) needs assessment carried out in Turkey by consultants from the Johns Hopkins University Population Communication Services in 1993 as a preliminary activity to prepare the way for drafting a national IEC strategy. After an introductory section the report describes the current IEC situation; discusses IEC needs issues and constraints; and reviews the systemic provider and client strategies that can be incorporated in the national strategy. The consultants identified needs for 1) a national IEC strategy 2) coordination among IEC activities 3) FP information targeted to certain populations 4) information for health providers 5) using IEC techniques to combat medical barriers to FP use 6) method-specific information 7) increasing standards in materials 8) evaluating existing materials 9) improving training materials 10) improving interpersonal communication skills of service providers 11) developing materials to promote husband-wife communication 12) greater use of modern electronic media and 13) increased private sector involvements in the dissemination of reproductive health information. There is no need to create demand for FP services because demand already exists.