Factors Affecting Family Planning Services’ Utilization Among Beneficiaries of Lady Health Workers

ABSTRACT
Family planning is thought to be a practical way to slow down population growth and enhance mother and child health. The doorstep services through Community Health Workers (CHWs) are essential in order to attain universal access to family planning methods. In Pakistan the Lady Health Worker Program (LHWP) tried to combine family planning and primary healthcare right at the client’s door by deploying CHWs known as Lady Health Workers (LHWs). The objective of this study was to explore the characteristics of LHWs influencing beneficiaries’ use of family planning services provided by this cadre. In order to achieve the objective, a quantitative research approach was used, with the social ecological model serving as the theoretical framework. Participants in the research ranged in age from
15 to 49 years and were from 398 families in the Lahore District. Participants were chosen by a proportional systematic random sample, and an interview schedule was used as the data collection tool. The study found a substantial correlation between beneficiaries’ utilization of family planning services and different characteristics of LHWs. Based on these findings, it is recommended that LHW skills be improved or enhanced so that more women can benefit from the family planning services that LHWs offer.