George P. Cernada

Implications for adolescent sex education in Taiwan.

This first Taiwan-wide sample survey of adolescent sexual awareness, knowledge, attitude, and behavior shows that secondary school students there: lack basic knowledge about contraception and reproduction, are often not being taught adequately about these subjects in school, have fairly permissive attitudes about sexual relationships, particularly males, are sexually active, particularly males and those in the private vocational high schools (although less so than their US counterparts), want to learn more about the nature of intimate relationships between males and females, and look to school and public health agencies to be more active sources of information and education.

The Kaoshiung Study

In the Kaoshiung Study in Taiwan efforts to use public information aided staff experience in preparing materials identifying audiences and generally improving the entire public health aspect. For the first time specific ways were identified for the family planning programs to reach specific audiences. This use of the mass media enabled family planning messages to reach mass audiences at a relatively low cost. As a result of the findings of this study it was decided to provide pills to all women requesting them since loop acceptances were not adversely effected by the use of the pill.

A field-worker incentive experimental study.

This paper reports on a project in Taiwan in which family planning field workers were given incentives in addition to their regular salaries. During the summer of 1971 1340 married women were visited by field workers who offered free loop insertion 3 cycles of pills or 12 condoms. In 10 counties field workers were offered in addition to their regular salaries

Taiwan: first island-wide pill acceptor follow-up survey.

2.50 for each loop acceptor and

Direct mailings to promote family planning.

.50 for each acceptor of pills or condoms. In the other 10 counties the field workers received only their salaries. In incentive areas 6% of all women visited accepted the loop compared with 2% in nonincentive areas. In incentive areas 14% of all women visited accepted a method of contraception compared with 7% in nonincentive areas. Excluding those pregnant sterilized or using the IUD or the pill at the time of the home visit 20.7% in the incentive areas compared with 10.7% in the nonincentive areas accepted a contraceptive method. Among the 1340 wives there was an increase in contraceptive practice from 37.6% at the time of the home visits to 44% by September 1971. The authors feel that similar results might occur if incentive were applied in the national family planning program effort.

TAIWAN: Training for Family Planning

THEfollowing report was prepared by F. L. Chen and M. C. Chang, staff members of the Taiwan Provincial Institute of Family Planning; T. H. Sun, Acting Director of the Institute; and George P. Cernada, formerly Population Council resident advisor in Taiwan and now at the University of California in Berkeley. An earlier version based on an interim report of the Taiwan Institute of Family Planning appeared in the journal, Industry of Free China, in April 1970. The report discusses findings of a recent survey of women who received oral contraceptives through the Taiwan family planning program.

Knowledge into action : a guide to research utilization

Direct mailing is a low-cost method of informing people of family planning and encouraging them to adopt it. A review of the general experience with mailings particularly in Asian family planning programs is the basis of this paper. The Chicago Snowball Information Campaign was the first attempt in the United States to use mailings to promote family planning. 13% of the 4005 persons returned the cards requesting a booklet on family planning. The Meerut District in India was the scene of a study conducted by the Central Family Planning Institute (CFPI) New Delhi. 80% of the mailings reached the target population and the reaction was very successful. The 1 mailing approach in Hong Kong is reported to be unsuccessful. 3 separate mailing campaigns in Korea are discussed and it is asserted that the results have been mixed in terms of success. In Taiwan between 1966 and 1969 pospartum mailings offered a free IUD to the new mother. The offer was valid for 3 months after the child birth. About 4% of the present monthly average of 25000 mailings have been returned for IUD insertions. In addition to mailings used to recruit and sustain contraceptive users mailings have been used for purposes of surveys physician education and contraceptive supply.

Korea/Taiwan 1969: report on the national family planning programs.

The family planning field workers in Taiwan in 1964-1967 were known as Pre-pregnancy Health workers (PPH). The qualities expected in the ideal field worker were emotional maturity age 30-40 married with children using contraception indigenous at ease in discussions and with 9 years minimum of education. Applicants were given written and oral examinations to determine their capabilities. The candidates were then given 12 days of training with 40% of the time allocated to practice and 60% to content. The content included public health physiology health education methods population background and problems and working procedures such as record keeping etc. It was found that posttraining supervision was necessary to improve field worker follow-up as well as to decrease vacancy rates. Suggested approaches for improving the success of field workers included: 1) visiting women who recently gave birth 2) providing more followup of recent loop and pill acceptors; 3) appealing more to males; and 4) appealing to younger women.