How Well Do Perceptions of Family Planning Service Quality Correspond to Objective Measures? Evidence from Tanzania

Author(s): Speizer IS, Bollen KA

Year: 1998

Abstract:
This study examines the objective determinants of perceptions of facility quality. The underlying assumption is that perceptions of family planning facilities have the key effects on whether a potential client is a user or non-user of a facility . The data are from two surveys in rural Tanzania. Three models are tested separately for females and males. The important determinants of perceived quality among women and men are: perceived time to the facility, maternal and child health service availability, size of the facility, and type of facility. The data only explain a moderate amount of the variance in the quality measures, indicating that perceived quality is a difficult concept to quantify. Future surveys of facility quality need to inclu de information on perceptions directly linked to objective traits to better determine how to improve perceived quality with the goal of increasing contraceptive use.