الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Counseling is one of the critical elements in the provision of quality family planning services. Through counseling, providers help clients make and carry out their own choice about family planning. Good counseling leads to improved client satisfaction. A satisfied client promotes family planning, returns when she needs to, and continues to use a chosen method. An estimated 123 million couples, mainly in developing countries, do not use contraceptives, despite wanting to space or limit their childbearing. Counseling has been regarded as an appropriate venue to decrease unwanted pregnancies and induced abortions.
Counseling and counselors are regarded as key components of family planning services in developed as well as developing countries. Counseling is thought to provide clients with new information in an interpersonal context that enables them to profit from it. It helps clients concerned with family planning to make free and informed choices about contraception and to act on those choices”. It enables those concerned with or suffering from HIV/AIDS “to cope with stress and take personal decisions” required to avoid or live with the condition. The role of the counselor is to make this happen, “giving and receiving relevant, accurate information to help clients make decisions” and creating the “trusting and caring relationship with clients” that makes this go smoothly and effectively.
Traditionally, family planning services worldwide have concentrated on increasing contraceptive use, in part to reduce fertility rates. More recently, they are focusing on the quality of service as well.
Family planning and reproductive health programs have contributed greatly to fertility decline in developing countries. Both availability and quality of family planning services are believed to have contributed to increasing contraceptive use and declining fertility rates in developing countries. There is general agreement that the quality of family planning and reproductive health services positively affects contraceptive use and behavior of the clients.
The purpose of the present study was to assess the quality of family planning counseling sessions carried out in family health units in Alexandria. To assess the availability of the essential required human and non human resources for conduction of FP counseling sessions, to assess the performance of FP providers during conduction of family planning counseling and to explore feedback of the clients about counseling services.
To accomplish these aims, descriptive epidemiological approach cross sectional survey of family health units was conducted in Alexandria. The estimated sample size was FP units which included in the study (n=10). All FP providers (physicians- nurses) providing counseling sessions (physicians n=25 nurses n=15), also clients attending FP counseling sessions in the selected FP units during the field visits (n=120) constituted the sample of the study. Data were gathered on relevant variables of studied FP providers (physicians-nurses) as age, gender, their scientific qualifications, duration of actual work, duration of experience in the field of FP and attended training programs.
Direct observation technique was adopted using a predesigned checklist which have been developed from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival ( BASICS) that included the least ideal items recommended for the conduction of FP counseling sessions at the FP clinics, The checklist covered the essential items of the quality structure, process and outcome.
Regarding socio-demographic characteristics of studied family planning providers. All of the FP providers were females. Age of physicians ranged between (26 - 56 years) with a mean of (42.6 ± 10.1 year). Meanwhile age of nurses ranged between (26 - 52 years) with a mean of (39.3 ± 8.4 year). Difference in age between both physicians and nurses was statistically not significant. Duration of employment among physicians was relatively shorter than that of nurses; the difference observed was statistically not significant.
Regarding duration of experience in family planning, physicians had longer experience than nurses did. With a mean of (9.2 ± 6.8 year) meanwhile, experience of nurses with a mean of (7.9 ± 5.9) difference observed was statistically not significant.
As regard qualifications of the studied family planning session providers. Regarding the physicians, two fifth of them (40%) had diploma in MCH and gynecology &obstetrics while more than one-third (36%) had only MBBCH, 20% had master degree in gynecology &obstetrics and only 1 physician representing (4%) had fellowship in family medicine.
All nurses in the studied family health units in different districts had secondary school of nursing.