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JHPIEGO Glossary of General Family Planning Terms

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General Family Planning Terms

Birth Rate (or Crude Birth Rate)
The number of live births per 1000 of the mid-year population in a given year.
 
Client (FP)
A potential or continuing user of a contraceptive method.
 
Childbearing Years
The reproductive age span of women, assumed for statistical purposes to range from 15 to 45 years in the U.S.A. In other countries, the range is often set at 15 to 49 years (also known as a woman of reproductive age).
 
Classification System for Contraceptives (JHPIEGO)
A classification of family planning delivery sites by the types of contraceptives they provide:
  • Type I: Pills, condoms, diaphragms, spermicides and injectables only
  • Type II: IUDs, and Norplant implants (+ Type I services)
  • Type III: Voluntary sterilization (VS) (+ Type I and II services)
Community-Based Services
Reproductive health services generally provided to rural communities through mobile facilities, home-visits, and community workers at fixed distribution points. This approach takes services to the community and is often linked to a family planning clinic.
 
Continuing (FP) Users (also known as Active Users)
Contraceptive users who continue to use a family planning method over a specified period of time.
 
Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR)
A measure of the extent of contraceptive use among a defined population group at a point in time. For population-based statistics, the numerator and the denominator usually come from household surveys (with the numerator consisting of the number of women calculated to be using a contraceptive in a community or country, including male-oriented methods, and the denominator usually consisting of women of reproductive age [sometimes just married women] in the same community or country).
 
Couple Years of Protection (CYP)
A measure representing the total number of years of contraceptive protection provided to a country's or community's FP population. For each contraceptive method, the CYP is calculated by taking the number of units distributed to FP clients during a specified period and dividing this number by a constant representing the number of contraceptive units needed or estimated to protect one couple from pregnancy for one year. The value of these constants are method-specific and are derived from empirical evidence on the amount of each method used by a couple during a year.
 
Crude Birth Rate (See Birth Rate)
 
Demography
The study of human populations, including size and age/sex composition. Also involves studies of factors such as fertility, mortality, migration, nuptiality, etc.
 
Fecundity
The physiological capacity of a woman, man, or couple to produce a live child. (Compare with Fertility.)
 
Fertility
The actual output of births, as opposed to the potential output (fecundity).
 
Fertility Rate
The number of live births per 1000 women of reproductive age in a given year and a given place.
 
First (FP) Visit (also known as First [FP] Consultation)
In some countries, this refers only to visits during which a method is given out (in which case, it is equal in number to new FP users); in others, it refers also to visits during which counseling about FP is first given but no method is given out (equal in number to total FP clients).
 
Gravid
Pregnant.
 
Gravidity
The total number of pregnancies a woman has had. (Compare with Parity.)
 
Health Care (Referral) Level
A classification of facilities within a health care system, according to the types of services they provide:

Primary level. Dispensaries, health posts and MCH/FP clinic. These facilities provide basic health services, including health education, simple laboratory tests and treatment.

First referral level. District hospitals with 20+ beds providing inpatient services. These hospitals have staff and equipment necessary to carry out most life-saving surgical and medical procedures. At the first referral level, staff usually include at least one physician and few, if any, medical specialists.

Secondary and tertiary level. Full-service regional hospitals (secondary level) and university teaching and specialized national hospitals (tertiary level). Staff include medical specialists (obstetricians and gynecologists).

 
Life Expectancy
The average number of additional years a person would live if current mortality trends were to continue.
 
New (FP) Program User (also known as New [FP] Acceptor)
Someone who receives family planning services from an agent of a FP program who has never received a contraceptive method from a recognized program before. The essence of a FP services within the context of a program is that clients are provided with counseling, physicals and exams (if required) and followup care, in addition to a method of contraception.
 
Parity
The number of live births a woman has had. A woman of zero parity has had no births, a woman of parity one has had one live birth, etc. (Compare with Gravidity.)
 
Reproductive Health
A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its function and processes.
Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. Implicit in this last condition are the right of men and women to be informed and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of fertility regulation of their choice, and the right of access to appropriate health care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant.
 
Reproductive Health Care
The constellation of methods, techniques and services that contribute to reproductive health and well being through preventing and solving reproductive health problems. (Source: World Health Organization 1994)
 
Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
The average number of children who would be born to a woman during her life time if she were to pass through her childbearing years conforming to the age-specific fertility rates of a given year.

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