Iranian women's perceptions of family-planning services quality: a client-satisfaction survey.

As Iran (IR) is included among the most successful developing countries in family planning, clarification and expression of the ideas and needs of women receiving the services not only have a great positive impact on national policies but also may be of interest to other nations. This research was conducted to clarify the client perceptions of the quality of family planning services in the capital cities of the two largest provinces of Iran. A representative sample of 909 women aged 15-50 referred to health centers were interviewed by skillful interviewers in a private area after obtaining informed consent. A questionnaire consisting of baseline data and 17 five-point Likert-scaled items measuring the satisfaction of clients and perceived importance of each item was developed by investigators. Half were aged 26-35 years, and most (84%) were housewives. The highest percentage of dissatisfaction was reported in relation to 'privacy protection' item. However, when the importance score was included, too, 'provision of sufficient information regarding other contraceptive methods' and 'unavailability of all methods' implicated the areas where priorities should be focused. The satisfaction levels obtained by the survey should be carefully heeded, and the supply chain and provision of information to the clients may be the first priorities in the process of improving the quality of care.