A study in family planning communication-Direct mailing.

It is sometimes stated that direct mailing to individuals in developing countries like India may be wasteful due to the low literacy rate among village people. Direct mailing is a relatively new development in India and comparatively a newer channel of communication. An exploratory study was carried out by the Central Family Planning Institute to test this hypothesis. The observations made showed that direct mailing is practical, controllable, inexpensive, and useful.The information provided by direct mailing seems to cross the barriers of illiteracy. Based on this experience, the Central Family Planning Institute has initiated a large-scale communication action research project in Meerut district in North India where the impact of direct mailing on specific groups is being studied further. It is hoped that such studies would help in developing prototype information material and would provide a methodology to supplement the available channels of communication in a nation-wide family planning program.