Training of opinion leaders in family planning in India: does it serve any purpose? 1996

V Sharma, and A Sharma
Department of Community Medicine, P.S. Medical College, Karamsad, Gujarat, India.

Community leaders are known to play a crucial role in the diffusion of innovations. The government of India started an ambitious programme for the training of opinion leaders in family planning, so as to provide a boost to its National Family Planning (Welfare) Programme. The present study attempts to analyse the knowledge, attitudes and practices of opinion leaders who had been trained in such Orientation Training Camps, vis a vis their untrained counterparts from the same geopolitical region. There was a highly significant difference between the knowledge of the two groups (p < 0.001) and a minor difference in their attitudes towards family planning (p = 0.18), but the practices of opinion leaders from both the groups were identical, thus pointing to a significant KAP-gap in the trained group. Opinion leaders from both the groups were engaged in minimal or negligible motivational work among their followers for acceptance of contraception, and only a very limited few from both the groups had themselves adopted any method of modern contraception.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007194 India A country in southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan. The capitol is New Delhi. Republic of India
D007722 Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Knowledge, attitudes, and associated behaviors which pertain to health-related topics such as PATHOLOGIC PROCESSES or diseases, their prevention, and treatment. This term refers to non-health workers and health workers (HEALTH PERSONNEL). Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
D007857 Leadership The function of directing or controlling the actions or attitudes of an individual or group with more or less willing acquiescence of the followers. Influentials
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D009042 Motivation Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli. Incentives,Disincentives,Expectations,Disincentive,Expectation,Incentive,Motivations
D010342 Patient Acceptance of Health Care Patients' willingness to receive health care. Acceptability of Health Care,Health Care Seeking Behavior,Acceptability of Healthcare,Acceptors of Health Care,Health Care Utilization,Nonacceptors of Health Care,Patient Acceptance of Healthcare,Care Acceptor, Health,Care Acceptors, Health,Care Nonacceptor, Health,Care Nonacceptors, Health,Health Care Acceptability,Health Care Acceptor,Health Care Acceptors,Health Care Nonacceptor,Health Care Nonacceptors,Healthcare Acceptabilities,Healthcare Acceptability,Healthcare Patient Acceptance,Healthcare Patient Acceptances,Utilization, Health Care
D003150 Community Health Workers Persons trained to assist professional health personnel in communicating with residents in the community concerning needs and availability of health services. Barefoot Doctors,Community Health Aides,Village Health Worker,Family Planning Personnel,Family Planning Personnel Characteristics,Village Health Workers,Aide, Community Health,Aides, Community Health,Barefoot Doctor,Community Health Aide,Community Health Worker,Doctor, Barefoot,Doctors, Barefoot,Health Aide, Community,Health Aides, Community,Health Worker, Community,Health Worker, Village,Health Workers, Community,Health Workers, Village,Personnel, Family Planning,Planning Personnel, Family,Worker, Community Health,Worker, Village Health,Workers, Community Health,Workers, Village Health
D003256 Community Participation Involvement of members of the community in the affairs of that community. Community Action,Consumer Involvement,Consumer Participation,Community Involvement,Public Participation,Action, Community,Actions, Community,Community Actions,Community Involvements,Consumer Involvements,Involvement, Community,Involvement, Consumer,Involvements, Community,Participation, Community,Participation, Consumer,Participation, Public
D004059 Diffusion of Innovation The broad dissemination of new ideas, procedures, techniques, materials, and devices and the degree to which these are accepted and used. Innovation Diffusion,Diffusion, Innovation

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