Informed choice in international family planning service delivery : strategies for the 21st century.

Report of a Global Working Group Meeting held at the Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio Study and Conference Center, Bellagio, Italy, November 18-24, 1998

This document addresses issues concerning true informed choice in service delivery settings as discussed by the Global Working Group (GWG). "Informed choice" describes a dynamic process of individual decision-making in health care. It would define the process by which empowered individuals arrive at informed decisions regarding whether to obtain or decline treatment or services, what treatment or services to select, whether to seek and follow-up on a referral, or to further consider the matter. The informed choice process can occur alone or in consultation with health care providers, family, or friends; it should ideally be responsive to individual needs. Members of the GWG identified eight priority objectives that are essential to true informed choice in service delivery settings. These are the following: 1) ensure reproductive and sexual rights; 2) overcome power and knowledge imbalances; 3) make informed choice a process that is for and about clients; 4) address the multiple needs of individuals; 5) transform and complement the "medical model"; 6) adapt to low-resource settings; 7) ensure method choice; and 8) build broadened alliances. To achieve these overarching goals, the GWG also developed specific and cross-cutting strategic approaches in four main areas: research and evaluation, advocacy, service delivery, and training