Quality of care, a client-centered approach to providing high-quality health care as a basic human right, has emerged as a critical element of family planning and reproductive health programs. It has been promoted by local stakeholders, including women's health and primary health care organizations, and affirmed at international conferences, such as the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development.
The New Perspectives on Quality of Care series, produced by PRB and the Population Council looks at different facets of quality of care. These briefs provide an overview of how quality of care can be implemented in reproductive health programs; describe clients' perspectives and the barriers clients may encounter in seeking care; and look at providers' concerns in providing services that reflect the quality of care concept. The series also discusses the various definitions of quality of care in the context of reproductive health and suggests tools for measuring it.
The first three briefs in the series are available in HTML and PDF formats. The series also includes a short literature review on best practices in client-provider interactions in reproductive health care.