Culture, Politics, Ideology and Reproductive Health in Turkey

This book reports the findings of a collaborative research project between Harvard University's School of Public Health and Bahçesehir University. Also viewed are the data from a national survey of cultural and particularly fertility values. It is found that religiosity, ethnicity and social class impact the reproductive behavior of Turkish women.

The main objective of the book is to evaluate the impact of education programs targeting women's reproductive health, initiated and sponsored by Willows International. The book focuses on Turkey, and the fi eldwork was carried out in Istanbul. The analyses of Turkey's cultural values and their relation to reproductive attitudes and behavior are a unique contribution based on the fi ndings of a recent nationwide survey while the chapter on the historical background of Turkey's family planning policies provides a useful background to interpret the fi ndings from the field. The book will serve as a reference and a useful resource for scholars and policymakers interested in family planning and reproductive health in Turkey as well as those with a broader and theoretical perspective.

Autorentext

Yilmaz Esmer is a professor of political science and international relations at Bahçesehir University in Istanbul. He received his bachelor's degree from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is an active researcher in a number of international projects including the World Values Surveys and the European Values Study. He is the principal investigator of the Harvard-Bahçesehir project on reproductive health whose fi ndings are analyzed in this book.

Inhalt

Y lmaz Esmer : Introduction - Y lmaz Esmer : Cultural Values, Reproductive Health and Family Planning: The Turkish Case - Rahime Süleymanölu-Kürüm : Politics of Family Planning in Turkey: Ideological Polarization and Demographic Policies - Iqbal H. Shah : Studying the Impact of a Community-based Family Planning Intervention in Ghana, Pakistan, Tanzania and Turkey: Strengths and Challenges - Duygu Karadon : Factors Influencing Reproductive Health Decision-Making - Sarah Huber-Krum : Ethnic and Regional Diversity in Family Planning Behaviors - Bahar Ayça Okçuölu and Sarah Huber-Krum : Associations between Women's Empowerment, Conservatism and Contraceptive Trends - Ryoko Sato : Effect of Distance to, and Service Availability of, Health Facilities on Family Planning Use among Urban Turkish Women - Julia Katherine Rohr : Contraceptive Choices and Fertility Preferences .