Exploring perceptions of policymakers about main strategies to enhance fertility rate
A qualitative study in Iran
Keywords:
Iran, Population policy, Qualitative study, Fertility rateAbstract
Background: Total fertility rate in Iran has declined unprecedentedly over the past thirty years. However, debating on proper strategies to increase fertility is still a matter of discussion among experts.
Objective: To explain the main strategies to increase fertility from the viewpoints of the policy makers.
Methods: This is a qualitative study using content analysis. Purposeful sampling approach was used to gather data. The data were collected via semi-structured interviews. Eight experts participated in the study and the main criteria were executive experience related to public health, scientific publication in these areas and availability as well as their own interest. Content analysis was used to extract the codes.
Results: The main theme extracted was improving the infrastructures. Almost all participants agreed on interventions around removing marriage obstacles, improving working conditions for women, improving the quality of the educational system, training and consultation, research, and improving services to increase fertility rate.
Conclusions: The government should formulate long-term instead of short-term policies, and note that improving the economic conditions along with the promotion of social welfare, and enabling women in balancing work and family, are highly influential in childbearing decision-making, as they ensure a better future for the next generation. In addition, people should touch on the potential risk of future fertility reduction, so it is suggested to inform the public through free discussions.
References
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2015). World
Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision, Key Findings and Advance Tables. Working Paper No.
ESA/P/WP.241.
McDonald P, Hosseini Chavoshi M, Abbasi Shavazi MJ, Rashidian A. An assessment of recent Iranian
fertility trends using parity progression ratios. Demographic Research. 2015; 32: 1581-602. doi:
4054/DemRes.2015.32.58.
Findings of 2011 national population and household census. Statistical Centre of Iran; 2011.
Schleutker E. Determinants of Childbearing: A Review of the Literature. Zeitschrift für Soziologie. 2014;
(3): 192-211.
McDonald P. Low fertility and policy. Ageing Horizons. 2007; 7: 22-7.
Balbo N, Billari FC, Mills M. Fertility in Advanced Societies: A Review of Research: La fécondité dans les
sociétés avancées: un examen des recherches. Eur J Popul. 2013; 29(1): 1-38. doi: 10.1007/s10680-012- 9277-y. PMID: 23440941, PMCID: PMC3576563.
Mills M, Rindfuss RR, McDonald P, Te Velde E. Why do people postpone parenthood? Reasons and social
policy incentives. Hum Reprod Update. 2011; 17(6): 848-60. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmr026. PMID:
, PMCID: PMC3529638.
Ezeh AC, Bongaarts J, Mberu B. Global population trends and policy options. The Lancet. 2012;
(9837): 142-8. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60696-5.
Frejka T, Gietel-Basten S. Fertility and Family Policies in Central and Eastern Europe after 1990.
Comparative Population Studies. 2016; 41(1): 3-56. doi: 10.12765/CPoS-2016-03en.
Mills MC. The Dutch Fertility Paradox: How the Netherlands Has Managed to Sustain Near-Replacement
Fertility. Springer . 2015; 161-88. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-21482-5_9.
Luci Greulich A, Thévenon O. The Impact of Family Policies on Fertility Trends in Developed Countries.
European Journal of Population / Revue européenne de Démographie. 2013; 29(4): 387-416. doi:
1007/s10680-013-9295-4.
Doepke M, Kindermann F. Bargaining over Babies: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications. 2016. doi:
3386/w22072.
McDonald P. Sustaining fertility through public policy: The range of options. Population. 2002; 57(3): 417- 46. doi: 10.3917/popu.203.0423.
Aloosh M, Aloosh A. Iran: the health cost of a political order. Lancet. 2014; 384(9958): 1926-7. doi:
1016/S0140-6736(14)62277-7. PMID: 25435449.
Aloosh M, Saghai Y. Birth control policies in Iran: a public health and ethics perspective. J Epidemiol
Community Health. 2016; 70(6): 529-33. doi: 10.1136/jech-2015-205572. PMID: 26759127.
Erfani A. Curbing family planning in Iran: an appraisal of Bill 446. J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care. 2015;
(4): 317-8. doi: 10.1136/jfprhc-2015-101254. PMID: 26399596.
Karamouzian M, Sharifi H, Haghdoost AA. Iran’s shift in family planning policies: concerns and
challenges. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2014; 3(5): 231-3. doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2014.81. PMID: 25337596,
PMCID: PMC4204741.
Bagheri Lankarani K. Changing Population Policy in Iran. Shiraz E-Med J. 2015; 16(2): e27537. doi:
17795/semj27537.
Malterud K. Qualitative research: standards, challenges, and guidelines. lancet. 2001; 358(9280): 483-8.
doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(01)05627-6. PMID: 11513933.
Pope C, Mays N. Qualitative research in health care: Blackwell Publishing Ltd; 2006. doi:
1002/9780470750841.
Speziale HS, Streubert HJ, Carpenter DR. Qualitative research in nursing: Advancing the humanistic
imperative: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2002.
Graneheim UH, Lundman B. Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and
measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Educ Today. 2004; 24(2): 105-12. doi:
1016/j.nedt.2003.10.001. PMID: 14769454.
Guba EG. Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic inquiries. Educational Technology
Research and Development. 1981; 29(2): 75-91. doi: 10.1007/BF02766777.
Lincoln YS. Emerging criteria for quality in qualitative and interpretive research. Qualitative inquiry. 1995;
(3): 275-89.
Statistical Centre of Iran [cited 06/02/2017].
Tsuya NO. Below-Replacement Fertility in Japan: Patterns, Factors, and Policy Implications. Low and
Lower Fertility: Springer; 2015; 87-106.
Saraceno C. The Italian family from the 1960s to the present. Modern Italy. 2004; 9(1): 47-57. doi:
1080/13532940410001677494.
Goldstein J, Kreyenfeld M, Jasilioniene A, Örsal DDK. Fertility reactions to the" Great Recession" in
Europe: Recent evidence from order-specific data. Demographic Research. 2013; 29: 85-104. doi:
4054/DemRes.2013.29.4.
Spoorenberg T. Explaining recent fertility increase in Central Asia. Asian Population Studies. 2015; 11(2):
-33. doi: 10.1080/17441730.2015.1027275.
Parr N, Guest R. The contribution of increases in family benefits to Australia's early 21st-century fertility
increase: An empirical analysis. Demographic Research. 2011; 25(6): 215-44. doi:
4054/DemRes.2011.25.6.
Hosseini H. Demographic Transition, Window of Opportunity, and Population Bonus: Toward a New
Population Policy in Iran. Paper Accepted for Presentation at the European Population Conference,
Stockholm, Sweden; 2012.
Fent T, Diaz BA, Prskawetz A. Family policies in the context of low fertility and social structure.
Demographic Research. 2013; 29(37): 963-98. doi: 10.4054/DemRes.2013.29.37.
Abbasi Shavazi MJ, McDonald P, Hosseini Chavoshi M. The Fertility Transition in Iran: Revolution and
Reproduction. 1 ed: Springer Netherlands; 2009; 17-42.
Abbasi MJ, Mehryar A, Jones G, McDonald P. Revolution, war and modernization: Population policy and
fertility change in Iran. Journal of Population Research. 2002; 19(1): 25-46. doi: 10.1007/BF03031967.
Chavoshi MH, Abbasi Shavazi MJ, McDonald P. Women’s autonomy and reproductive behavior in Iran.
The Fertility Transition in Iran: Revolution and Reproduction: Springer Netherlands; 2004; 163-77.
Aghajanian A. A new direction in population policy and family planning in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Asia-Pacific population journal/United Nations. 1995; 10(1): 3-20.
Salehi Isfahani D, Abbasi Shavazi MJ, Hosseini Chavoshi M. Family planning and fertility decline in rural
Iran: The impact of rural health clinics. Health economics. 2010; 19(S1): 159-80. doi: 10.1002/hec.1613.
Cleland J, Conde-Agudelo A, Peterson H, Ross J, Tsui A. Contraception and health. Lancet. 2012;
(9837): 149-56. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60609-6. PMID: 22784533.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 KNOWLEDGE KINGDOM PUBLISHING
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.