Surveillance of family planning services at Title X clinics and characteristics of women receiving these services, 1991.

PROBLEM/CONDITION Public health surveillance data describing family planning services at Title X clinics and characteristics of women receiving these services during 1991 are contained in this report. These data update previously published information concerning characteristics of women and services at such clinics during 1981. REPORTING PERIOD COVERED 1991. DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM Data characterizing patients and services were reported by family planning clinics to Title X grantees. These data for 1991 were provided by all 75 grantees to CDC's Family Planning Services Surveillance (FPSS) project. RESULTS In 1991, 4.2 million women received services at Title X clinics. Overall, 69.5% of family planning patients had chosen oral contraceptives as their method of contraception, and 64.7% of patients were at or below the federal poverty level. In addition to information characterizing patients and services at Title X clinics, this report also evaluated current data-collection methods used by Title X grantees. Complexities in the analysis reflected variations in the quality and availability of data, including differences in definitions, data-collection instruments at the clinic level, and data categories. INTERPRETATION The number and characteristics of family planning patients receiving services at Title X clinics during 1991 were similar to the number and characteristics during 1981. Furthermore, these results underscore the need to improve the quality and timeliness of family planning data and to facilitate program planning and operations at the grantee level. ACTIONS TAKEN These surveillance findings have been communicated to state family planning administrators and to national Title X program administrators. This information will be used to assess how publicly funded family planning clinics currently contribute to health-care delivery and how these clinics might contribute to a national system of reproductive health-care services in the future.