World Scientific Research

To understand women´s needs related to the care in family planning, we conducted a meta-synthesis based on Noblit and Hare´s meta-ethnography. Nine studies were included in this review. Five themes were identified: sociocultural access, geographical access, economic access, organizational access and quality of care. A "line of argument" synthesis was produced with six constructs: sociocultural context, accessibility, availability, functional adequacy, ability of purchasing, technical and relational adequacy. The needs relating to family planning was understood to multiple dimensions of access to health services. The most relevant aspects were: financial condition, gender and religion related as determinants of reproductive decisions; health resources inadequacy; concerns with side effects; unsatisfactory interpersonal relations; lack of information and counseling; difficulties for male access. To overcome the distance between recommended care and provided care at the services it is indispensable organization of actions committed to gender equality, considering objective and subjective aspects to the care in family planning.