Social workers play an important role in population planning by motivating people, creating awareness, and clarifying doubts about family planning methods. They work to change attitudes, coordinate agencies, strengthen participation of key community members, study the nature of problems related to population growth, and conduct social research. Social workers serve on teams, advocate for family planning programs, train communities, provide counseling, supervise programs and conduct evaluations, advise on social policy, and assist with community development efforts related to controlling population growth.

1. [Type text] By Uzma Batool , M.phil scholarat IslamiauniversityBahawalpur
ROLE OF SOCIAL WORKER IN POPULATION PLANNING
Social work is profession with many faces and is not limited to one or two fields .It intervenes in all social
aspects of human life and aims at bringing positive changes. All social problems are multi dimensional
and leave negative impacts on society. In Pakistan population is increasing at a significance rate and all
the efforts for development go waste. Our country is unable to adjust such a large population and our
masses are compelled to live in miseries. Such odd circumstances call for the intervention of professional
social worker who possesses the knowledge and expertise to address this issue. Role of social worker is
determined by the situation in which he gives his services, anyhow major role of social worker in the field
of population is as under.
1. TO CHANGE THE ATTITUDE OF PEOPLE(AS A MOTIVATOR)
To change the attitude of people, social worker motivates the masses and plays his role as a motivator
working in the different organizations. The focus of social worker is to convince and motivate people to
practice family planning methods so that population may be controlled. Social workers deploy different
techniques to motivate the people according to situation.
2. TO CREATE AWARENESS IN MASSES ABOUT FAMILY PLANNING
One of the most important roles of social worker is to create awareness about the different methods
Of population control. There are different techniques of raising awareness at individual, group,
community and mass level.
TO COORDINATE BETWEEN AGENCIES WORKING ON POPULATION PLANNING
As a coordinator, social worker coordinates among different agencies which are working on family
planning program. Basically coordination means to work systematically or carry out the activities in
logical consequence.
3. TO STRENGTHEN PARTICIPATION OF KEY PERSONS
Social workers are aware about the fact that key persons are opinion makers at local level and also of
influential persons in the fields of social development in general and in population planning particularly.
So he makes efforts to seek their support for fruitful results of this program.
4. CLEARIFICATION OF DOUBTS ON THE PART OF PEOPLE
Majority of our population is living in rural areas and is illiterate, so they don’t possess the capability to
analyze the facts. They blindly believe in whatever has been told to them. At times, they get doubts about
new things, here the role of social worker is to remove the misunderstanding and clarify the doubts in the
minds of the people.
5. TO STUDY THE NATURE OF PROBLEM
Due to population growth, may other problems prevail and become the cause of prosperity. So social
workers working for the welfare of the people try to know the actual and factual causes and nature of the
problem.

2. [Type text] By Uzma Batool , M.phil scholarat IslamiauniversityBahawalpur
6. TO SERVE AS A MEMBER OF A TEAM
Social workers mostly serve as a member of team and sometimes as a team leader. While working withina
team, social workers perform man jobs such as mobilize, organizer, coordinator and team leader also.
7. AS AN ADVOCATE
In our country there is widespread misunderstanding on the part of masses and social workers serve as
advocate for the family planning program. Advocacy campaign is devised to build and sustain adoption of
the small family norms. Awareness is raised about population and development issue by engaging change
agents to communicate on the impact of runway population growth on the lives of individual, family and
communities.
8. AS TRAINER
When social workers work in family planning projects , they also train the community groups about the
need and importance of family planning. They motivate people to give a quality life to their children
rather than having more and more children. In this way social workers arrange community meetings and
educate them about positive impacts of family planning.
9. AS COUNSELLOR
Counseling is central to family planning services. Improvement in client-provider interaction may lead to
higher rate of contraceptive adoption and reduce abortion rate. Counseling process is client-centered
which means dealing all clients with respect, regardless of their age, ethnic affiliation and socio-economic
group. Social workers maintain confidentiality and do not take it personal when conducting sessions and
dealing any case.
10. SUPERVISION OF PROGRAM AND EVALUATION
Supervision in social work is a complex process, which encompasses the following primary
functions: administrative case management, reflecting on and learning from practice, emotional
support, mediation and professional development. When population planning projects are started,soial
workers the program and its achievement. Further more social workers also evaluate the
achievements of family planning programs in a particular community.
11. DEVELOP OR ADVISE ON SOCIAL POLICY AND ASSIST IN COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT.
Policy making includes the demand of public, demographic data of specific region for which policy is
devised. Social workers also take part in determining what services the public health system offers,
where and what the next strategic planning is required for policy making.
12. CONDUCT SOCIAL RESEARCH
Research plays a critical role in initiate family planning programs in a country. It is also essential in
identifying and overcoming the social and economic inequalities and health system deficiencies that
obstruct the achievement of the standards of reproductive health for all.
The Department of Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organization (WHO) is
committed to providing global leadership in setting the research agenda on the delivery of
reproductive health services and improving access to family planning services.