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Frontline Health Achievements In Harmonizing Measurement And Generating Evidence On Community Health System Performance, Frontline Health Project Oct 2021

Frontline Health Achievements In Harmonizing Measurement And Generating Evidence On Community Health System Performance, Frontline Health Project

Reproductive Health

As the global health community demonstrates an increasing commitment to investing in community health workers (CHWs) to achieve universal health coverage in lower- and middle-income countries, the need to effectively measure community health system performance is paramount. Embedded in the Integrating Community Health partnership (2017–2021), with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Population Council and Last Mile Health co-led the Frontline Health (FLH) project, a four-year research, policy, and advocacy initiative aimed at developing core metrics and CHW reform processes, advancing their adoption, and promoting institutionalization of robust community health policies. This brief describes the Population Council’s …


Integrate Project Results: Family Planning Knowledge And Quality Of Care Received From Community Pharmacists And Patent And Proprietary Medicine Vendors, The Integrate Project Aug 2021

Integrate Project Results: Family Planning Knowledge And Quality Of Care Received From Community Pharmacists And Patent And Proprietary Medicine Vendors, The Integrate Project

Reproductive Health

In Nigeria, Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) are the first point of care for many common illnesses. Although CPs and PPMVs are not formally recognized as family planning (FP) service providers, 22% of modern contraceptive users report receiving their last method from a PPMV and 12% from a private pharmacy. PPMVs are popular for FP because of their widespread availability, consistent drug stocks, extended hours, personable interactions, and lack of separate fees for consultations. As the Federal Ministry of Health explores expanding its task sharing policy to include CPs and PPMVs, evidence is needed on …


Issues For Consideration In The Scale-Up Of The Inclusion Of Family Planning In The National Health Insurance Benefits Package In Ghana, Kamil Fuseini, Augustine Ankomah Jun 2021

Issues For Consideration In The Scale-Up Of The Inclusion Of Family Planning In The National Health Insurance Benefits Package In Ghana, Kamil Fuseini, Augustine Ankomah

Reproductive Health

Ghana is working toward achieving universal health coverage (UHC). This is driven, in part, by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 3—Good Health and Well-Being, which seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Achieving this feat will improve equity of access as people, especially the poor can access quality health services without financial hardships. Ensuring equitable access to family planning (FP) is essential to securing the well-being of women and supporting the health and development of communities. One pathway to ensuring equity is the inclusion of FP in affordable insurance. While the inclusion …


Inclusion Of Family Planning Within The National Health Insurance Benefits Package In Ghana: A Health Facility Assessment, Population Council, Ministry Of Health, Ghana Health Service, National Health Insurance Authority, Marie Stopes International Ghana Jun 2021

Inclusion Of Family Planning Within The National Health Insurance Benefits Package In Ghana: A Health Facility Assessment, Population Council, Ministry Of Health, Ghana Health Service, National Health Insurance Authority, Marie Stopes International Ghana

Reproductive Health

In Ghana, National Health Insurance Act 852 of 2012 ensures that health-care benefits include family planning (FP) services, however people continue to pay for FP services because the policy is yet to be implemented in practice. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Health, the National Health Insurance Authority in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service, Marie Stopes International-Ghana and the Population Council implemented a pilot project to remove FP service out-of-pocket costs. All modern clinical FP methods were added to national health insurance and expensed by health facilities through the national health insurance claims process. The intervention significantly increased …


Evaluating The Inclusion Of Family Planning Within The National Health Insurance Benefits Package In Ghana, Kamil Fuseini, Augustine Ankomah Nov 2020

Evaluating The Inclusion Of Family Planning Within The National Health Insurance Benefits Package In Ghana, Kamil Fuseini, Augustine Ankomah

Reproductive Health

Contraceptive use in Ghana has remained low despite annual increases since 2012. Having a high unmet need for family planning (FP) suggests that there may be barriers to access and uptake. Over time, several policies, including Ghana’s Costed Implementation Plan from 2015–20, have suggested FP initiatives to improve contraceptive use yet they have not been entirely implemented. Further, although FP was included in the health insurance act passed in 2003, amended in 2008, and revised in 2012, which indicated that health-care benefits include FP, people continue to pay out of pocket for services at National Health Insurance Authority facilities because …


Modeling The Impact Of Inclusion Of Family Planning Services In Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme, Justin Archer, Gillian Eva, Augustine Ankomah, Saumya Ramarao, Kamil Fuseini, Anne Coolen, Stephen Duku, Benjamin Bellows Sep 2020

Modeling The Impact Of Inclusion Of Family Planning Services In Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme, Justin Archer, Gillian Eva, Augustine Ankomah, Saumya Ramarao, Kamil Fuseini, Anne Coolen, Stephen Duku, Benjamin Bellows

Reproductive Health

While access to and uptake of modern family planning (FP) in Ghana has steadily risen over the last decade, the modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR) among all women reached only 22% in 2019 with 30% of women still reporting unmet need. To increase FP uptake via mitigation of cost barriers among women with unmet need, the Government of Ghana is seeking to integrate claims-based FP services into the National Health Insurance Scheme benefits package. The impact of these activities has the potential to be significant with the proportion of women accessing modern FP shifting dramatically to public facilities over the …


Quality Of Care Received For Family Planning From Community Pharmacists And Patent And Proprietary Medicine Vendors In Lagos And Kaduna, Nigeria: The Integrate Project, Population Council Mar 2020

Quality Of Care Received For Family Planning From Community Pharmacists And Patent And Proprietary Medicine Vendors In Lagos And Kaduna, Nigeria: The Integrate Project, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The IntegratE Project is a four-year initiative (2017–21) implemented by the Population Council and partners that seeks to increase access to contraceptive methods by involving the private sector (community pharmacists [CPs] and patent and proprietary medicine vendors [PPMVs] in family planning (FP) service delivery in Lagos and Kaduna States, Nigeria. The project aims to establish a regulatory system with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria to ensure that CPs and PPMVs provide quality FP services, comply with regulations, and report service statistics to the Health Information Management System. To achieve this, the project is implementing: a pilot three-tiered accreditation system for …


Assessing Quality Of Care And Outcomes For Women And Their Infants In Nigeria After Pregnancies Complicated By Hypertensive Disorders, Salisu Mohammed Ishaku, Gloria Adoyi, Innocent Agbo, Karen Kirk, Pooja Sripad, Charlotte E. Warren Jan 2019

Assessing Quality Of Care And Outcomes For Women And Their Infants In Nigeria After Pregnancies Complicated By Hypertensive Disorders, Salisu Mohammed Ishaku, Gloria Adoyi, Innocent Agbo, Karen Kirk, Pooja Sripad, Charlotte E. Warren

Reproductive Health

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs) are the leading cause of maternal mortality in Nigeria—now killing more women than postpartum hemorrhage. Various factors, including lack of capacity among lower-level health-care providers to detect, manage, and refer complications, have been indicated as reasons for most of these deaths. A landscape analysis of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (PE/E) in Nigeria identified a lack of further information after delivery about the women who experienced HDPs. In this study, the Ending Eclampsia project recruited women with HDPs around the time of childbirth, and prospectively followed them for up to one year postpartum. The study evaluated the care these …


Assessing The Feasibility Of Primary Health Care Provider Prescription Of Anti-Hypertensive Medication To Pregnant Women In Bangladesh, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Kanij Sultana, Shongkour Roy, Pooja Sripad, Charlotte E. Warren Jan 2019

Assessing The Feasibility Of Primary Health Care Provider Prescription Of Anti-Hypertensive Medication To Pregnant Women In Bangladesh, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Kanij Sultana, Shongkour Roy, Pooja Sripad, Charlotte E. Warren

Reproductive Health

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs)—which are major contributors of maternal and newborn mortality, morbidity, and disability—are preventable. About 24 percent of maternal deaths in Bangladesh each year are due to pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (PE/E). A known cause of death in women with PE/E is cerebrovascular accident, which occurs due to rapidly increasing blood pressure (BP). Elevated BP associated with pregnancy should be detected and appropriately managed before onset of convulsions (eclampsia) and other life-threatening complications. For women presenting with severe PE/E, magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) is the recommended drug for convulsion management. Anti-hypertensive medicines are also recommended for control of high …


Hypertensive Disorders In Pregnancy: Assessing Postnatal Quality Of Care And Outcomes For Women And Their Infants In Bangladesh, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Kanij Sultana, Salma Rouf, Rabeya Akter, Shongkour Roy, Sumaiya Anwar, Karen Kirk, Charlotte E. Warren Jan 2019

Hypertensive Disorders In Pregnancy: Assessing Postnatal Quality Of Care And Outcomes For Women And Their Infants In Bangladesh, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Kanij Sultana, Salma Rouf, Rabeya Akter, Shongkour Roy, Sumaiya Anwar, Karen Kirk, Charlotte E. Warren

Reproductive Health

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs) are the second leading cause of maternal mortality in Bangladesh, responsible for 24 percent of maternal deaths. Various factors, such as lack of health-care provider capacities for detecting, preventing, and managing pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (PE/E), late referrals, late (or lack of) antenatal care (ANC), and poor awareness of PE/E, are factors in most of these deaths. While some information was available on the prenatal and postnatal periods, an evidence gap existed in information after delivery through the first year postnatal, and beyond. In this prospective cohort study, the Ending Eclampsia project recruited married women ages …


Enhancing Customer Satisfaction For Health Services, Deepa Rajamani, Saumya Ramarao Jan 2019

Enhancing Customer Satisfaction For Health Services, Deepa Rajamani, Saumya Ramarao

Reproductive Health

The Family Planning (FP) 2020 global partnership has achieved significant gains since its inception, and while it strives to accelerate uptake of voluntary FP services, women in developing countries continue to face an unmet need for modern contraceptive services. Critical opportunities for action exist in the area of understanding the effects of quality of family planning services and continued contraceptive use. Measuring and tracking the quality of FP services is an important aspect of improving service delivery, and client feedback also offers critical insight into the design of demand generation and uptake strategies for a contraceptive. In this report, we …


Positioning Family Planning Quality Within Health Financing For Uhc: Connecting The Discourse, Gabrielle Appleford, Saumya Ramarao, Benjamin Bellows, Leah Jarvis Jan 2019

Positioning Family Planning Quality Within Health Financing For Uhc: Connecting The Discourse, Gabrielle Appleford, Saumya Ramarao, Benjamin Bellows, Leah Jarvis

Reproductive Health

Financing is a major challenge and concern for the future of the delivery of voluntary family planning (FP) services to clients, particularly in low- and middle-income countries with high unmet need and limited method choice. As countries commit to universal health coverage (UHC), it is crucial that UHC schemes include FP and other reproductive health (RH) services. Strategic purchasing of quality FP services from public and private—including for profit and not-for-profit—health-care providers could accelerate progress toward UHC. It is increasingly recognized that the FP2020 goals will not be met without adequate attention to quality, and that a sustained focus on …


Expanding Contraceptive Choice, Heather Clark, Saumya Ramarao, Catherine Unthank, Kazuyo Machiyama, Nandita Thatte Jan 2018

Expanding Contraceptive Choice, Heather Clark, Saumya Ramarao, Catherine Unthank, Kazuyo Machiyama, Nandita Thatte

Reproductive Health

Expanding the range of contraceptive options helps individuals to make choices appropriate to their needs and circumstances, allows them to switch from one method to another if desired, and reflects a program focus on quality and rights. This policy brief outlines policy and program considerations in order to establish and maintain well-functioning supply chains for an expanded choice of contraceptives: introducing new contraceptive technologies to satisfy the diverse preferences of women and their partners; overcoming access barriers to existing methods such as adverse economic and social circumstances, including gender norms; and maximizing the potential of expanded contraceptive choice by ensuring …


Using Evidence To Improve Quality Of Pharmacy-Delivered Medical Abortion, Katharine Footman, Nancy Termini Lachance Jan 2018

Using Evidence To Improve Quality Of Pharmacy-Delivered Medical Abortion, Katharine Footman, Nancy Termini Lachance

Reproductive Health

The goal of family planning and reproductive health operations research is to generate evidence that helps policies and programs maximize access to and quality of services for women and their families. Yet the crucial step of ensuring the utilization of that evidence often receives inconsistent or inadequate attention. The goal of this case study is to document an activity of Marie Stopes International (MSI) in Kenya, part of the STEP UP research program consortium, which resulted in successful evidence utilization. STEP UP research on quality of care for medical abortion, particularly on pharmacy provision of medical abortion, has provided the …


Improving Family Planning Service Delivery In Humanitarian Crises, Chi-Chi Undie, Rajat Khosla, Karl Blanchet Jan 2017

Improving Family Planning Service Delivery In Humanitarian Crises, Chi-Chi Undie, Rajat Khosla, Karl Blanchet

Reproductive Health

Meeting family planning (FP) needs in humanitarian emergencies is challenging but feasible, and could present opportunities for reaching marginalized, remote, or otherwise underserved populations. Although high-quality evidence on family planning in emergencies is needed to improve access to voluntary FP services in humanitarian settings, this evidence brief identifies several promising, evidence-based interventions that can help improve uptake: provide comprehensive SRH services in line with global norms, provide a full range of family planning methods via mobile clinics, train mobile health workers to provide short-acting methods, second refugee providers to health facilities to provide FP in humanitarian settings, train community health …


Fact Sheet—How Does Quality Of Care Relate To A Rights-Based Approach To Family Planning Programs?, Jan Kumar Jan 2016

Fact Sheet—How Does Quality Of Care Relate To A Rights-Based Approach To Family Planning Programs?, Jan Kumar

Reproductive Health

Because policymakers are challenged by numerous, overlapping definitions of quality of care, with uncertainty about which to adopt, there is a need for common understanding of each construct and its contribution to family planning (FP). This factsheet describes several definitions of quality in health care that are widely accepted. It concludes that improving and assuring quality of care is a legal, ethical, and practical imperative, and is instrumental in achieving outcomes that benefit women, children, and programs. If donors embrace, fund, and hold governments accountable to the fullness of a rights-based approach for FP with an explicit focus on assuring …


Fact Sheet—Measuring Quality Of Care: A Review Of Methodologies And Indicators, Katherine Tumlinson Jan 2016

Fact Sheet—Measuring Quality Of Care: A Review Of Methodologies And Indicators, Katherine Tumlinson

Reproductive Health

Broad support for the promotion of high-quality service delivery in family planning (FP) programs is rooted in the publication in 1990 of a formal framework outlining its essential elements. This framework, developed by Judith Bruce of the Population Council, defines FP service delivery quality through six critical elements: choice of methods, information provided to clients, interpersonal relations, provider competence, follow-up mechanisms, and appropriate range of services offered. This factsheet argues that despite widespread endorsement of the Bruce framework and development of standardized data collection instruments, obstacles to accurate measures of quality of care remain. It concludes that further discussion within …


Measuring Quality Of Care: A Review Of Previously Used Methodologies And Indicators, Katherine Tumlinson Jan 2016

Measuring Quality Of Care: A Review Of Previously Used Methodologies And Indicators, Katherine Tumlinson

Reproductive Health

Despite successful efforts to increase financial and geographic access to family planning services in many parts of the developing world, large numbers of women with a desire to delay or limit future pregnancies are not using contraceptive methods. Several multi-country, large-scale facility surveys incorporate indicators for measuring the quality of family planning service delivery. These facility surveys use data collection tools such as facility audits, provider and client questionnaires, and third party observation guides. A limited body of research indicates that the validity of these tools is low, however, while large variations in analytical approaches inhibit use of existing literature …


Summary Report Of The Measuring And Monitoring Quality Of Care Meeting, Population Council Jan 2015

Summary Report Of The Measuring And Monitoring Quality Of Care Meeting, Population Council

Reproductive Health

At the request of the Packard Foundation, the Population Council organized a meeting at its office in Washington, DC, on December 16, 2014, to establish links with key stakeholders interested in quality of care, and to refocus attention on challenges in measuring and monitoring diverse dimensions of quality of care. Thirty experts from donor, service, and research organizations participated. This summary report, based on the deliberations at the meeting, is intended as a preamble to the formation of a community of practice for advancing quality of care agenda globally. The key message is that improved quality in service delivery is …


How Does Quality Of Care Relate To A Rights-Based Approach To Family Planning Programs?, Jan Kumar Jan 2015

How Does Quality Of Care Relate To A Rights-Based Approach To Family Planning Programs?, Jan Kumar

Reproductive Health

Quality of care has long been a pillar of health care in general and family planning programs in particular. However, the theme has been getting less attention in recent years and its meaning has gotten blurred, confusing the discourse and what it is donors and governments should invest in and monitor. This paper compares definitions of quality and contrasts them with the essentials of a rights-based approach. It aims to create common understanding of what these terms mean, where they overlap, and how they differ. In its conclusion, this paper argues in favor of adopting the broader construct of rights-based …


Postpartum Family Planning In Burkina Faso, Marina Daniele Jan 2014

Postpartum Family Planning In Burkina Faso, Marina Daniele

Reproductive Health

This is a formative study aiming to identify the main barriers to the provision and uptake of quality postpartum family planning (PPFP) services at the supply, access, demand, and policy levels in Burkina Faso. This study reveals that there are substantial shortfalls in the availability of quality PPFP at all these levels. Most of the difficulties observed in the provision of PPFP services are due to the failure to translate largely sound policies and guidelines into practice. This study contributes to identifying priority areas and makes recommendations for improvement in order to respond to unmet need for family planning in …


Reduce Contraception Discontinuation In Bangladesh By Improving Counseling On Side Effects, Fauzia Akhter Huda, Sabiha Chowdhuri Jan 2014

Reduce Contraception Discontinuation In Bangladesh By Improving Counseling On Side Effects, Fauzia Akhter Huda, Sabiha Chowdhuri

Reproductive Health

High rates of contraceptive discontinuation and method failure could cause Bangladesh to lose the progress made in increasing contraceptive use over the past 20 years. This policy brief concludes that if women are adequately counseled and supported to sustain their use of more effective contraceptive methods, they will need less medical attention, have fewer unintended pregnancies, and reduce the workload for medical clinics. Furthermore, if providers are adequately trained and supported in counseling and managing side effects and in helping women to switch methods when they do have a problem, the Family Planning Clinical Contraception Services Delivery Program would meet …


Reducing Unsafe Menstrual Regulation Through Medication In Bangladesh, Ubaidur Rob, Ismat Ara Hena, Nargis Sultana, Md. Irfan Hossain, Reena Yasmin, Tapash Ranjan Das, Farid Uddin Ahmed Jan 2014

Reducing Unsafe Menstrual Regulation Through Medication In Bangladesh, Ubaidur Rob, Ismat Ara Hena, Nargis Sultana, Md. Irfan Hossain, Reena Yasmin, Tapash Ranjan Das, Farid Uddin Ahmed

Reproductive Health

The Population Council and Marie Stopes Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Directorate General of Family Planning and with funding from the World Health Organization, tested the feasibility of introducing menstrual regulation with medication (MRM) in Bangladesh and assessed the acceptability of providing MRM using the combination drug regimen mifepristone and misoprostol in urban and rural public health facilities. As reported in this policy brief, the study demonstrates that it is feasible and safe to introduce MRM in rural and urban public health facilities. Given the choice, almost two-thirds of women preferred MRM to manual vacuum aspiration and women receiving MRM …


Improving Family Planning Services In Public Health Facilities To Reach More Women, Caroline W. Kabiru, Jessica Brinton, Joyce Mumah, Carol Mukiira, Chimaraoke O. Izugbara Jan 2014

Improving Family Planning Services In Public Health Facilities To Reach More Women, Caroline W. Kabiru, Jessica Brinton, Joyce Mumah, Carol Mukiira, Chimaraoke O. Izugbara

Reproductive Health

Although Kenya has made significant progress in ensuring its citizens’ right to reproductive health, many Kenyans still lack access to or fail to use contraceptives, in part because of the lack of quality family planning (FP) services. Through the STEP UP research program, the African Population and Health Research Center developed a comprehensive country profile report that outlines the status, causes, and consequences of unintended pregnancy in Kenya. One of the most prominent findings was how important public health facilities are to reducing unmet need for FP. In order to solidify gains achieved and make further progress, concerted commitment from …


Quality Of Care And Client Willingness To Pay For Family Planning Services At Marie Stopes International In Burkina Faso, Placide Tapsoba, Dalomi Bahan, Emily Forsyth Queen, Gisele Kaboré, Sally Hughes Jan 2013

Quality Of Care And Client Willingness To Pay For Family Planning Services At Marie Stopes International In Burkina Faso, Placide Tapsoba, Dalomi Bahan, Emily Forsyth Queen, Gisele Kaboré, Sally Hughes

Reproductive Health

Many sexual and reproductive health programs operating in a limited-resource setting face a challenging balancing act between making services accessible and affordable to clients, including those most in need, and remaining financially sustainable. To achieve these dual objectives, the Population Council, with Marie Stopes International in Burkina Faso (MSI BF), launched a willingness-to-pay (WTP) study that examined the current situation and numerous pricing options, proposing optimal prices for products and services. The process of implementing the WTP survey was insightful for MSI BF as it provided evidence on client satisfaction with services and willingness to contribute to the cost of …


Introducing Medical Mr In Bangladesh: Mrm Final Report, Ismat Ara Hena, Ubaidur Rob, Nargis Sultana, Md. Irfan Hossain, Reena Yasmin, Tapash Ranjan Das, Farid Uddin Ahmed Jan 2013

Introducing Medical Mr In Bangladesh: Mrm Final Report, Ismat Ara Hena, Ubaidur Rob, Nargis Sultana, Md. Irfan Hossain, Reena Yasmin, Tapash Ranjan Das, Farid Uddin Ahmed

Reproductive Health

The Population Council Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Directorate General of Family Planning and Marie Stopes Bangladesh, with funding from the World Health Organization and the DFID-supported STEP UP project, conducted an 18-month operations research study from January 2012 to June 2013. This operations research tested the feasibility of introducing menstrual regulation with medication (MRM) in Bangladesh and assessed accessibility of the combination regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol in urban and rural health facilities. Based on this study’s results, the feasibility of introducing MRM services in Bangladesh is clear, and women receiving MRM were satisfied with their overall quality of …


Availability, Use And Quality Of Care For Medical Abortion Services—Preliminary Results Of Two Components: Kiis And The Pharmacy Study, Wilson Liambila, Harriet Birungi, Francis Onyango, Brian Mdawida, Vitalis Akora, Thoai Ngo, Kate Reiss Jan 2013

Availability, Use And Quality Of Care For Medical Abortion Services—Preliminary Results Of Two Components: Kiis And The Pharmacy Study, Wilson Liambila, Harriet Birungi, Francis Onyango, Brian Mdawida, Vitalis Akora, Thoai Ngo, Kate Reiss

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.


Incentivizing Providers To Improve Maternal, Newborn And Child Health Services In Bangladesh: Pay-For-Performance Model Refinement And Advocacy (P4p Mra) Final Report, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Ubaidur Rob, Laila Rahman, A.K.M. Zafar Ullah Khan, Riad Mahmud, Azizul Alim, Ismat Ara Hena, Farhana Akter, Anup Kumar Dey Jan 2012

Incentivizing Providers To Improve Maternal, Newborn And Child Health Services In Bangladesh: Pay-For-Performance Model Refinement And Advocacy (P4p Mra) Final Report, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Ubaidur Rob, Laila Rahman, A.K.M. Zafar Ullah Khan, Riad Mahmud, Azizul Alim, Ismat Ara Hena, Farhana Akter, Anup Kumar Dey

Reproductive Health

An operations research project by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh tested the feasibility of a pay-for-performance (P4P) approach, which offered financial incentives to reward service providers for meeting and exceeding specified performance targets for maternal, newborn, and child health services. In response to the encouraging findings, the DGHS implemented a follow-up project, with technical assistance from Population Council and UNICEF, to utilize the experiences and findings of the P4P OR project. Despite it short duration, implementation of the revised P4P scheme induced improvements in service volume and …


Increasing Access To Family Planning And Reproductive Health Services Through Community Work: A Case Study Of A Dual Cadre Model In India, Jaleel Ahmad, Isha Bhatnagar, M.E. Khan Jan 2012

Increasing Access To Family Planning And Reproductive Health Services Through Community Work: A Case Study Of A Dual Cadre Model In India, Jaleel Ahmad, Isha Bhatnagar, M.E. Khan

Reproductive Health

Before the introduction of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in India, mid-level auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) were responsible for community health education and services such as antenatal care, delivery, IUCD insertion, and sterilization referrals. The Population Council studied how community extension work and some primary care responsibilities have been shifted to ASHAs, who are tasked with identifying pregnant women; facilitating ANC check-ups; motivating women for institutional deliveries during ANC checkups; and organizing child immunization. Establishing dual worker cadres in India by shifting community extension tasks from ANMs to local ASHAs has been well conceived. Task shifting has allowed ANMs, as …


Integration Of Family Planning Into Other Health Services In Ghana: Performance Needs Assessment At Four Facilities In The Ashanti And Eastern Regions, Amos Laar Jan 2012

Integration Of Family Planning Into Other Health Services In Ghana: Performance Needs Assessment At Four Facilities In The Ashanti And Eastern Regions, Amos Laar

Reproductive Health

With support from the Population Council, the Reducing Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Program worked with the Ghana Health Service to conduct a performance needs assessment on family planning (FP) integration in four facilities in two of the country’s regions. The purpose of this endeavor was ultimately to pilot a project to develop and implement interventions that would improve clients’ access to FP at these facilities, based on the current and desired FP service provision levels, from the viewpoint of facility staff themselves, while taking into account client preferences. This midterm survey sought to assess the status of the integration process …