Research Briefs on Family Planning Service Delivery

Initiatives to maximize access to and quality of family planning and reproductive health services are dedicated to providing clients the services they need in a safe and appropriate manner.

These briefs discuss studies that measured client access to family planning, quality of provider care, and effects that various types of training have on providers' attitudes, knowledge, and behavior.

Factors that Degrade the Quality of Family Planning Services (2008)

A USAID-supported study from Uganda has identified some of the factors that prevent health care providers from offering high-quality family planning services.

Strategies for Communicating Contraceptive Effectiveness (2008)

A new Cochrane review, conducted with partial support from USAID, may help family planning providers better explain contraceptive effectiveness to their clients.

Training Program Aimed at On-Site Supervisors Can Improve Quality of Care (2008)

An intervention to train on-site, in-charge reproductive health supervisors significantly improved the quality of care at the levels of supervisors, providers, and client-provider interactions.

Health Care Providers Are Key to Ensuring Appropriate Contraceptive Choices (2006)

Recent research from the University of North Carolina and Family Health International demonstrates just how important provider interaction can be in ensuring that family planning clients choose appropriate contraceptive methods.

Research Re-Evaluates Checklist to Rule Out Pregnancy (2006)

Family Health International's six-criteria checklist to help providers rule out pregnancy among nonmenstruating clients is contingent on a "master criterion" that clients not exhibit any signs or symptoms of pregnancy. But, according to research published in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, using this master criterion does not significantly improve the predictive value of the checklist.

Measuring Access to Family Planning Education and Services among Young Adults in Dakar, Senegal (1996)

In order to identify the reproductive health needs of young adults in Dakar, the Comite d'Etude sur les Femmes, la Famille et l'Environnement en Afrique (CEFFEVA) and Family Health International (FHI) conducted a study to measure access to family planning information and services among young people.

Provider Rationale for Restricting Family Planning Services (1996)

FHI, in collaboration with the Ghana Statistical Service, surveyed 97 current providers in October 1994 to determine why they place age, parity, weight, spousal consent and marriage restrictions on particular methods. In addition, clinic records of the providers were reviewed to document the age and parity range of clients and whether spousal consent was obtained.

Provider Rationale for Unnecessary Service Practices (1996)

Providers' requirements for follow-up and their handling of special clients, such as nonmenstruating and breastfeeding women, can create barriers for the acceptance of family planning. FHI, in collaboration with the Ghana Statistical Service, surveyed 97 providers in October 1994 to determine why they require various exams and tests; how they use the results; why they use the follow-up schedules that they do; and how they manage special clients.

Maximizing Access to Quality Family Planning and Reproductive Health Services (1994)

Through the framework of maximizing access to and quality of family planning and reproductive health services, programs can make strategic decisions on key reproductive health services to be provided to clients. FHI's activities, which are in concert with USAID's Maximizing Access and Quality initiative, build on past FHI experience with collaborators to extend high-quality reproductive health services in developing countries.