Welcome to Family Health Research. The theme of this debut issue is the integration of family planning and HIV services.
The integration of these services offers a number of benefits. It may not only provide women with greater access to health care, it will also enable women living with HIV to avoid unintended pregnancies. Fortunately, our experience with the integration of family planning and HIV services is growing. As described in this newsletter, the organizers of an African regional conference on integrated services received more than 100 abstracts explaining their work on the subject.
Evidence presented at that conference — including FHI's experiences — suggests that integration is a promising strategy to address the reproductive-health concerns of all women. Studies in both Kenya and South Africa show that integration does not compromise the quality of the services. Nevertheless, more research is needed to evaluate the consequences of integrating these services and to inform the design of health care programs in the future.
We are pleased to share our experiences with the integration of family planning and HIV services. To help nurture new ideas and initiatives, we invite readers to
send us comments.
In this issue
Service Integration Expanding in Africa
When and how should family planning services be integrated with HIV counseling and treatment services? Attendees from 20 countries grappled with this question at a recent conference — Linking Reproductive Health and Family Planning with HIV/AIDS Programs in Africa — in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on October 9–10, 2006. The presentations and discussions revealed a clear need for more research to document the impact of integrating services.
Integrating HIV into MCH Services in Uganda
Providing family planning services to HIV-positive women who do not want to become pregnant is one of the most effective ways to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. With this in mind, the Uganda Ministry of Health began integrating services for family planning, maternal and child health, and HIV counseling and treatment in 2005. In 2006, the World Health Organization named Uganda as a "learning site" to test different ways of providing PMTCT services.
Family Planning-VCT Integration in Kenya
Does the integration of family planning services affect the quality of voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT)? A study in Kenya shows that the quality of care remains the same, or even improves, after integration.
Integrating VCT into Family Planning in South Africa
What's the most efficient way to introduce voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) to a community? A study in South Africa shows that it is less expensive to integrate VCT services with family planning services than it is to create a stand-alone VCT center.
Integrating Family Planning and HIV in Zimbabwe
Family planning services and HIV prevention and treatment services are poorly integrated in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe HIV & AIDS Partnership Project is working with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare to integrate these services throughout the country.
Zimbabwean HIV Counselors Offer Family Planning Advice
Some HIV counselors in Zimbabwe are now offering family planning services as part of the Zimbabwe HIV & AIDS Partnership Project.
