Research findings have established that depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) and norethisterone enantate (NET-EN) are safe and effective for use by most women, including those who are at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and those living with or at risk of HIV infection. However, for some women, use of these injectables is not usually recommended due to the presence of certain medical conditions, such as liver tumors or breast cancer. For this reason, women who wish to use DMPA must be screened for certain medical conditions in order to determine if they are appropriate candidates for this method.
Based on the recently revisedrecommendations of the Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (WHO, 2004), Family Health International (FHI) has developed a simple checklist for use by both clinical and nonclinical health care providers, including community-based distributors, to help screen clients who have made an informed decision to use DMPA. The DMPA Checklist consists of 13 questions designed to identify medical conditions that would prevent safe DMPA use or require further screening. It also provides further guidance and directions based on clients' responses.
Accompanying the checklist is a Training and Reference Guide (PDF, 1.12 MB) designed for program managers, administrators, trainers, and service providers interested in learning on how to use the checklist to screen women who want to initiate the use of DMPA (or NET-EN). Designed to serve as both a training and reference tool, the guide is composed of two parts: a training module and a collection of essential, up-to-date reference materials on DMPA.
The DMPA Checklist is available in: English (PDF, 363 KB), French (PDF, 360 KB), Spanish (PDF, 358 KB), and Romanian (PDF, 126 KB).The Training and Reference Guide for a Screening Checklist to Initiate DMPA (or NET-EN) is available in English (PDF, 1.12 MB) and French (PDF, 1.42 MB). To request hard copies of the checklist or guide, send an e-mail to publications@fhi.org.
To access endorsed, country-adapted DMPA Checklists, click on the following links: