Project Briefs
- Project Brief #1
Promoting Hormonal Implants within a Range of Long-Acting and Permanent Methods: The Tanzania Experience (PDF, 4MB) May 2010
One of the challenges to increasing the availability of implants has been ensuring sufficient commodities to meet demand-an issue that many family planning programs face. This brief describes EngenderHealth's approach for supporting the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) in introducing and expanding access to long-acting and permanent methods of contraception (LA/PMs), focusing specifically on challenges and lessons learned related to hormonal implants.
- Project Brief #2
Preventing Postpartum Hemorrhage: Community-Based Distribution of Misoprostol in Tangail District, Bangladesh (PDF, 3MB) May 2010
Deaths related to postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) present a major challenge to health systems, particularly in rural areas of Bangladesh, where infrastructure is poor and health facilities often lack skilled staff, drugs, and equipment. Misoprostol is a proven uterotonic drug that is increasingly used in clinical and home delivery settings to prevent and manage PPH. This project brief discusses the implementation of a pilot project in the Tangail District of Bangladesh to determine the effectiveness of using government and nongovernmental field workers at the community level to distribute misoprostol tablets and ensure that women take the drug immediately postpartum. In addition to the programmatic intervention strategies, it looks at health outcomes, women's views and experiences, as well as lessons learned and recommendations for moving forward.
- Project Brief #3
Factors Affecting Acceptance of Vasectomy in Uttar Pradesh: Insights from Community-Based, Participatory Qualitative Research (PDF, 3MB) May 2011
RESPOND is providing technical assistance to the Government of Uttar Pradesh to expand awareness of, acceptance of, and access to no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV) services. This project brief describes a qualitative anthropological approach used to determine barriers to NSV use, people's perceptions about NSV and family planning, and how these affect decision making on whether to use this permanent method. The rich, social commentary resulting from this work offers crucial insights for understanding the reasons for the low prevalence of vasectomy in Uttar Pradesh. The recommendations are being used to expand awareness about, acceptance of, and access to NSV services in the future.
- Project Brief #4
Kenyan Family Planning Providers Leverage Local Resources to Train Their Peers on Long-Acting and Permanent Methods (PDF, 3MB) September 2011
This project brief describes an innovative approach designed to quickly and sustainably increase the number of providers prepared to offer LA/PMs, while fostering ownership and sustainability by leveraging local resources for training. With technical assistance from RESPOND, the Kenyan Ministry of Health's Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) piloted the approach in the Nyanza and Rift Valley provinces, where unmet need for family planning is most acute. Over a 12-month period, RESPOND and the DRH collaborated to create a national-level curriculum for LA/PM service delivery, implement cascade training and on-the-job training of family planning providers, and conduct follow-up supervision visits. As a result of these efforts, the DRH grew its corps of LA/PM trainers and built the capacity of 156 providers to offer LA/PMs. Clients can now avail themselves of a broader range of FP methods at local facilities, many of which had not offered long-acting methods previously.
