More articles from ORIGINAL ARTICLE
- Client Perceptions of Quality and Choice at Static, Mobile Outreach, and Special Family Planning Day Services in 3 African Countries
In all 3 countries, nearly all women obtained their method of choice, with more mobile outreach and special family planning day clients having a preexisting preference for implants than static service clients. Clients of all service modalities in all countries reported experiencing most elements of full, free, and informed choice, but there is room for improvement with some aspects, such as counseling about potential side effects and giving clients the opportunity to ask questions.
- Global Health Competency Self-Confidence Scale: Tool Development and Validation
The scale, designed to measure students' self-assessment of their confidence in 11 competency domains before and after participating in global placements, was found to be reliable and correlated well with an earlier validated scale.
- Safety of Tubal Occlusion by Minilaparotomy Provided by Trained Clinical Officers Versus Assistant Medical Officers in Tanzania: A Randomized, Controlled, Noninferiority Trial
Trained clinical officers—nonphysicians with 3 years of specialized training—conducted the procedure safely and effectively compared with procedures performed by more advanced assistant medical officers. This evidence supports policy change allowing properly trained and supported clinical officers to perform minilaparotomy.
- Role of Religious Leaders in Promoting Contraceptive Use in Nigeria: Evidence From the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative
Exposure to family planning messages from religious leaders was significantly associated with higher modern contraceptive use, after accounting for background characteristics and other variables such as myths and misconceptions. Engaging religious leaders to support positive social norms is an important strategy to improving voluntary contraceptive use in Nigeria.
- Helping Babies Breathe, Second Edition: A Model for Strengthening Educational Programs to Increase Global Newborn Survival
The revised neonatal resuscitation curriculum updates not only the science of resuscitation but also the educational and implementation approaches needed to further enhance neonatal survival, including promoting ongoing practice to retain skills and linkages with quality improvement initiatives.
- Assessment of Family Planning Service Availability and Readiness in 10 African Countries
In the 10 countries surveyed, the availability of oral contraceptives, injectables, and condoms varied greatly, and the availability of basic items indicating service readiness, such as guidelines, trained staff, equipment, and certain commodities, was low.
- The Net Promoter Score (NPS) for Insight Into Client Experiences in Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinics
The NPS measures a customer's likeliness to recommend a company to a friend or colleague on a 0-to-10 scale. Pilot testing in 4 countries suggests the NPS can also be successfully used in nonprofit clinics and among low-literacy populations. Combining the NPS with client demographic and service-use data can provide a powerful tool for identifying populations for whom the client experience can be improved.
- Can Family Planning Service Statistics Be Used to Track Population-Level Outcomes?
Estimates of the modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR), a population-level indicator, that are derived directly from family planning service statistics lack sufficient accuracy to serve as stand-alone substitutes for survey-based estimates. However, data on contraceptive commodities distributed to clients, family planning service visits, and current users tend to track trends in mCPR fairly accurately and, when combined with survey data in new tools, can be used to approximate the annual mCPR in the absence of annual surveys.
- Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition to Reduce Wasting in Urban Informal Settlements of Mumbai, India: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation
Under the NGO–government partnership, wasting among children under age 3 decreased by 28% in intervention areas and by only 5% in comparison areas. Success factors included persuading and engaging with communities including delivery of tailored information, close presence and supervision of field staff, and holistic management of other issues beyond acute malnutrition. This intensive approach may be challenging for the government to adapt effectively at large scale.
- Expanding Access to Injectable Contraception: Results From Pilot Introduction of Subcutaneous Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA-SC) in 4 African Countries
Nearly half a million doses of DMPA-SC were administered over 2 years in Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Uganda, with 29% of doses provided to first-time family planning users and 44% (in 3 countries) to adolescent girls and young women under age 25. Switching from intramuscular DMPA (DMPA-IM) was not widespread and generally decreased over time. Community health workers provided a higher proportion of DMPA-SC than DMPA-IM injections. Stock-outs in 2 countries hindered product uptake, highlighting the need to strengthen logistics systems when introducing a new method.