Latest Articles
- Implementation and Scale-Up of the Standard Days Method of Family Planning: A Landscape Analysis
Pilot introductions of the Standard Days Method (SDM) of family planning demonstrated its potential to meet unmet contraceptive needs in key populations, strengthen male involvement, and increase overall contraceptive uptake. Few countries had implemented national scale-up due to barriers, such as competing resource priorities and uneven stakeholder engagement. Demand-side user barriers, including insufficient fertility awareness knowledge, were also constraints. Policy makers should determine the SDM’s added value to the contraceptive method mix and identify potential barriers to its implementation.
- Diagnostic Utility and Impact on Clinical Decision Making of Focused Assessment With Sonography for HIV-Associated Tuberculosis in Malawi: A Prospective Cohort Study
Among patients with HIV and with probable/confirmed TB, using the focused assessment with sonography for HIV-associated TB (FASH) protocol led to a 5-fold increase in the clinician’s decision to initiate TB treatment on that day. FASH is a supplementary tool that can help clinicians diagnose patients with HIV-associated TB at the point-of-care and reduce delays in their treatment, particularly when access to other diagnostics is limited or unavailable.
- A Qualitative Assessment of Provider and Client Experiences With 3- and 6-Month Dispensing Intervals of Antiretroviral Therapy in Malawi
Clients with HIV on antiretroviral therapy (ART) perceived the 6-month ART dispensing interval as highly acceptable due to reduced transport costs and increased time for income-generating activities. Providers reported benefits in reduced clinic workload and improved ability to see clients who need more support. Before implementing this dispensing interval on a large scale, countries should conduct further research on how to encourage client health-seeking behaviors for health problems, ensure women have access to family planning services outside of ART clinic visits, and encourage providers to use best practices for counseling messages.
- Using a Chord Diagram to Visualize Dynamics in Contraceptive Use: Bringing Data Into Practice
A chord diagram is an innovative tool that can be used to visualize switching and quitting in contraceptive use between 2 discrete time points. It complements existing analysis of contraceptive failure rates and provides a richer understanding of contraceptive discontinuation and method switching that can lead to fresh insights to improve family planning programs.
- Using Data to Keep Vaccines Cold in Kenya: Remote Temperature Monitoring With Data Review Teams for Vaccine Management
Using technology to make data visible to stakeholders and giving those stakeholders a framework for analyzing that data for decision making improves cold chain management of vaccines in Kenya.
- Realizing the “40 by 2022” Commitment From the United Nations High-Level Meeting on the Fight to End Tuberculosis: What Will It Take to Meet Rapid Diagnostic Testing Needs?
Existing rapid diagnostics offer faster and more sensitive diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) and simultaneous detection of multidrug-resistant TB. A 5-fold increase in investment in these tools is needed to meet the needs of the TB community and the United Nations’ ambitious 40 million by 2022 diagnosis and treatment target.
- The Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Adults and Reproductive-Aged Women
Currently available data on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease burden in adults and reproductive-aged women are limited. These data are critically needed to assist in the advancement of strategies related to maternal RSV vaccination for the passive protection of their newborn children.
- A Tablet-Based Tool for Care During Labor+Attention to System Requirements
Evidence on using a tablet-based labor decision-support tool suggests the potential for improved practices in labor management. Further rigorous study on these tools is needed to assess the improvements in labor care and outcomes as well as the system requirements needed to achieve such improvements.