Cross-Cutting Topics
- Using the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Delivery Decision Tool to Consider Transporting Medical Supplies via Drone
We developed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Delivery Decision Tool to help health system decision makers identify their transport challenges and explore the potential utility and impact of UAVs on the broader health system.
- Unintended Consequences of mHealth Interactive Voice Messages Promoting Contraceptive Use After Menstrual Regulation in Bangladesh: Intimate Partner Violence Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial
Automated interactive voice messages about post-menstrual regulation contraception delivered to women in Bangladesh via mobile phone were associated with increased reports of intimate partner violence. This finding highlights the importance of taking steps to minimize risk when delivering phone messages on sensitive topics and the need for assessing violence in such situations.
- Evidence-Based Process for Prioritizing Positive Behaviors for Promotion: Zika Prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean and Applicability to Future Health Emergency Responses
To maximize the impact of Zika prevention programming efforts, a prioritization process for social and behavior change programming was developed based on a combination of research evidence and programmatic experience. Prioritized behaviors were: application of mosquito repellent, use of condoms, removing unintentional standing water, covering and scrubbing walls of water storage containers, seeking prenatal care, and seeking counseling on family planning if not planning to get pregnant.
- Operationalizing Integrated Immunization and Family Planning Services in Rural Liberia: Lessons Learned From Evaluating Service Quality and Utilization
Providers, managers, and clients valued the integrated service delivery model. Trends indicated slightly higher family planning uptake in intervention facilities, but that difference was not statistically significant. Intrafacility referrals by postpartum women did not negatively affect immunization utilization rates.
- Getting to the First 90: Incentivized Peer Mobilizers Promote HIV Testing Services to Men Who Have Sex With Men Using Social Media in Mumbai, India
This peer mobilization pilot for HIV and syphilis testing used messaging on gay dating sites, clinic referrals, and peer recruitment to reach men who have sex with men in Mumbai. In 6 months, the pilot reached a relatively modest 247 individuals, 244 of whom had never tested for HIV. Challenges included low recruitment and loss to follow-up for posttest counseling and treatment initiation for individuals with HIV.
- Strengthening Social and Behavior Change in Postabortion Care: A Call to Action for Health Professionals
Social and behavior change approaches have shown promise for addressing the demand- and supply-side challenges in postabortion care. As implementers seek to improve the quality of postabortion care, systematically integrating long-standing models and emerging approaches, including behavioral economics, human-centered design, and attribute-based models of behavior change, can promote positive health outcomes.
- Cell Phone Counseling Improves Retention of Mothers With HIV Infection in Care and Infant HIV Testing in Kisumu, Kenya: A Randomized Controlled Study
Tailored, one-on-one counseling delivered via cell phone was very effective in retaining mothers with HIV in care and in promoting infant HIV testing and antenatal and postnatal care attendance. The highest risk of loss to follow-up among women with HIV accessing PMTCT services was prior to delivery and then after infant HIV testing at 6 weeks. Challenges include continued limited access to cell phones, difficulty with reaching participants on the phone, and poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy for a substantial percentage of the population.
- Are Procured Quantities of Implants Adequate and Appropriate? Modeling Procurement, Inventory, and Consumption of Contraceptive Implants During Rapid Uptake
Recent rapid increases in implant procurement have not resulted in system overstocks to date. We found no standard factor for relating inventory quantities to consumption rates. Rather, that relationship requires specific understanding of the country supply chain, inventory control parameters, and current and future demand.
- Efficacy of a Digital Health Tool on Contraceptive Ideation and Use in Nigeria: Results of a Cluster-Randomized Control Trial
A mobile digital health tool piloted in Kaduna City, Nigeria, was efficacious in promoting positive contraceptive attitudes and encouraging women to adopt a modern contraceptive method, thus showing potential for reducing unmet need in Nigeria.
- Associations Between Practices and Behaviors at the Health Facility Level and Supply Chain Management for Antiretrovirals: Evidence from Cameroon, Namibia, and Swaziland
Using antiretrovirals (ARVs) as tracer products, we identified the following key practices that may affect supply chain management at the facility level: order verification, actions taken when stock is received, changes in prescription and dispensing due to ARV stock-out, actions to ensure patient adherence, and communication with other affiliated facilities and higher-level supply chain management. We propose a set of indicators to measure these practices.