RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Boosting Contraceptive Uptake in Urban Uganda: Older Women Benefit When Layering Adolescent and Youth Interventions Onto Existing Family Planning Programming JF Global Health: Science and Practice JO GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT FD Johns Hopkins University- Global Health. Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Communication Programs SP e2200308 DO 10.9745/GHSP-D-22-00308 VO 12 IS Supplement 2 A1 Bwire, Albert A1 Sama, Denis Joel A1 Mirano, Jessica A1 Nyachae, Paul A1 Owino, Kenneth A1 Nabukeera, Josephine A1 Tumuhairwe, Juliet A1 Malik, Maheen A1 Salas, Ian A1 Mitchell, Vanessa A1 Bose, Krishna YR 2024 UL http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/12/Supplement_2/e2200308.abstract AB Key MessagesTo address the high unmet need for contraception for adolescents and youth in Uganda and address the barriers to contraceptive access and uptake, particularly in urban areas and informal settlements, adolescent- and youth-specific focused activities were added to the advocacy, service delivery, and demand generation components of an already functioning general family planning (FP) program.After the interventions were implemented, contraceptive uptake increased for adolescents and youth aged 10–24 years as well as older women aged 25–49 years, demonstrating that all women, not just youth, benefit when youth-focused interventions are put in place to improve community norms, decrease provider bias, and increase demand for contraceptives.Intentional layering of an adolescent and youth sexual reproductive health (AYSRH) component onto an already functional FP program targeting women of reproductive age allows for rapid implementation of adolescent- and youth-specific interventions through the same systems, which, in turn, spurs uptake.Key ImplicationGeneral FP programs that include a special focus on AYSRH experience increases in contraceptive uptake for adolescents and youth and a boost in uptake for older women.Introduction:Uganda has a large young population with a high unmet need for family planning (FP). Although there have been many efforts to improve access to and uptake of contraception, improvements have been slow. The Ministry of Health Uganda partnered with The Challenge Initiative (TCI) to implement a novel multipronged approach layering adolescent and youth sexual reproductive health (AYSRH) onto a functioning general FP program for women of reproductive age in 3 local governments of Buikwe, Mukono, and Iganga. We describe the approach and aim to determine whether layering AYSRH interventions onto an existing program resulted in increased contraceptive uptake among adolescents and youth aged 10–24 years and among women aged 25–49 years.Methods:We analyzed service statistics from the Uganda Health Management Information System to assess contraceptive uptake for adolescents and youth (aged 10–24 years) and older women (aged 25–49 years) before and after the implementation of the AYSRH approach in 3 areas (Buikwe, Iganga, and Mukono) compared to 11 areas where only the general FP program was implemented and the Uganda country total.Results:This analysis showed that before the start of TCI’s support, levels of contraceptive uptake were similar in all local governments. However, after implementation, there was an increase in uptake for general FP program only areas (1.7-point advantage over country total) and an even greater increase in general FP+AYSRH areas (2.4-point advantage over FP only programming). This was observed in both adolescents and youth aged 10–24 years and among women aged 25–49 years.Conclusion:The layering of TCI’s AYSRH interventions onto a well-functioning FP platform not only increased contraceptive uptake among adolescents and youth aged 10–24 years but also boosted uptake among women older than age 25 years.