Family Planning

mHealth Compendium Volume Four

Carol Bales — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 16:54:39 +0000

Author's name:

African Strategies for Health

October 2014 (All day)

The fourth edition of the mHealth compendium is a collection of 31 case studies, including one focused on application of CapacityPlus’s interactive voice response (IVR) mLearning platform to deliver refresher training to family planning providers in Senegal (page 68). The compendium also highlights the nine Principles for Digital Development, provides evidence for mHealth interventions, and identifies valuable databases, training materials, guidelines, and toolkits for mHealth project implementers.

Promoting Gender Equality in the Health Workforce: An Advocacy Tool

Sarah Dwyer — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 14:20:41 +0000

Author's name:

CapacityPlus

April 2015 (All day)

Promoting Gender Equality in the Health Workforce

Health workforce leaders may not be aware of the ways in which gender discrimination impedes efforts to develop, efficiently deploy, and fairly compensate their workforce. This can result in maldistribution, absenteeism, and a limited pool of motivated health workers, which can negatively impact the provision of health care. This advocacy tool helps users to understand how common forms of gender inequalities and discrimination can negatively affect the health workforce; assess whether health workers may be experiencing one or more forms of discrimination; and successfully advocate and take action through policy-making and improved management to reduce gender discrimination and build a more motivated and effective workforce to serve the population’s family planning, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and other primary health care needs.

Use of an Interactive Voice Response System to Deliver Refresher Training in Senegal: Findings from Pilot Implementation and Assessment

Sarah Dwyer — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 13:22:08 +0000

Author's name:

Kate E. Gilroy, Abdoulaye Diedhiou, Carie Muntifering Cox, Luke Duncan, Djim Koumtingue, Sara Pacqué-Margolis, Alfredo Fort, Dykki Settle, and Rebecca Bailey

March 2015 (All day)

Use of an Interactive Voice Response System to Deliver Refresher Training in Senegal

In-service training reinforces and updates health workers’ knowledge, but it is often expensive and requires providers to leave their posts. Interactive voice response (IVR) is a technology—possible with any type of phone—that delivers information via audio recordings and allows users to provide feedback by pressing a number key. CapacityPlus developed, deployed, and assessed an innovative mLearning system that used a combination of IVR and SMS text messaging to deliver refresher training to family planning providers in Senegal, focusing on management of contraceptive side effects and counseling to dispel misconceptions. The pilot application among 20 midwives, nurses, nursing assistants, and health agents took place in two districts in Thiès Region of Senegal. Evaluation findings showed that an mLearning system that delivers refresher training to family planning providers via simple mobile phones using IVR and SMS text is appropriate, feasible, acceptable, and associated with sustained gains in knowledge.

Exploring Contraceptive Use Differentials in Sub-Saharan Africa through a Health Workforce Lens

Sarah Dwyer — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:56:12 +0000

Author's name:

Sara Pacqué-Margolis, Carie Cox, Amanda Puckett, and Lois Schaefer

June 2013 (All day)

CapacityPlus Technical Brief #11 (PDF)

CapacityPlus Technical Brief #11 (Interactive Version)

Globally, 56% of all married women are using a modern method of contraception, up from less than 10% in 1960. In sub-Saharan Africa, however, only 19% of married women are using a modern method of contraception. Since nearly all family planning services require assistance from a health worker, access to health workers is a principal supply-side determinant of family planning service use. This technical brief presents findings from a study that explored if and how health workforce measures differ between eastern and western Africa, in an effort to identify factors that may have helped some countries to achieve important gains in contraceptive prevalence while other countries have not. The findings raise questions about whether government commitment and certain policy choices vis-à-vis health workforce distribution and qualifications—even when absolute levels of health worker density are low—could make a difference in the provision of family planning services in resource-constrained countries.

Intégration des services de planification familiale et de lutte contre le VIH/SIDA : Réflexions sur le personnel de santé

Sarah Dwyer — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 14:13:23 +0000

Author's name:

Crystal Ng, Sara Pacqué-Margolis, Kathi Kotellos, and Stephanie Brantley

September 2012 (All day)

CapacityPlus Résumé technique n°5

Ce résumé technique évalue un ensemble de données probantes relatives à la manière dont les agents de santé prennent part à l’intégration des services de planification familiale et de lutte contre le VIH et livre quelques réflexions essentielles sur le personnel de santé impliqué dans ce processus, peu importe le modèle d’intégration choisi.

Integrating Family Planning and HIV/AIDS Services: Health Workforce Considerations

Sarah Dwyer — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:14:19 +0000

Author's name:

Crystal Ng, Sara Pacqué-Margolis, Kathi Kotellos, and Stephanie Brantley

September 2012 (All day)

CapacityPlus Technical Brief #5 (PDF)

CapacityPlus Technical Brief #5 (Interactive Version)

Governments and the global health community are increasingly paying attention to maximizing and measuring impact through service delivery integration efforts. In family planning/HIV service integration, for example, benefits include increased access to both types of services, improved quality of care, and enhanced program effectiveness. While it takes health workers to deliver these services, most of the evaluations of service integration models have largely ignored health workers as an input to, or output of, integrated service delivery. This technical brief assesses the evidence on the role of health workers in the integration of family planning and HIV services and discusses key health worker considerations when integrating these services.

Prestataires de soins et croissance démographique : Comment mieux répondre aux besoins de la communauté

Sarah Dwyer — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:22:48 +0000

Author's name:

Sarah Dwyer

December 2011 (All day)

Échos 9

Scott Radloff, le directeur du bureau de l’USAID pour les populations et la santé de la reproduction, nous parle des stratégies ayant permis aux communautés dans le besoin d’accéder à des services de soins intégrés.

Reaching into the Community: Health Workers and Population Growth

Sarah Dwyer — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:22:43 +0000

Author's name:

Sarah Dwyer

December 2011 (All day)

CapacityPlus Voices #9

Scott Radloff, director of USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health, talks about successful strategies to bring integrated health services to communities in need. Also available in French.

CapacityPlus au Mali

Sarah Dwyer — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:27:59 +0000

CapacityPlus au Mali

Author's name:

CapacityPlus

November 2011 (All day)

Mali Country Brief (French)

CapacityPlus collabore avec le ministère de la santé, les instituts de formation locaux ainsi que d’autres partenaires afin de remédier à la pénurie de prestataires de santé qualifiés au Mali et à leur mauvaise répartition.

CapacityPlus in Mali

Sarah Dwyer — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:22:54 +0000

CapacityPlus in Mali

Author's name:

CapacityPlus

November 2011 (All day)

Mali Country Brief

Working with the Ministry of Health, local training institutions, and other partners, CapacityPlus is addressing Mali’s shortage and unequal distribution of qualified health workers. Also available in French.

La croissance démographique et la crise mondiale des effectifs sanitaires

Sarah Dwyer — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:20:07 +0000

Author's name:

Sara Pacqué-Margolis, Carie Muntifering, Crystal Ng, and Shaun Noronha

November 2011 (All day)

CapacityPlus Résumé technique n°1

Ce résumé technique riche en données examine l’impact potentiel de la croissance démographique sur les efforts entrepris par divers pays en vue d’améliorer l’accès au personnel de santé et recommande une approche permettant de répondre aux besoins sanitaires des familles tout en réduisant l’impact de la crise qui touche le personnel de soins.

Population Growth and the Global Health Workforce Crisis

Sarah Dwyer — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:10:36 +0000

Author's name:

Sara Pacqué-Margolis, Carie Muntifering, Crystal Ng, and Shaun Noronha

November 2011 (All day)

CapacityPlus Technical Brief #1 (PDF)

CapacityPlus Technical Brief #1 (Interactive Version)

This data-rich technical brief examines the potential impact of population growth on countries’ efforts to improve access to health workers, and recommends an approach that will help meet families’ health needs while mitigating the health workforce crisis. Also available in French.

Access the interactive version in English or the PDF in English or French. Also read the related Voices, news, and blog post. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Repositioning Family Planning: Rwanda’s No-Scalpel Vasectomy Program

CapacityPlus — Mon, 10 May 2010 17:12:50 +0000

Author's name:

Daniel H. de Vries, Anne Wilson, Catherine Murphy, and Joshua Davis

September 2009 (All day)

Legacy Series 3

Discusses the Capacity Project's work to expand family planning services, and provides recommendations for future implementation.

Updating and Disseminating Guidelines for Family Planning and Reproductive Health: The Role of Health Systems Strengthening

CapacityPlus — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:11:34 +0000

Author's name:

Joanne Spicehandler

December 2009 (All day)

Project Tech Brief 18

Describes several approaches used to achieve needed changes in service delivery practice, and provides recommendations for actions at the local level.