[afro-nets] New Publication: Provider selection of evidence-based guidelines in service provision

["Monica Marini" <marinim@georgetown.edu>]

The Institute for Reproductive Health is pleased to announce the publication of "Provider selection of evidence-based guidelines in service provision: a study in India, Peru, and Rwanda" in the March 2008 edition of Evaluation & the Health Profession. The article presents simulated client data on the quality of oral contraceptive provision collected during the impact study for the Standard Days Method(R) in India, Peru, and Rwanda.

The study found that out of an exhaustive list of items to cover during family planning counseling, providers idiosyncratically select different areas to focus on during counseling. In India and Peru, providers focused on use instructions, while Rwandan providers focused on contraindications. Not even those guidelines deemed essential by the authors were addressed by a majority of providers. It is likely that providers cannot remember the full set of guidelines during counseling, nor do they usually have time to cover everything in a brief counseling session. Moreover, providers have not been provided adequate guidance on which elements to focus on, thus they select items to address based on personal preference rather than empirical evidence of their relevance to improving method use and continuation.

This article provides a good explanation of the simulated client methodology, discusses aspects of service delivery in India, Peru, and Rwanda, reviews the literature on service delivery guidelines and contributes to an understanding of barriers to implementing best practices in family planning counseling. A practical outcome of the preparation of this article was the development of a list of 15 essential elements to cover during SDM counseling in India.  (Full article at http://irh.org/resources/pdf/SDM/English/Provider_Selection_Eval&HealthProfessions_2008.pdf)

The Institute for Reproductive Health's FAM project  focuses on increasing access to and use of Fertility Awareness-Based methods – in particular the Standard Days Method(R) (SDM), the TwoDay Method(R) (TDM) and the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) – within the framework of informed choice. Click here http://irh.org/FAM%20Announcement.htm for more information on the FAM Project or visit www.irh.org.

-- 
Monica Marini, MA
Communications Officer
Institute for Reproductive Health
Georgetown University
202-687-1788
http://www.irh.org
mailto:marinim@georgetown.edu