The Evidence Project at ICFP
Delayed but not deterred by the volcano, the Evidence Project was out in force at the 2015 International Conference on Family Planning in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Evidence Project researchers from 5 countries joined 3,000+ conference attendees to share and learn the latest findings on improving access to quality family planning around the world, including important new results from Evidence Project studies.
Scroll through to learn more about the Evidence Project’s presence at ICFP.
Implementation Science Approaches to Family Planning and Reproductive Health: Experiential Learning and Sharing for Implementers, Policymakers, Researchers and Advocates
The Evidence Project, TRACtion, and FHI360 cohosted a successful interactive session on how implementation science (IS) can inform family planning and reproductive health programs and policies. The event drew a diverse group of researchers, implementers, development partners, and advocates, and included the sharing of case studies, interactive panel discussions, and presentations from the three session partners.
Ellen Starbird and Julia Bunting pose by the event banner
Ellen Starbird, the Director of the Office of Population and Reproductive Health at USAID, and Julia Bunting, President of the Population Council, provided remarks that sparked a lively discussion about the importance of implementation science for family planning and reproductive health. Following welcoming remarks from John Townsend, Laura Reichenbach, Deputy Director for Research of the Evidence Project, framed the conversation with an opening presentation on “Implementation Science: Finding Common Ground and Perspectives,” which highlighted what sets IS apart from other research approaches and the intersections between different definitions of IS.
Over the course of the day, participants heard from presenters from the Evidence Project, FHI360, the IBP Initiative, IPPF, NIH, USAID, UNC, and WHO, and discussed key questions related to IS in practice, IS and Research Utilization, and challenges and opportunities for IS. This included a presentation by Karen Hardee, Project Director for the Evidence Project, on “Evidence Use in Policies, Programs and Practices.” A full meeting report will be available soon.
Rights-Based FP Panel
Karen Hardee, Project Director for the Evidence Project, described the Project’s work to develop and test a Rights-based FP Index at a meeting organized by EngenderHealth on rights-based FP programming and how to move such programming forward. More information on the Evidence Project’s rights-based family planning work can be found here.
Roundtable discussion on Business Action for Family Planning
Carolyn Rodehau was invited to present on women’s health in the workplace and the Cambodia Worker Health Coalition as part of a UNF and UNFPA roundtable event, Business Action for Family Planning. Carolyn discussed the importance of family planning and reproductive health in workplace health programs, as the number of women employed by global supply chain companies and similar industries increases. She described the Evidence Project/RAISE Health efforts to address women’s health through workplace initiatives, through partnerships with Bayer, Levi’s, and other brands and industry groups.
Unmet Need: Is it the right indicator for FP programming with Youth in Ouagadougou partnership countries?
Presenters: Aparna Jain & Laura Reichenbach
Are the current definitions of contraceptive need – no need, unmet need, and met need – appropriate for young people (ages 15 to 24)? Looking at recent DHS data, Evidence Project researcher Aparna Jain considered this question and examined the influence of age and marital status on the contraceptive need of young women in Ouagadougou partnership countries. Presenting the findings on Dr. Jain’s behalf, Dr. Laura Reichenbach noted that need for contraception differed by age as well as marital status:
- Compared to their married counterparts, a larger proportion of young unmarried women have no need for contraception, generally because they are not sexually active.
- Unmarried youth who are sexually active are more likely to use contraception than married women, while young married women have a greater unmet need for contraception.
- Women in the youngest age group (15-19) were more likely to have no need for contraception than 20-24 year old women.
Unmarried adolescents who currently do not need contraception because they are not having sex will one day become sexually active – in or out of marriage – and be in need of contraception. The high unmet need among married young women, as compared to unmarried young women, suggests that they face their own unique barriers to using contraception.
These findings emphasize the importance of designing family planning programs that account for the diverse and changing contraceptive needs of young people, including differences by age, sexual initiation, and marital status.
The Power of Stakeholders’ Engagement: Building Support for Pilot-testing the Administration of Injectable Contraceptives by Patent Medicine Vendors in Nigeria
Presenter: Salisu Ishaku
Evidence Project researcher Salisu Ishaku joined a session on the role of the private sector in family planning to give a presentation titled, “The Power of Stakeholders’ Engagement: Building Support for Pilot-testing the Administration of Injectable Contraceptives by Patent Medicine Vendors in Nigeria.” The Evidence Project is currently conducting a study to determine whether training patent medical vendors, a common source of health care for many Nigerians, to sell and administer injectable contraceptives can better meet the demand for that method. Dr. Ishaku’s presentation described the critical and successful process of stakeholder engagement that facilitated support for the expansion of the original study. The study is now underway and will be completed in October 2016.
Method Choice through a Human Rights Lens
Presenter: Karen Hardee
Karen Hardee gave a presentation, “What Does Choice of Methods Mean Using a Human Rights Frame?” at a session on Access, Contraceptive Choice and Human Rights: Challenges and Tensions. The session was co-organized by the Evidence Project (Dr. Hardee) with USAID, IRH, FHI 360 and WHO, with a lively discussion following the presentations.
Measuring Disrespect and Abuse in Family Planning: Are we Ignoring Negative Experiences?
Presenter: Laura Reichenbach
Laura Reichenbach delivered a presentation entitled, “Measuring Disrespect and Abuse in Family Planning: Are we Ignoring Negative Experiences?” on the panel “Quality across the continuum: how do we ensure that care is respectful and women-centered?” The panel, which was organized by the TRAction Project, also included speakers from the TRAction Project, CARE, and the Uganda Ministry of Health.
Measuring Adherence to Rights Based Family planning (RBFP) Principles at the Service Delivery Level in Uganda
Presenter: Lynn Bakamjian
Lynn Bakamjian, a consultant with Evidence Project partner IPPF, presented at an IBP session on the Rights-Based Family Planning Index being developed by the Evidence Project. The presentation, Measuring Adherence to Rights Based Family planning (RBFP) Principles at the Service Delivery Level in Uganda, described the principles underpinning the RBFP Index, the evidence gap that motivated the development of the Index, and the study being undertaken to validate and pilot the Index. More information on that activity can be found here.
Assessment of Scaling Up Family Planning (SUFP) Project in Zambia
Presenter: Ben Bellows
Evidence Project researcher Ben Bellows presented insights from the Evidence Project assessment of the Scaling Up Family Planning (SUFP) Project in Zambia as part of the panel, “Transitioning from pilot to scale: Challenges and successes of ‘beginning with the end in mind.’” The SUFP Project in Zambia sought to “help the public sector improve what it routinely does” with a set of intensive strategies, focused in 26 high-need districts, aimed at increasing uptake of FP services by underserved rural populations. The external assessment of the SUFP project examined the feasibility of integrating FP programming into district-level management, facility-level service delivery and community-based FP education, services, and referrals; the fidelity and adaptation of SUFP technical support strategies during the scale up process, the barriers and facilitators to scaling up FP, and the cost implications, with the overall goal of contributing to global learning on the scale up of family planning programs. Dr. Bellows noted that the SUFP project had “begun with the end in mind,” in many ways, but that there were areas where future scale-up will want to put greater emphasis on strategies to sustain the public sector level of effort beyond the project timeline.
