What Works in Family Planning Interventions: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This study presents findings from a systematic review of evaluations of family planning interventions published between 1995 and 2008. Studies that used an experimental or quasi-experimental design or had another way to attribute program exposure to observed changes in fertility or family planning outcomes at the individual or population levels were included and ranked by strength of evidence. A total of 63 studies were found that met the inclusion criteria. The findings from this review are summarized in tabular format by the type of intervention (classified as supply-side or demand-side). About two-thirds of the studies found were on demand generation type-programs. Findings from all programs revealed significant improvements in knowledge, attitudes, discussion, and intentions. Program impacts on contraceptive use and use of family planning services were less consistently found and less than half of the studies that measured fertility or pregnancy-related outcomes found an impact. Based on the review findings, we identify promising programmatic approaches and propose directions for future evaluation research of family planning interventions.

There are some questions you may not ask in a clinic: Providing contraception information to young people in Kenya using SMS

“…In line with previous successes in promoting reproductive health behaviors using mass media [4,5], mobile phones appear to be a feasible option for reaching young people with information about contraception. Mobile phones provide an additional means for communicating reproductive health information and should be considered as a complement to traditional media channels, particularly for reaching young people.…”

“…By contrast, 50% of women and 55% of men aged 15-19 years reported hearing about family planning on the radio, with approximately 25% hearing about it through television or newspaper [3]. Evidence shows that mass media is effective for encouraging use of contraception [4,5], and mass media interventions may effectively reach young people with contraception information.…”

Determinants of the implementation of a new practice in hormonal contraception by Quebec nurses

“…(Armstrong & Stover, 1994;Aziz & Osman, 1999;Farr, Rivera, & Amatya, 1998;Eren, Ramos, & Gray, 1983;Gardner et al, 2008;Harper, Balistreri, Boggess, Leon, & Darney, 2001;Hoke, et al, 2012;Jejeebhoy, et al, 2011;Lassner, et al, 1995;Mullany, et al, 2010;Parsons et al, 2013;Stanback, Mbonye, & Bekiita, 2007;Warriner, et al, 2006;Warriner, et al, 2011). An increase in the number of providers can lead to significant gains in contraceptive use and may also free up the time of higher-level providers thus allowing them to handle more complex cases (Janowitz, Stanback, & Boyer, 2012;Mwaikambo, Speizer, Schurmann, Morgan, & Fikree, 2011). In line with these studies and WHO recommendations, the province of Quebec passed Bill 90, in 2002, allowing task-shifting between different categories of health professionals (Gouvernement du Québec, 2002).…”

Family Planning Information, Education and Communication with Contaceptive Use

“…[7][8][9] Analysis findings showed that of any media of Family Planning Information, Education and Communication, televisiom and poster/flyer contributed significant influence to contraceptive use. Women receiving Family Planning message through television were 1.6 times to be contraceptive users.…”