Capacity-Building Through Digital Approaches: Evaluating the Feasibility and Effectiveness of eLearning to Introduce Subcutaneous DMPA Self-Injection in Senegal and Uganda.

Training health workers is one of the biggest challenges and cost drivers when introducing a new contraceptive method or service delivery innovation. PATH developed a digital training curriculum for family planning providers who are learning to offer subcutaneous DMPA (DMPA-SC), including through self-injection, as an option among a range of contraceptive methods. The DMPA-SC eLearning course for health workers includes 10 lessons with an emphasis on informed choice counseling and training clients to self-inject.

Designing a global monitoring system for pilot introduction of a new contraceptive technology, subcutaneous DMPA (DMPA-SC).

In collaboration with ministries of health, PATH and key partners launched the first pilot introductions of subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-SC, brand name Sayana Press) in Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Uganda from July 2014 through June 2016. While each country implemented a unique introduction strategy, all agreed to track a set of uniform indicators to chart the effect of introducing this new method across settings. Existing national health information systems (HIS) were unable to track new methods or delivery channels introduced for a pilot, thus were not a feasible source for project data.

Expanding Access to Injectable Contraception: Results From Pilot Introduction of Subcutaneous Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA-SC) in 4 African Countries.

PATH partnered with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and country ministries of health (MOHs) to coordinate pilot introductions of subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (subcutaneous DMPA or DMPA-SC, brand name Sayana Press) in Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Uganda from July 2014 through June 2016 in order to expand the range of methods available to women, particularly in remote locations. The pilot introductions aimed to answer key questions that would inform decisions about future investments in DMPA-SC and scaling up product availability and service-delivery innovations nationally. These questions included the extent to which DMPA-SC would appeal to first-time users of modern contraception, as well as adolescent girls and young women; whether DMPA-SC would add value to family planning programs or simply replace DMPA-IM or other modern methods; and the trends in injectables use when introducing DMPA-SC (or any injectable) at the community level for the first time.

[Local culture and community participation: Djandioba family planning day in Burkina Faso].

The combination of “local culture and community participation” as implementation support for health programmes is an effective approach to reduce cultural barriers of access to health services. These events have reduced the negative impact of perceptions, erroneous beliefs and misinformation about modern contraceptive methods commonly observed in target populations..