Operations Research to Address Unmet Need for Contraception in the Postpartum Period in Sylhet District, Bangladesh

Summary

The proposed operations research study is designed to evaluate a package of family planning services and related behavior change interventions aimed at addressing the unmet need for family planning in postpartum women, integrated with an ongoing maternal and newborn health program, and to assess the program's impact (1) on knowledge of healthy fertility practices, (2) on contraceptive use prevalence in women during the postpartum period, (3) on postpartum birth spacing, and (4) to examine the feasibility and sustainability of the proposed integrated service delivery approach. The study will have a quasi-experimental design, with evaluation primarily through household surveys in four intervention unions and four comparison unions (unions are lowest local government entities with an average population of about 20,000) in rural Sylhet District, Bangladesh.

Conditions

• Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Educational and Behavior Change intervention

Integrate post-partum family planning education and counselling into 2nd Antenatal Home visit by CHW (at approximately 32 weeks of pregnancy) Integrate post-partum family planning education and counselling into post-partum visits by CHWs during first month Continue providing family planning education and counselling to women through CHW home visits after first month. Promote discussion and acceptance of post-partum family planning methods among key household members. Facility level Ensure availability of postpartum contraceptive methods such as progestin-only pill. Ensure availability of post-partum family planning and post-natal services. Community level Increase community awareness of the importance of birth spacing and benefits of LAM Educate influential community members on the importance of birth spacing and benefits of LAM.

OTHER

Comparison Group

A comparison area received standard government health services.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Jhpiego

  collaborator OTHER

• Johns Hopkins University

  collaborator OTHER

• John Snow, Inc.

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Save the Children

  collaborator OTHER

• PATH

  collaborator OTHER

• Population Services International

  collaborator OTHER

• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Abdullah H Baqui, MBBSMHSDrPH · Johns Hopkins University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

1 Minute

Max Age

49 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2007-06-30

Primary Completion

2013-09-30

Completion

2014-08-31