E&R Studies

E&R Study #1
Improving the Use of Long-Term and Permanent Methods of Contraception in Guinea: A Performance Needs Assessment
In February  2004, the ACQUIRE Project, in coordination with the PRISM Project, worked with the Guinea Ministry of Health to conduct a performance needs assessment (PNA) of family planning and other health care providers in three regions of Guinea. Its purpose was to identify performance gaps or problems and determine the most appropriate interventions to improve providers’ performance and clients’ and communities’ access to and use of LTPMs. (2005)
English version (PDF, 870KB)  French version (PDF, 717KB)

ACQUIRE Baseline Surveys
Conducted in Bolivia, Bangladesh, and Tanzania, these baseline surveys revealed very important information about the current state of reproductive health and family planning services in each of these country contexts. The data from the surveys served to inform ACQUIRE’s programming and in the case of Bangladesh, they were used in comparison with endline data to measure the extent to which ACQUIRE program activities affected the availability and quality of services at the facilities ACQUIRE supported. All three of the surveys employed a quasi-experimental design and were adapted from the Services Provision Assessment and the Quick Investigation of Quality tools to these country and programmatic contexts using a core ACQUIRE approach—the fundamentals of care (choice, safety, and quality assurance). (2006)
Available as PDF: 
    E&R Study #2
    Bolivia Baseline Survey, 2005: Technical Report
    English version (732KB) Spanish version (714KB)

    E&R Study #3
    Bangladesh Baseline Survey, 2004: Technical Report
    (609KB)

    E&R Study #4
    Tanzania Baseline Survey, 2004–2005: Technical Report
    (524KB)
 

E&R Study #5
Factors Affecting Vasectomy Acceptability in the Kigoma Region of Tanzania
This study, a collaboration between the ACQUIRE Project and Family Health International, explores factors contributing to vasectomy use in the region, to refine existing vasectomy programs and to replicate and scale up best practices and lessons learned from the study sites to areas of low vasectomy acceptance. (2006)
Available as a PDF: download (309KB)

E&R Study #6
Reproductive Health and Services in Azerbaijan, 2005: Results of a Baseline Survey in Five Districts
Conducted in five districts of Azerbaijan in 2005, this baseline survey identified problems and barriers to services, and assessed both public- and private-sector facilities, interviewing providers and community members on the current supply of and demand for family planning. High unmet need for contraception, lack of contraceptive security, scarcity of current information on family planning, and fear of method side effects are among the findings of the survey. (2006)
Available as a PDF: download (521KB)

E&R Study #7
Community Awareness of and Attitudes toward Long-Acting and Permanent Contraception in Guinea
Little recent literature exists to explain the low prevalence of family planning in Guinea. To learn more about demand and supply issues around family planning in Guinea, the ACQUIRE Project, with technical assistance from Family Health International, undertook a research project to identify community awareness of and barriers to the use of long-acting and permanent methods of family planning. (2006)
Available as a PDF: download (262KB)

E&R Study #8
IUD Use and Discontinuation in Bangladesh
Discontinuation rates for the IUD in Bangladesh are lower than for other modern methods (at 35.4%) but they are still higher than global rates. The majority of Bangladeshi IUD users (63.7%) indicate that side effects and health concerns are their main reasons for discontinuing use. To better understand clients' perspectives on IUD discontinuation, ACQUIRE conducted a study consisting of closed-ended interviews with IUD acceptors, in-depth interviews with IUD discontinuers, and health provider interviews. (2007)
Available as a PDF: download (706KB)

E&R Study #9
Increasing Awareness and Use of Long-Acting and Permanent Contraceptive Methods in Guinea: Case Study of a Pilot IUD Intervention
This case study illustrates the effectiveness of a synergistic “supply and demand” strategy that includes the engagement of religious leaders and district Ministry of Health officials to increase awareness and knowledge of long-acting family planning methods in a low-resource setting in West Africa. This communication campaign was implemented with minimal monetary investment, in a context with clinical supply challenges, little local marketing capacity, a limited range of media, and a relatively conservative religious culture. Despite these factors, the campaign succeeded in reaching the intended audience with relevant information that translated into a considerable number of women seeking IUD services and making an informed choice to use the IUD within a period of a few months. (2008) 
Available as a PDF: download (1.6MB) 

E&R Study #10
Revitalizing Long-Acting and Permanent Methods of Family Planning in Uganda: ACQUIRE's District Approach
This case study synthesizes the ACQUIRE Project’s experience and achievements in its efforts to revitalize family planning, with a focus on long-acting and permanent methods of contraception, in four districts in Uganda during the period January 2005 to November 2006. It describes the project objectives and strategies, challenges encountered, program adjustments made, results, lessons learned, and practices proven to be effective. It also offers recommendations for addressing the systemic challenges in the Ugandan health care system. (2008)
Available as a PDF: download (418KB)

E&R Study #11
Engaging Communities as Partners in Postabortion Care: A Desk Review of the Community Postabortion Care Project in Nakuru, Kenya
This desk review documents the ACQUIRE Project’s efforts in community engagement and mobilization for postaboprtion care (PAC) in Kenya. The Kenya COMMPAC Project was a replication of the Bolivia PAC Community Mobilization Program (C-PAC), which was implemented by CATALYST and Socios para el Desarrollo/PROSALUD (2004–2007). Both the Bolivia and Kenya projects are important efforts funded by USAID to put the community PAC component into practice, and empower the community to mobilize itself to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality due to complications resulting from miscarriage and incomplete abortion. (2008)
Available as a PDF: download (379KB)

E&R Study #12
Mobilizing Married Youth in Nepal to Improve Reproductive Health: The Reproductive Health for Married Adolescent Couples Project, Nepal 2005-2007 
The ACQUIRE Project, in association with CARE Nepal, implemented a two-year pilot project in 2005—the Reproductive Health for Married Adolescent Couples Project (RHMACP)—within the Parsa and Dhanusha districts of Nepal. The project utilized an ecological model to improve health outcomes for married adolescents in target districts. In close collaboration with District Public Health Offices, the RHMACP established a peer education network to disseminate RH information to married couples; supported local health facilities to provide youth friendly-services; and fostered an enabling environment among parents, in-laws, and influential community members to increase married adolescents' access to, and use of, health services. (2008)
Available as a PDF: download (847KB)

E&R Study #13
Evaluation of a Family Planning and Antiretroviral Therapy Integration Pilot in Mbale, Uganda
In Uganda, there is an urgent need for quality, voluntary family planning (FP) services to help people living with HIV achieve their fertility intentions and to reduce HIV incidence. Working with The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), one of the leading local nongovernmental organizations in Uganda providing HIV services to people living with HIV, ACQUIRE pilot-tested from March 2006 to April 2007 a project integrating FP and antiretroviral therapy (ART) services at a TASO center located in the Mbale District, using ACQUIRE’s FP-ART integration framework. ACQUIRE conducted a retrospective evaluation using a case-study methodology to assess the pilot, including its effect on the program processes and on FP method mix and uptake. This report presents the findings from this case study and provides recommendations for replication and scale-up. (2008)
Available as a PDF: download (333KB)

E&R Study #14 Bangladesh Endline Evaluation—2008
ACQUIRE has been working in Bangladesh since October 2003, in collaboration with the Directorate General of Family Planning and the Directorate General of Health Services, to strengthen family planning and LAPM services. ACQUIRE conducted baseline and endline surveys in Bangladesh to measure the outcomes of the project between 2004 and 2008. This study report provides the results, with a focus on quantitative data from pretest and posttest facility surveys that measured the extent to which program activities were affected with availability of quality services at supported facilities. (2008)
Available as a PDF: download (471KB)