Mexico leads the world in the provision of postabortion care (PAC) with manual vacuum aspiration (MVA). Three of the major public sector health institutions, including the Secretariat of Health (SSA), the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), and the IMSS Solidarity system, have adopted PAC with MVA as a routine part of reproductive health services in their facilities. Two systems are providing PAC at the primary care level. The health systems have extended PAC services to more than 360 hospitals and health centers throughout the country, have trained over 25,000 health care providers and are continually training and extending care to new health facilities.
Ipas began working in Mexico in the late 1980s to improve PAC with MVA in the public sector, where the majority of health services are provided. Mexican health systems were interested in improving quality and access and making improvements sustainable to enhance women's reproductive health and contribute to the reduction of maternal mortality. The PAC model with MVA produced positive results, including improved postabortion family planning services, reductions in treatment costs, enhanced capacity of rural health facilities and lower maternal mortality. Mexico's experience is unique as it is one of the few countries to successfully reach rural and primary care health facilities with these lifesaving services. This presentation will review the strategies used by these health systems to expand PAC services from tertiary care facilities to the community level and rural areas and describes elements of success from each experience.
See www.ipas.orgLearning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to list 2-4 successful ways that major health systems in Mexico used to broadly extend post-abortion care (PAC) to all levels of care.
Keywords: Post-Abortion Care, Reproductive Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Ipas
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.