This presentation will cover the impact that an integrated postabortion care (PAC) services program has on the contraceptive prevalence rate among postabortion patients who come to pubic sector Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals for treatment of abortion complications.
Since 1997, the Peruvian Ministry of Health’s Maternal and Perinatal Program has operated a postabortion care program in 21 hospitals with the technical assistance of Pathfinder International. Prior to initiating the PAC program at a hospital, each facility was assessed to evaluate existing postabortion family planning services. The assessment revealed that in some hospitals, women discharged after treatment for incomplete abortion rarely received any counseling or family planning services. The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) among postabortion patients was 29 percent.
This paper presents preliminary outcomes of the PAC program, demonstrating changes at the participating hospitals, including an increase in the CPR among postabortion patients to 70 percent. Changes are expressed in terms of the presence of: staff trained in the use of modern techniques for the treatment of incomplete abortion, staff trained in the provision of FP/RH counseling, standardized protocols, organized services, adequate facilities, administrative changes, and management information systems.
Sensitization interventions conducted as part of the PAC program have contributed to changes in service providers’ and authorities’ attitudes towards women who have had an abortion. These changes have influenced political decisions that improve the quality of the care service providers offer to postabortion patients and contributed to an increase in the use of postabortion family planning services to prevent additional unwanted pregnancies.
Learning Objectives: 1. Evaluate the impact the postabortion care services program has had on participating hospitals and on the contraceptive prevalence rate of postabortion patients. 2. Develop a plan for integrating family planning counseling and services into postabortion treatment programs
Keywords: Post-Abortion Care, Family Planning
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
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.