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Johannes van Dam, MD MPH, HORIZONS, Population Council, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suit 280, Washington, DC 20008, (202) 237-9406, jvandam@pcdc.org, Sarah Hawkes, MD PhD, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom, Nathalie Broutet, PhD, RHR, World Health Organization, Ave Appia, Geneva, CH 1211, Switzerland, Gunta Lazdane, MD MPH, EURO, World Health Organization, 8 Scherfigsvej, Copenhagen, DK-2100, Denmark, John O. Gyapong, MD MPH PhD, Health Research Unit, Ghana Health Service, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box GP-184, Accra, Ghana, and Telma Queiroz, MD MPH, Projeto HIV/DST - Ceará /CECAD, Caixa Postal 3226, Fortaleza, Brazil.
Reproductive tract infections (RTIs) including sexually transmitted infections (STIs) contribute substantially to the burden of adult disease in many resource poor countries and settings. In high prevalence areas they are among the most common reasons for seeking care at the primary health care level. The range of available interventions for prevention and care is wide, but most programs are only narrowly focused on a small number of interventions (e.g. clinical management of symptomatic persons). A tool for strategic planning of RTI/STI programs was developed based on WHO’s Strategic Approach for Improving Quality of Care in Family Planning Programs. The approach involves an iterative and participatory process that results in wide consensus on priority program activities. The strategic planning tool (Program Guidance Tool, PGT) was field tested and evaluated in three countries (Brazil, Ghana, Latvia). In all three countries the use of the PGT resulted in the identification of a range of strategic priorities: policy, operational (usually based on service delivery needs), and research. These strategic recommendations were generally more broadly focused than the existing range of programmatic interventions. However, the ability of programs to implement their identified strategic recommendations was limited by the context of wider health sector issues such as health sector reform and the activities and priorities of other key actors in the field. In conclusion, the PGT is a useful tool for locally led identification of RTI/STI program priorities, but its impact may be limited by the absence of a coordinated buy-in from all key stakeholders.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Planning, Healthcare Costs
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.