Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #112707

Kelly J. Wolfe, MEd and Ruth Berg, PhD. Private Sector Partnerships - One Project, 4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 600, Bethesda, MD 20814, 301-718-3189, kwolfe77@hotmail.com

Purpose. This presentation describes: 1) The impact of a public-private partnership in Mexico to create a youth friendly pharmacy network; 2) The successful replication of the network in other cities in Mexico; and 3) Implications for scale-up and replication in other developing countries.

Information used. With funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Commercial Market Strategies project (CMS) collaborated with a local non-governmental organization (CELSAM) to create a youth friendly pharmacy network in Guanajuato, Mexico. The main objective of the collaboration was to improve youth access to reproductive health information and services in a sustainable manner. Key interventions included 1) training of pharmacists and clerks in contraceptive technology and youth sensitivities; and 2) a communications campaign with youth.

Methods used and project results. The CMS project conducted post intervention mystery client visits among network members and a control group to assess the quality of reproductive health services. The findings demonstrated that trained pharmacists were more likely than the control group to give accurate contraceptive information, ensure privacy, and make youth feel comfortable asking questions related to reproductive health services.

Policy implications and recommendations. By demonstrating the positive results of this project in Guanajuato, CELSAM has managed to leverage public sector support to replicate this project in other cities in Mexico. In addition, CELSAM is now working with the PSP-One Project (the follow-on project to the CMS project) to assess the feasibility of replicating and scaling up the youth-friendly network model in developing countries in other regions.

Learning Objectives:

1. Audience members will be able to articulate the added value of adding a “youth friendly” component to pharmacist trainings related to reproductive health 2. The audience will learn about the importance of public sector support to ensure sustainability and replication of work supporting the reproductive health needs of youth.
• The audience will be able to apply the lessons learned from the Mexico project to a project in another developing country.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation