247533 Antepartum perceptions of postpartum family planning in Albania

Monday, October 31, 2011

Anne Blauvelt, MPH , Global Health, Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA
Roger Rochat, MD, MPH , Global Health, Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA
Elaine Charurat, MHS, MBA , Jhpiego, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Introduction: Albania, a small Mediterranean nation, has undergone significant demographic change. Since 1955, Albanian TFR fell from 6.8 to 1.6. This occurred without use of modern methods of family planning (couples instead relying on withdrawal and abortion) and contributing to high rates of unwanted pregnancies. Recently, Jhpiego began training reproductive health providers in four cities in family planning. We evaluated this training, comparing anticipated family planning use in one of those cities (Tirana) with its neighbor (Durres). Methods: 242 women were surveyed from antenatal care clinics at maternity hospitals and polyclinics. Multivariate logistic models, controlling for age, education, rural/urban status and parity, were used to determine relationships between survey city and knowledge about, past use of, and anticipated use or family planning methods. Results: Evidence shows women in Tirana reported a higher rate of postpartum family planning counseling during ANC visits, 39.4%, than those in Durres, 18.5% (OR = 2.736; p = 0.0058). Additionally, 65.7% of women in Tirana planned to use a modern method of family planning postpartum, compared to only 38.2% of women in Durres (OR = 2.252; p = 0.0080). Furthermore, the methods specifically promoted by Jhpiego showed greater gains from ever use to anticipated use in Tirana than in Durres. Conclusion: Although other factors could contribute to a higher anticipated rate of postpartum family planning use in Tirana over Durres, it is likely that these results can be partly attributed to detailed postpartum family planning training for providers, as supported by Jhpiego's work in Albania.

Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
After this presentation, audience members will be able to: 1. List the family planning results in currently pregnant women at clinics in Tirana and Durres. These results include: a. Knowledge of 9 different family planning methods; b. Experience using 9 different family planning methods; c. Expectations to use 9 different family planning methods after this pregnancy. 2. Discuss how Jhpiego’s ACCESS-FP training program may contribute to any observable differences between the program and control city.

Keywords: Family Planning, Training

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I have experience with maternal and child health programming and evaluation.
Any relevant financial relationships? Yes

Name of Organization Clinical/Research Area Type of relationship
Jhpiego Program Review Independent Contractor (contracted research and clinical trials)

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.