Clinical Organization and Capacity Building

Partners conducted a family planning and leadership development training in Dubna to share the basics of clinical practice guidelines and introduce AIHA’s Learning Resource Center (LRC) model, as well as the results of patient and provider surveys conducted at the onset of the partnership.

Partners trained ob/gyns from project sites, mostly existing women’s consultation centers, in all four target cities. Key topics covered included modern family planning methods and in some cases general practice and family medicine.

Partners conducted training of trainers courses, teaching local physicians and nurses effective adult learning techniques in addition to clinical topics such as family planning, myths about contraception, patient counseling, and effective interpersonal communication.

Through the partnership, mannequins, posters, and other education and training materials were purchased for each target site to assist in ongoing training and professional development efforts.

The partnership also supported the procurement of computers and internet connectivity to facilitate improved communication and access to evidence-based medical information and research, as well as the purchase of office equipment and supplies that enabled partners at target sites to produce patient education and outreach materials.

Reproductive Health and Family Planning Services

Partners at the four pilot sites each developed two reproductive health and family planning clinical practice guidelines for the project. Hormonal contraception and IUD use were selected for implementation in 2006 and 100 percent of the healthcare workers involved in the project now use the guidelines and report that the protocols make their work easier and more efficient. Moscow Oblast’s Minister of Health requested that the remaining six guidelines be implemented in 2007 based on the success of the first two.

Partners conducted a patient and provider satisfaction survey at the start of the project and again at its conclusion. The studies indicated positive changes were made in each of the sites. Specific improvements cited include scheduling, hours of clinic operation, cleanliness, and attitudes of healthcare workers.

Patient Education and Outreach

Partners developed a prenatal care folder that contains information about contraception and family planning, as well as pregnancy, delivery, breastfeeding, and the basics of newborn and infant care. The folder is given to every pregnant woman who receives care at the pilot sites.

Partners established community committees in all four pilot cities to help determine the needs of the local populations, as well as the direction the project would take in each area. These committees included representatives of the mass media, city administration, school administration, and area churches. At first, partners expressed concern about the church’s potential opposition to the family planning program. By actively engaging them in the process, however, partners eliminated a possible obstacle to program implementation.

Partners from all of the pilot sites engaged the mass media in education and outreach efforts. They wrote articles for newspapers and participated in monthly television and radio broadcasts devoted to health-related topics in each city.

In Voskresensk, all couples who obtain a marriage license are given educational materials on family planning and reproductive health topics.

Partners conducted a survey among local teenagers to determine their needs for education on reproductive health and family planning educational and shared the results with school administrations, who adjusted their curricula accordingly. Classes on reproductive health, STIs, and a host of other topics were implemented and partners produced and translated a wide range of patient education materials for both students and parents.

To complement these school-based activities, school administrators requested that physicians and nurses at partnership sites speak to the students on topics including reproductive health and hygiene and STIs, among other things.

Partners at all four sites conducted health fairs as a way to share a broad range of information on family planning and reproductive health with the general public. This was the first time three of the cities engaged in this type of activity and they reported successful outcomes and plans to continue with similar events in the future.