The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #65835

Alessandra Guedes, MA, MSc¹, Sarah Bott, MA, MPH², Rupal Sanghvi, MPH³, Ana Guezmes, MD², Elizabeth Vargas², and Yvette Cuca, MPH, MIA². (1) Western Hemisphere Regional Office, International Planned Parenthood Federation / WHR, 120 Wall Street, 9th floor, New York, NY 10005-3902, 212 214-0233, aguedes@ippfwhr.org, (2) Consultant, 10837Wellworth Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024, (3) Evaluation Unit, IPPF/WHR, 120 Wall Street, 9th floor, New York, NY 10005

Recognizing that reproductive health clinics are often primary providers of health care to women, IPPF/WHR has worked in Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen the ability of clinicians to screen women for gender-based violence (GBV) and care for survivors. In 1999, three IPPF/WHR affiliates - PROFAMILIA (Dominican Republic), INPPARES (Peru) and PLAFAM (Venezuela) - launched a regional project to address GBV in sexual and reproductive health services. The project has four objectives: strengthening institutional capacity to address GBV; increasing awareness of GBV as a public health and human rights issue; improving legal protection of victims of GBV; and increasing knowledge about effective interventions to address GBV.

Over the course of three years, the affiliates have improved infrastructure, resources and services in 11 clinics, trained over 80 providers, screened and provided services to survivors. A major focus of this initiative has been to ensure rigorous evaluation, to produce tools and to document lessons learned. IPPF/WHR carried out a final evaluation in 2002, as a follow-up to baseline data collection three years earlier, that involved a KAP survey, an assessment of clinic resources using standardized tools, and a random record review. Preliminary results suggest that provider attitudes, screening practices, and detection rates have changed dramatically since the project began. Results of this evaluation highlight both the feasibility and the importance of addressing GBV in health programs both from a human rights and a public health perspective. In particular, this project demonstrates that low-cost interventions can benefit survivors of gender-based violence.

Learning Objectives:

• Review quantitative and qualitative program evaluation data from three health care organizations Latin American and the Caribbean regarding the effect of a four-year effort to address GBV on: providers’ attitudes, knowledge and practices; clinic policies and detection rates.
• Describe the lessons learned from a multi-country effort to integrate and evaluate screening and services for GBV in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Reproductive Health

Related Web page: www.ippfwhr.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region and affiliates
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.