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

Abstract #71655

M. Celeste Marin, MPH¹, Edmond Bagde, BA², Placide Tapsoba, MD, MPH², Thierno Dieng, MS³, and Blami Dao, MD⁴. (1) Frontiers in Reproductive Health/Tulane University, Population Council, 4301 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 280, Washington, DC 20008, 202-237-9421, cmarin@pcdc.org, (2) Frontiers in Reproductive Health, Population Council, 143 Sotrac Mermoz, PO Box 21027, Dakar, Senegal, (3) CEFOREP, B.P. 22340, Dakar- Ponty, Senegal, (4) Centre Hopitalier Sanou Sourou, Cellule de Recherche en Sante de la Reproduction (CRESAR), Clinique Gineco-obstetrique de Bobo-Dioulasso, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

The ultimate goal of operations research is for decisionmakers to use results to make improvements in health care services, but few systematic efforts have been made to determine how and why research results are utilized. To address this challenge, Frontiers in Reproductive Health developed a set of indicators and an approach to document utilization.

As part of the Francophone African PAC Initiative launched in 2002, FRONTIERS revisited two successful postabortion care OR studies to determine how and why study results led to program and policy changes. Evaluators interviewed 30 key informants, visited original and expansion sites and reviewed documents to answer the following questions: 1) What can the experience teach other Francophone African countries as they develop national PAC programs? 2) How can researchers and collaborators reach stakeholders with findings and encourage action?

Population Council, JHPIEGO and local researchers had faced years of strong opposition before gaining Ministry of Health permission to conduct the two small-scale studies in 1997-98. Both studies showed improvements in efficiency, quality and cost of services, including infection prevention, family planning counseling and acceptance, time spent in hospital and staff division of labor. They were quickly adopted as national programs leading to new norms and protocols and expansion of services to lower-level facilities.

This paper presents findings on participation of stakeholders, dissemination efforts, and utilization, including programmatic and policy impact. Factors influencing utilization and suggestions for improvement are among the lessons learned.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to:
• Describe how an OR study can be used to successfully introduce a controversial service like postabortion care; and
• Identify factors that facilitate and hinder the translation of research results into program and policy change, and apply this information to increase utilization of future research studies.

Keywords: Post-Abortion Care, Utilization

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.