Tatek Tesfaye, Ephrem Mamo, Ayele Teshome, Birhanu Kebede, Tizita Abrham, Ananya Solomon, Selahadin Seid
Background: Postpartum Family Planning (PPFP), which aims to prevent high-risk unintended and closely spaced pregnancies during the first year following childbirth, is one of the highest impact interventions to avoid the increased risk of premature birth, low birth weight, fetal and neonatal death, and adverse maternal health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the combined effect of a package of interventions on the use and quality of PPFP services at Y12HMC, Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Method: An uncontrolled pre-post interventional study design was conducted to evaluate the effect of the package of chosen interventions: creating a private counseling space near the postpartum ward and providing training for health care providers on the WHO decision tool kit and Long-Acting Contraceptive Methods (LACM). The effect was assessed by comparing the change of uptake and quality scores of indicators of interest in the periods before and after the intervention. Interviews were conducted with 470 women (235 before and 235 after the intervention). Frequency tables and graphs were used to describe the study variables and statistical significance between pre and post-intervention indicators was declared at p-value <0.05 Results: The majority of the participants were in the age category 20-29 years, were married/lived together, completed at least primary education and had more than one child both at baseline and post-intervention. The proportion of women who chose PPFP increased from 51% at baseline to 69% after the intervention. The most preferred contraceptive method was the implant. The overall satisfaction level of the study participants with the service was 95.4% post-intervention, significantly higher than at baseline (78%, p<0.05). Conclusion: This study adds to the growing body of evidence that quality improvement can achieve significant improvements in quality of care and contraceptive use.
