Understanding the reproductive health needs of conflict-affected women will enable organizations to implement and enhance programs and services to improve the health of women and their families. The Reproductive Health Assessment Toolkit (RHA) for Conflict-Affected Women provides user-friendly tools to quantitatively assess the reproductive health needs of conflict-affected women aged 15–49 years. The RHA Toolkit enables field staff to collect data to inform program planning, monitoring, evaluation, and advocacy. It promotes using the collected data to enhance services and improve the reproductive health of women and their families.

The RHA Toolkit includes—

• Sampling instructions,
• Survey team training manual,
• Questionnaire,
• Public domain data entry program (CSPro),
• Pre-programmed analyses, and
• Suggestions for data use.

The Toolkit collects information about—

• Safe motherhood (current and past childbearing),
• Family planning,
• Sexual history,
• Sexually Transmitted Infections STIs,
• HIV/AIDS,
• Gender-based Violence GBV, and
• Female genital cutting.

Target Users
The Toolkit is intended for organizations such as government, nongovernment, and United Nations agencies that provide or are interested in providing reproductive health services to conflict-affected women. Field staff and independent researchers who use this Toolkit should be familiar with survey work, but it is designed to be used by staff with limited  survey expertise.

Pilot Tests
The Toolkit was pilot tested in 2004–2006 among refugees and internally displaced populations in three countries in Africa and South America. Data from one pilot test show—

• 26% of women are current users of modern contraception. Among non-users, 14% reported barriers to use. These findings indicate a need to develop or enhance family planning programs and ensure that women who want to use family planning are able to do so.
• 17% of women have comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS. The findings indicate a need to reinforce services to improve knowledge on HIV/AIDS and address incorrect beliefs about the transmission of HIV/AIDS.
• 26% of currently partnered women experienced intimate partner violence in the past year. The findings indicate a need to develop appropriate medical and psychosocial responses to survivors and create strategies to prevent gender-based violence.

Trainings
CDC has developed a 2-day training on implementing the RHA Toolkit. For more information on future trainings, visit the RHA Toolkit Updates page or email cdcinfo@cdc.gov.

Past and completed research studies include—

• A Determination of the Prevalence of Gender Based Violence (GBV) Among Conflict-Affected Populations in East Timor, 2002.
• Maternal Mortality in Afghanistan: Magnitude, Causes, Risk Factors, and Preventability, 2002.
• An Assessment of Reproductive Health Issues Among Karen and Burmese Refugees Living in Thailand, 2001.
• Azerbaijan Reproductive Health Study, 2001.
• Results from a Reproductive Health Survey Among Afghan Refugees Living in Pakistan, 2000.
• Maternal Mortality Among Afghan Refugees in Pakistan, 1999–2000.
• An Evaluation of Poor Pregnancy Outcomes Among Burundian Refugees in Tanzania 1997–1998.

For more information view our reproductive health in crises published research or view our international reports.