Maximizing Access and Quality (MAQ) Initiative
In 1993, in the search for solutions to the large unmet
demand for voluntary contraceptive services in the developing
world, USAID launched the Maximizing Access and Quality (MAQ)
initiative to identify and address barriers
to client access and to work to improve family planning (FP)
service delivery standards and quality. Assistance is
provided to such areas as provider training, service
management and supervision, client education, and increasing
the choice of available contraceptive methods. MAQ also
works to distill and disseminate lessons learned and
to identify future critical issues that could impact
quality care.
MAQ encompasses all USAID efforts in FP
and reproductive health (RH) – in the Offices of Population
and Reproductive Health (PRH) and of Health, Infectious
Diseases, and Nutrition, in the Missions, and in the
cooperating agency (CA) community – that support the
institutionalization of a modern quality assurance program.
These areas of work include policy development, creation
of systems to monitor quality, development of clinical
standards and guidelines, strategies for promoting compliance
with guidelines, standardized benchmarking methodologies
for best practices, redesign of systems of care, documentation
of quality assurance activities, performance-based incentive
systems, monitoring and evaluation of QA programs, and
regulatory strategies for quality, including accreditation,
certification, and licensing.
Related Links
- Maximizing
Access and Quality (MAQ) Initiative
MAQ is an initiative to apply state-of-the-art methods
to maximize access to and quality of FP
and other selected RH services.
- Couple Years of Protection (CYP)
An overview of Couple of Years of Protection (CYP), the estimated protection provided by contraceptive methods during a one-year period, based upon the volume of all contraceptives sold or distributed free of charge to clients during that period.
- Quality
Assurance Project
The Quality Assurance Project is a global leader
in the advocacy, development, and promotion of cost-effective
methods to strengthen health care services and systems
in developing and middle-income countries.
- Elements of Successful Family Planning Programs: Online Survey and Global Forum Discussion – 12/01/07
The INFO Project, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners of the Implementing Best Practices (IBP) Initiative, sponsored an online global discussion forum in order to share program experiences, review research findings, highlight resources, and reach consensus on the core elements of successful FP programs.
Related Publications
- A Guide for Fostering Change to Scale Up Effective Health Services – 2007 [PDF, 5.8MB]
This guide was produced for the IBP Consortium by the
USAID-funded Leadership, Management, and Sustainability (LMS) Project of Management Sciences for Health
(MSH). The guide presents a pathway that links proven change practices with evidenced-based clinical and programmatic practices to cross barriers of change resistance. It helps teams to foster change and work together to break down barriers and focus actions to obtain a common goal.
- IUD Toolkit Available
The IUD Toolkit was compiled by members of the IUD Subcommittee of USAID's MAQ Initiative. Policymakers, program managers, providers, and others interested in adding or improving existing IUD services in their FP programs can visit http://www.iudtoolkit.org to access free and downloadable full-text resources on the IUD. Many resources are available in French and Spanish.
- IUDs: Old Thinking Versus New Thinking
The advent of the copper IUD has brought about a change in the way we think about IUD use. Many restrictions on IUD use have been lifted. The Old Think/New Think tool gives an update on this shift in thinking and reflects guidance from WHO.
- Contraception for Women Taking Antiretroviral Medications (ARVs): An Update – 11/16/07
A Global Health technical brief explains why the availability of contraceptives to women on ARVs is necessary and how different contraceptive methods interact with ARVs.
- Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers – April 2008
Published by the INFO Project at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the book offers clinic-based health care professionals in developing countries the latest guidance on providing contraceptive methods.
- Guide to Monitoring and Evaluating Health Information Products and Services – November 2007 [PDF, 748KB]
The objectives of this guide are to: 1) provide a core list of indicators to measure the reach, usefulness, use, and impact of information services and products in a consistent way; 2) improve monitoring and evaluation by simplifying the selection and application of indicators; and 3) define, standardize, and categorize indicators so as to promote agreement on their appropriate application and interpretation.
- The Technology of Performance Improvement: How We Get Results
On September 14, 2004, USAID sponsored a day-long workshop in Washington, D.C., that was designed to gather lessons learned from the implementation of performance improvement in USAID-funded programs in the field.
- USAID Guidance on Depo Study
An announcement from USAID was published regarding a study of women using the injectable contraceptive depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate.
- MAQ Population Report: Organizing Work Better
This report responds to the challenge facing FP and other health care organizations in developing countries – doing more with the same or fewer resources – and offers advice on how to reorganize work processes to conserve resources and operate more effectively.
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