USAID, Ministry of Health Collaborate to Improve Family Planning
Since 2004, the USAID’s ACQUIRE Reproductive Health and Family Planning Project has worked in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to increase the availability, quality, use, and sustainability of reproductive health and family planning services in Azerbaijan. Two years later, as part of this effort, ACQUIRE developed an in-service training course for health service professionals on intrauterine device (IUD) utilization to health service provider skills and expand the availability of high-quality family planning services.
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The five-day course for health service providers combines clinical theory with hand-on, skills-based training according to WHO guidelines.
Photo Credit: Engender Health-ACQUIRE project |
Dr. Levent Cagatay, ACQUIRE’s Senior Technical Advisor for Client/Provider Interaction, conducted training for a group of master trainers from the Ministry of Health (MOH). In turn, these Master Trainers helped train the first group of eight gynecologists from five regions (Kurdemir, Goychay, Ismayilli, Shamakhi, and Sheki). In late April, a second group of gynecologists from the Central District Hospital in Sheki completed their training, bringing the total number of trained gynecologists to 15.
The five-day course for health service providers combines clinical theory with hand-on, skills-based training according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Participants spend three days in the classroom learning about IUD insertion/removal techniques, patient counseling, and infection prevention protocols. During this portion of the course, students practice techniques using a life-size, synthetic rubber model. Academic instruction is followed by two days of hands-on clinical training, during which students deliver services to actual patients under the direct supervision of a qualified medical instructor.
Prior to the training, ACQUIRE’s community outreach teams identify women from the community who are interested in family planning and provide them with information on the full range of available contraceptive options. Those who express interest in the IUD are offered an appointment on the last two days of the training course. During the appointment, training participants conduct confidential family planning counseling sessions to confirm each client’s interest and medical eligibility.
At a recent training in Sheki, more than 50 women received IUD services. This year, ACQUIRE and the MOH will offer the course to health service professionals from three additional regions in Azerbaijan: Baku, Absheron, and Goychay.
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