Open AccessComparing quality of reproductive health services before and after clinic-strengthening activities: A case study in rural Burkina Faso
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Publication year - 1998
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.31899/rh1998.1006
Subject(s) - competence (human resources) , family planning , psychological intervention , nursing , interpersonal communication , quality (philosophy) , service provider , medicine , reproductive health , service delivery framework , service quality , intervention (counseling) , rural area , fertility , health care , family medicine , service (business) , psychology , medical education , business , environmental health , marketing , population , economic growth , social psychology , research methodology , pathology , economics , philosophy , epistemology
Much literature has been written about improving the quality of reproductive health (RH) care at service delivery points (SDPs) because women deserve quality services, and as a means of increasing use of family planning (FP) and other RH services. There are six fundamental dimensions of quality of care: choice of methods, information given to clients, technical competence, interpersonal relations, mechanisms to encourage continuity, and an appropriate constellation of services. Improving these elements is thought to increase client satisfaction, resulting in an increase in contraceptive use and eventually fertility decline. Existing research has not convincingly demonstrated this link between quality of care and client outcomes. Training service providers on FP and communication skills and improving clinic infrastructure/equipment are ways of possibly improving aspects of nearly all elements of quality. An intervention in a rural field research station in Burkina Faso was designed to supply RH training and basic medical equipment to 13 SDPs. This paper details an operations research project that tests the strength of community-based and clinic interventions on RH knowledge, attitudes, and practice, and assesses overall contraceptive prevalence in the area.