Taking postabortion care services where they are needed: An operations research project testing PAC expansion in rural Senegal

Authors

EngenderHealth

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

2003

Abstract

EngenderHealth, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, conducted an operations research project to examine the feasibility of introducing an integrated three-element model of postabortion care (PAC) services in secondary- and primary-level sites in two predominantly rural regions in Senegal. The intervention provided health personnel with: 1) training to improve clinical competence, counseling, infection prevention, and general care; 2) technical assistance, materials, and support to aid in overcoming challenges; and 3) ongoing monitoring and supervision. The project findings attest to the benefits of expanding existing PAC programs in rural settings and suggest that the advantages of such an expansion outweigh the potential disadvantages. The report also highlights the need for additional research to understand how referral networks could be strengthened to improve access to care and to better define the role of health posts within the referral network. Finally, the research suggests that similar expansion efforts in other regions of the country could have a major impact on improving the quality of services offered in rural settings, ultimately reducing maternal morbidity and mortality.

This study was funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program, with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of Cooperative Agreement Number HRN-A-00-98-00012-00 and Subagreement Number AI00.101A.

Recommended Citation

"Taking postabortion care services where they are needed: An operations research project testing PAC expansion in rural Senegal," FRONTIERS Final Report. New York: EngenderHealth, 2003.

DOI

10.31899/rh4.1209

Language

English

Project

Frontiers in Reproductive Health