An evaluation of the impact of community health field stations in Burkina Faso.

The UERD (Unite d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Demographie) carries out an ongoing research project that aims to evaluate community-based strategies in the provision of reproductive health services in the Bazega community health field station in Burkina Faso. UERD evaluates the effectiveness of two different strategies: 1) the improvement of Health Center based FP services and 2) the recruitment and training of agents selected from the local community (community-based service agents, or CBS agents). 18 months after the interventions began UERD made an evaluation of its impact on the general population based on a quasi-experimental research design and a detailed protocol. The results indicate a significant increase in contraceptive prevalence (from 3.6% to 8%) in the zone of CBS intervention over the course of the period. However, the prevalence levels remain weak. The growth in contraceptive prevalence was not determined to be the result of an increased demand brought about by the CBS agents, but instead by improving accessibility due to the proximity of the supply. The research sample comprised 1600 randomly selected compounds (2000 women and 1500 men), which allows for another evaluation in the year 2000. It was designed to permit research in other areas of reproductive health such as HIV/AIDS and STDs, FGM, abortion, etc.