Safety and acceptability of tubal ligation procedures performed by trained clinical officers in rural Uganda.

OBJECTIVE

To assess safety associated with tubal ligation performed by trained clinical officers (COs) in rural Uganda.

METHODS

Between March and June 2012, 518 women in 4 regions of Uganda were recruited into a prospective cohort study and followed at days 3, 7, and 45 after undergoing tubal ligation performed by a trained CO. Intraoperative and postoperative adverse events (minor, moderate, or major), and acceptability were assessed.

RESULTS

Mean age was 36 years (range, 20-49 years) and mean number of living children was 6.7 (range, 0-15). The overall rate of major adverse events was 1.5%: 0.4% intraoperatively; 1.9% at day 3; and 0.2% at day 7. The majority of women who underwent tubal ligation reported a good/very good experience at the facility (range, 94%-99%) and would recommend the health services to a friend (range, 93%-98%).

CONCLUSION

In the present study, task sharing of tubal ligation to trained COs in private facilities was safe. Women reported high levels of satisfaction with the procedure. Training COs could be an effective strategy for expanding family-planning services to rural Uganda.