Quality of Long-acting Reversible Contraception Provision in Lomé, Togo.

CONTEXT

Provision of high-quality contraceptive counseling and services is essential to ensure family planning (FP) programs are rights-based and voluntary. Togo's modern contraceptive use has steadily increased with almost a quarter of the method mix attributed to long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC). The purpose of this study is to assess the quality of LARC provision in Togo.

METHODS

Data for this study were collected in 2016 as part of a larger research study conducted in Lomé, Togo to assess the effectiveness of the ongoing FP service delivery model. Quality of FP service was assessed in terms of program capacity and program performance. Program capacity was measured with five individual variables and program performance was measured with the Method Information Index (MII). Descriptive statistics and mixed effects models were used to assess likelihood of LARC uptake.

RESULTS

Of the 669 clients included in the study, 19.4% received a LARC method. Multivariable results show that LARC uptake is significantly associated with supervisory visit at the facility in the last three months (program capacity indicator) (OR 1.44; 95%CI 1.48-2.39) and is twice as likely for those with a positive MII score, even after controlling for provider and client characteristics (OR 2.1; 95%CI 1.61-2.51).

CONCLUSION

This study identified supervisory visits and comprehensive contraceptive counseling as the key quality factors positively associated with uptake of LARC. Continued focus on quality of care and provider-client information exchange is necessary to ensure women's FP needs are met.