The Training Resource Package (TRP) for Family Planning’s Progestin-Only Injectable module includes sessions V and VI which are focused on DMPA-SC and self-injection, as well as a number of related handouts and resources. Developed in partnership with the Access Collaborative, these materials are intended for training health care providers who offer progestin-only injectable contraception (“injectables”) in the public or private sector.

The TRP website features training information and materials for a wide range of family planning methods. This includes curriculum components and tools for trainers to design, implement, and evaluate family planning and reproductive health training.

In collaboration with ministries of health, PATH and key partners launched the first pilot introductions of subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-SC, brand name Sayana® Press) in Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Uganda from July 2014 through June 2016. While each country implemented a unique introduction strategy, all agreed to track a set of uniform indicators to chart the effect of introducing this new method across settings. Existing national health information systems (HIS) were unable to track new methods or delivery channels introduced for a pilot, thus were not a feasible source for project data. We successfully monitored the four-country pilot introductions by implementing a four-phase approach: 1) developing and defining global indicators, 2) integrating indicators into existing country data collection tools, 3) facilitating consistent reporting and data management, and 4) analyzing and interpreting data and sharing results. Project partners leveraged existing family planning registers to the extent possible, and introduced new or modified data collection and reporting tools to generate project-specific data where necessary. We routinely shared monitoring results with global and national stakeholders, informing decisions about future investments in the product and scale up of DMPA-SC nationwide. Our process and lessons learned may provide insights for countries planning to introduce DMPA-SC or other new contraceptive methods in settings where stakeholder expectations for measurable results for decision-making are high.

PATH partnered with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and country ministries of health (MOHs) to coordinate pilot introductions of subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (subcutaneous DMPA or DMPA-SC, brand name Sayana Press) in Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Uganda from July 2014 through June 2016 in order to expand the range of methods available to women, particularly in remote locations. The pilot introductions aimed to answer key questions that would inform decisions about future investments in DMPA-SC and scaling up product availability and service-delivery innovations nationally. These questions included the extent to which DMPA-SC would appeal to first-time users of modern contraception, as well as adolescent girls and young women; whether DMPA-SC would add value to family planning programs or simply replace DMPA-IM or other modern methods; and the trends in injectables use when introducing DMPA-SC (or any injectable) at the community level for the first time. We implemented a multi-country monitoring system to track key indicators, including the number of doses administered by category of user (e.g., new users, by client age group) or delivery channel. Providers generally collected these data using their national programs’ standard family planning registers. Data were analyzed for cumulative information and to examine trends over time using Microsoft Power Query for Excel and Tableau. Across the 4 countries, nearly half a million DMPA-SC doses were administered and approximately 135,000 first-time users of modern contraception were reached. Furthermore, 44% of the doses administered in 3 of the countries with data were to adolescent girls and young women under age 25. Switching from DMPA-IM to DMPA-SC was not widespread, ranging from 7% in Burkina Faso to 16% in Uganda. Results from these pilot introductions demonstrate that DMPA-SC has the potential to expand community-level access to injectables, maximize task-sharing strategies, and reach young women and new acceptors of family planning. Considered within the context of each country’s setting, training approach, and introduction strategy, these results can help stakeholders in other countries make informed decisions about whether and how to include this contraceptive option in their family planning programs.