This was a hands-on skill-building session during the Making Self-Injection Count workshop in which participants worked with a sample data set in order to create data visualizations using Microsoft Excel. Two versions of the session were offered—a beginner session for participants with limited experience using Excel and data visualizations, and an advanced session for those with more experience. Participants needed a computer with Excel; the dataset and other materials were provided.

Objectives

By the end of the session, participants were able to:

• Identify key considerations for developing data visualization products.
• Build a dynamic and interactive decision-making tools in Excel through a hands-on exercise.
• Tailor data visualization products to meet the needs of different audiences.

Key takeaways

• Family planning data must be distilled and easy to understand to enable stakeholders to make decisions.
• When developing data visualizations, ask the following:
  • Who is your audience?
  • What do they want to know?
  • How will you communicate it?
• Stakeholders differ in their data needs and visual literacy, and the approach you use should align with the audience’s information needs.

Presenters

• Nicole Danfakha, Senior Data Viz Program Officer, JSI
• Dome Okoku, MLE Advisor, InSupply Health

In this practical, hands-on simulated data use session in the Making Self-Injection Count workshop, participants first learned about experiences running data review meetings in Kenya and Tanzania, highlighting lessons learned and best practices. Then they practiced skills using a mock decision-support tool to solve a common self-injection data challenge.

Objectives

By the end of the session, participants were able to:

• Describe key components of successful data use meetings and how data use meetings can be used to strengthen service delivery for family planning and self-care.
• Identify the skills, knowledge, and competencies (i.e., role profiles) needed for an effective data use team.
• Apply practical, hands-on strategies to run a data use meeting (including virtual meeting).

Key takeaways

• Data availability in HMIS/LMISes is necessary but not sufficient for efficient data use, strong service delivery, and commodity availability.
• Data-use teams comprise people from various levels of the health system with a common goal, a structured approach, and tools for reviewing data and taking action. Teams are trained to use data to clearly define and prioritize problems, conduct a root-cause analysis, and recognize small wins and good performance.
• There are seven key roles of an effective data-use team. Team members may assume different roles depending on the context and the problem being addressed.
  • Organizer (logistics, agenda, notes).
  • Problem solver (questions why, addresses challenges, steering to root cause of problems).
  • Data wizard (indicators and interpretation, analysis of raw data, graph trends, visualize data).
  • Supply chain (deep understanding of technical areas, supply chain processes, critical analysis of systems).
  • Influencer (access to decision-makers, suggestions are taken seriously, advocacy).
  • Resource (handles/advocates for funding).
  • Leader (needs to endorse or support decisions, big picture/vision of the team).
• Critical components for effective data use:
  • Deliberate design: multidisciplinary team with a common performance goal.
  • Decision-support tool: user-friendly visualized data.
  • Follow a structured process.
  • Consistency: regular data review meetings with consistent attendance because data change with time.
  • Champions and leaders who guide implementation and work to sustain the gains achieved.
  • Institutionalization of and resources for the data-use approach into existing structures.

Presenters

• Johnson Anyona, Analyst, InSupply Health
• Judy Anyona, Senior Advisor, InSupply Health
• Janet Makena, Analyst, InSupply Health
• Nomena Raberaoka, AC MLE and HCD Consultant, Madagascar
• Avotiana Rakotomanga, Madagascar Country Coordinator, JSI

This session of the Making Self-Injection Count workshop took an advocacy lens to highlight the importance of self-injection data. Representatives from the Government of Malawi—which has included self-injection in their HMIS since 2019—shared an overview of their self-injection program, highlighting the process for updating their HMIS including success and challenges. They also highlighted how self-injection data has been used at the national and district program levels. Participants had an opportunity to ask questions during the question and answer session.

Objectives

By the end of this session, participants were able to:

• Describe the value of integrating self-care methods, including self-injection, into an HMIS.
• Understand the challenges and success factors for HMIS integration.
• Describe how data has been used in countries where this integration has already happened.

Key takeaways

• Inclusion of SI indicators in the Malawi national health management information system (HMIS) involved a collaborative effort among the reproductive health directorate, the central M&E division, MoH district teams, and DMPA-SC task force partners.
• In Malawi, key lessons learned were:
  • all relevant stakeholders should be involved from the beginning to minimize back-and-forth process flow.
  • high-quality data and services are dependent on routine mentorship, supervision, SI counseling, and process-review meetings.
• Visibility on self-injection uptake in Malawi has improved efficiency of targeted support, implementation adjustments, and supply chain management. Being able to track DMPA-SC visits stratified by self-injection versus provider administration has helped with supply management and reduction of waste, and findings on reasons for discontinuation at the facility level have informed support needs and service delivery.

Presenters

• Gracious Ali, Program Associate, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
• Jessie Chirwa, Family Planning Program Officer, Malawi Ministry of Health Reproductive Health Directorate
• Philemon Moses, CHAD Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
• Regina Mponya, Family Planning Coordinator, Malawi Ministry of Health Reproductive Health Directorate

This Making Self-Injection Count workshop session provided an overview of self-injection indicators across countries and how those can be integrated into HMIS/LMIS systems and analyzed to answer programmatic and research questions. Stories from Uganda and Nigeria highlighted common challenges in integrating self-injection indicators into these systems. Breakout rooms at the end of the session allowed participants to discuss and receive suggestions and feedback on their own HMIS/LMIS integration efforts through peer-to-peer conversations.

Objectives

By the end of this session, participants were able to:

• Identify common self-injection indicators, challenges in integrating these indicators into HMIS/LMIS systems, and potential strategies for overcoming them.
• Have a deeper understanding of how to match common self-injection HMIS indicators to programmatic and/or research questions and how to translate those to actionable data.

Key takeaways

• Self-injection introduction into a national family planning program can help expand contraceptive choices and options.
• To continuously monitor the unique contribution of self-injection to the family planning program, routine data are necessary.
• Self-injection data use helps to inform decision-making through the identification of policy and programmatic gaps, such as:
  • Number of units for training, approval for specific cadres of providers, need for better counseling messages and tools.
• Data and indicators to integrate in HMISes must be useful and usable.
• There is benefit to complementing routine data with other from additional sources, e.g., research studies or surveys.
• A proactive government is vital to the success of self-injection data integration.
• Competing priorities and limited funding are perennial challenges to integrating self-injection in HMIS data.

Presenters

• Alain Kabore, Regional Technical Advisor, DMPA-SC Access Collaborative, PATH
• Allen Namagembe, Deputy Director, Uganda, DMPA-SC Access Collaborative, PATH
• Dr. Adewole Adefalu, Country Coordinator, DMPA-SC Access Collaborative, John Snow, Inc.

This opening plenary of the Making Self-Injection Count workshop highlighted how self-injection data can help close the gender data gap by providing key information and insights on the experiences of women and adolescents. Presenters discussed how self-injection can contribute to contraceptive autonomy by enabling women and girls to make and actualize their own decisions. The session featured personal stories from a self-injection ambassador, self-injection provider, and self-injection client.

Objectives

By the end of this session, participants were able to:

• Describe the importance of self-injection for contraceptive autonomy, and self-injection in the context of self-care.
• Describe the landscape of self-injection data availability.
• Understand experiences of self-injection from the lens of a provider, user, and advocate.

Key takeaways

• While progress is being made, self-injection data availability is still limited compared to other contraceptive data sets.
• Disaggregation by client age, district, and DMPA-SC delivery mode (self-injected vs. provider-administered DMPA-SC) is essential to DMPA-SC data tracking.
• High-quality data systems give us insight into women’s and girls’ preferences, client access to family planning, provider training needs, and global supply management opportunities.

Presenters

• Caitlin Corneliess, MPH, Project Director, DMPA-SC Access Collaborative
• Fannie Kachale, Director Reproductive Health Services, Ministry of Health, Malawi
• Briana Lucido, WHO Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research
• Dr. George Swomen, MD, Programme Officer of Special Projects, Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN)
• Fatimata Deme, President, Senegalese Women’s Network for the Promotion of Family Planning
• Matilda, Volunteer, Kibalinga Health Centre in Uganda

The Family Planning Financing Roadmap is a resource for USAID Mission staff and others working on family planning issues in developing countries. The website is designed to support sustainable family planning approaches for a wide range of users, from those who have very limited knowledge of health financing concepts to those who have some knowledge or experience and are looking to develop a deeper understanding of specific issues. The website has three main sections: learning materials, an interactive roadmap, and a community of practice.

The Contraceptive Technology Innovation (CTI) Exchange is a platform for increasing global access to resources on contraceptive research, development, registration, and introduction through collaboration and knowledge sharing. The site features Calliope, the Contraceptive Pipeline Database, which provides information on new and future contraceptive products, including long-acting and novel products currently only available in limited markets.

The Track20 Project, implemented by Avenir Health, monitors progress towards achieving the goals of the global FP2020 initiative, adding an additional 120 million modern method users between 2012 and 2020 in the world’s 69 poorest countries. Track20 works directly with governments in participating FP2020 countries to collect, analyze and use data to monitor progress annually in family planning and to actively use data to improve family planning strategies and plans. Track20 activities and efforts are focused on countries that chose to make a commitment to the FP2020 global initiative, referred to as Track20 Focus Countries. The remaining FP2020 countries, referred to as Additional Track20 Countries, will also receive some technical support.

The G-FINDER project tracks annual investment in research and development for new products and technologies that are designed to address the persistent global health challenges that disproportionately affect the world’s most disadvantaged people. The project’s goal is to provide funders, policy makers, researchers, advocates, journalists and others with an accurate understanding of the research and development funding landscape for neglected diseases and other global health priorities. The G-FINDER data portal provides open access to all of the underlying data captured by the G-FINDER survey every year since 2007.

PMA generates frequent, high-quality surveys monitoring key health indicators in nine countries in Africa and Asia. Data is available open-source for research, program planning, and policy-making. PMA family planning briefs provide a snapshot of select indicators through charts, graphs and tables. Key indicators for family planning include unmet need for family planning, modern contraceptive prevalence rate (​mCPR), and family planning access, equity, quality, and choice.