Making Self-Injection Count

A workshop on family planning data availability and use

Data has the power to convey the lived experiences of women and adolescents, highlighting the importance and potential of expanding choices to reduce unmet need for contraception. Self-injection data is often missing in routine family planning measurement and evaluation. Programs need an accurate measure of uptake of new options and self-care approaches to better understand the needs of women and adolescents, help ensure a contraceptive method mix and quality of care, and influence policy and procurement planning across development and humanitarian settings.

On March 22-25, 2021, the PATH-JSI Access Collaborative hosted a virtual convening to prioritize the use of routine family planning data in policy and programming. Nearly 330 individuals from more than 40 countries attended this four-day workshop that spotlighted DMPA-SC self-injection to catalyze discussion, learning, and country action—not only for this contraceptive option, but for broader family planning and self-care initiatives.

The workshop closed with four calls to action:

1. Add your country’s data to the global DMPA-SC monitoring system. For more information, email FPoptions@path.org.
2. Request technical assistance from the Access Collaborative.
3. Organize for action planning with the Access Collaborative’s action planning resources. Action planning can be facilitated on your own or with one of our technical advisors.
4. Participate in discussions and knowledge exchange through the Learning and Action Network (LAN). Sign up for the LAN newsletter here!

Presentation slides and video recordings from the workshop are available here in the Resource Library and also linked below:

• Session 1. Opening plenary: How self-injection contributes to contraceptive autonomy and the power of making self-injection count
• Session 2. The “why” and the “how” of routine data collection: Real world examples of using data from routine HMISs in policy and programming
• Session 3. Integrating self-care methods into the national health information system: Experiences and lessons learned from Malawi
• Session 4. Getting the most out of HMIS data on contraceptive self-injection
• Session 5. Creating effective data visualizations to support family planning decision-making
• Session 6. How to run an efficient and effective data use meeting for family planning programs and beyond
• Session 7. Counting on the Private Sector to Understand the Total Market: Considerations for DMPA SC data collection, reporting and use
• Session 8. Interim and complementary data solutions
• Session 9. What we learned and where we go from here