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Enhancing Quality for Clients: The Balanced Counseling Strategy
Program Brief no. 3, July 2003
Federico R. León, Alex Ríos, Adriana Zumarán, Marisela de la Cruz, Carlos Brambila, and John H. Bratt
Also available in PDF (520 KB)
A central focus of high-quality care is the interaction between clients and the providers who serve them. In the ideal client-provider interaction, the provider treats all clients respectfully, responds to their reproductive needs and intentions, helps in the selection of the most appropriate family planning method, and offers sufficient information to use the method safely and effectively (Bruce 1990).
To improve the quality of the client–provider interaction, Population Council staff developed a “balanced counseling strategy,” a type of algorithm or decision tree, to be used in combination with several job aids, or visual memory aids. The balanced counseling strategy structures the client-provider interaction to focus on the client’s needs, support the client’s choice of an appropriate method, and improve the information provided on the method. Studies in several sites have documented significant improvements in the client-provider interaction when providers use the balanced counseling strategy along with the job aids.
This program brief describes the balanced counseling strategy as an ongoing approach to improving quality of care in a specific setting. It outlines the origin and rationale for developing the strategy, and details its subsequent adaptation for use in other contexts.
Hard copies available free of charge from frontiers@popcouncil.org
For more information contact:
Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS)
Population Council
4301 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 280
Washington, DC 20008 USA
Telephone: +1 202 237 9400
Facsimile: +1 202 237 8410
E-mail:
frontiers@popcouncil.org
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