FRONTIERS Projects | Developing and Testing Strategies for Increasing Awareness of the IUD as a Contraceptive Option

FRONTIERS PROJECT
Developing and Testing Strategies for Increasing Awareness of the IUD as a Contraceptive Option

FRONTIERS and the University of Southampton conducted a workshop to review lessons learned on intrauterine device (IUD) use and to identify possible interventions for increasing access to the IUD. Small-scale pilot projects were implemented in Ghana, Guatemala, India, Honduras, and Nepal to test intervention strategies; some of these studies are still underway.

Preliminary findings from the Ghana project show that training community health officers on long-term methods significantly increased their understanding of such methods, while also raising awareness of long-term contraception in the community. The study in India, continuing into 2008, revealed numerous misconceptions and “myths” about IUDs, their effects, and their side effects. The project in Honduras (see "Disseminating Information on the IUD in Rural Honduras") showed that information, education, and outreach campaigns increased use of the IUD without compromising users’ ability to make informed choices among several alternative methods. The findings will be disseminated globally and at the national level in the pilot countries through meetings with key stakeholders.

Location

Global

Duration

January 2004–June 2007

Population Council researchers

Ian Askew, Ricardo Vernon, M.E. Khan, Harriet Birungi

Non-Council collaborator

University of Southampton

Donor

US Agency for International Development

Publications/Resources
Council researchers' names appear in boldface type.

2007
Vernon, Ricardo, M.E. Khan, Harriet Birungi, Ian Askew, and William Stones. "Developing and testing strategies for increasing awareness of the IUD as a contraceptive option," FRONTIERS Final Report. Washington, DC: Population Council. (PDF, 251 KB)