Project description:BackgroundIn an effort to encourage Family Planning (FP) adoption, since 1952, the Government of India has been implementing various centrally sponsored schemes that offer financial incentives (FIs) to acceptors as well as service providers, for services related to certain FP methods. However, understanding of the role of FIs on uptake of FP services, and the quality of FP services provided, is limited and mixed.MethodsA qualitative descriptive study was conducted in Chatra and Palamu districts of Jharkhand state. A total of 64 interviews involving multiple stakeholders were conducted. The stakeholders included recent FP acceptors or clients, FP service providers of public health facilities including Accredited Social Healthcare Activists (ASHAs), government health officials managing FP programs at the district and state level, and members of development partners supporting FP programs in Jharkhand. Data analysis included both inductive and deductive strategies. It was done using the software Atlas ti version 8.ResultsIt has emerged that there is a strong felt need for FP among majority of the clients, and FIs may be a motivator for uptake of FP methods only among those belonging to the lower socio economic strata. For ASHAs, FI is the primary motivator for providing FP related services. There may be a tendency among them and the nurses to promote methods which have more financial incentives linked with them. There are mixed opinions on discontinuing FIs for clients or replacing them with non-financial incentives. Delays in payment of FIs to both clients and the ASHAs is a common issue and adversely effects the program.ConclusionFIs for clients have limited influence on their decision to take up a FP method while different amounts of FIs for ASHAs and nurses, linked with different FP methods, may be influencing their service provision. More research is needed to determine the effect of discontinuing FI for FP services.
Project description:The objective of the study was to understand the extent to which financial incentives such as Payment by Results and other payment mechanisms motivate kidney centres in England to change their practices.The study followed a qualitative design. Data collection involved 32 in-depth semistructured interviews with healthcare professionals and managers, focusing on their subjective experience of payment structures.Participants were kidney healthcare professionals, clinical directors, kidney centre managers and finance managers. Healthcare commissioners from different parts of England were also interviewed.Participants worked at five kidney centres from across England. The selection was based on the prevalence of home haemodialysis, ranging from low (<3%), medium (5-8%) and high (>8%) prevalence, with at least one centre in each one of these categories at the time of selection.While the tariff for home haemodialysis is not a clear incentive for its adoption due to uncertainty about operational costs, Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) targets and the Best Practice Tariff for vascular access were seen by our case study centres as a motivator to change practices.The impact of financial incentives designed at a policy level is influenced by the understanding of cost and benefits at the local operational level. In a situation where costs are unclear, incentives which are based on the improvement of profit margins have a smaller impact than incentives which provide an additional direct payment, even if this extra financial support is relatively small.
Project description:Background. Financial incentives are becoming more common to promote health behaviors; however, little is known about the acceptability of incentivizing adolescent health behaviors. Design. Qualitative semistructured phone interviews were conducted with 26 parents who had participated in a research study involving incentivizing a recommended, preventive adolescent health behavior (human papillomavirus vaccination). Data were coded and analyzed to identify themes. Interview domains included the following: preferred incentive distribution, ideal financial incentive amount, and general reactions to economic incentives for preventative services. Results. Parents held positive perceptions about incentives and most parents felt that the incentive could be provided directly to their adolescent child, rather than to the parent. Parents stated several benefits from incentivizing adolescent health behavior including creating an opportunity to teach their child about money, reimbursing families for time and effort, and motivating the adolescent to complete the health behavior. Topics for consideration when providing cash incentives to adolescents included the adolescent's maturity level, parents' desire to monitor adolescent's spending, and parents' want to remain involved in health care and financial decisions for their adolescent. Conclusions. This study demonstrates the potential for parental acceptance of financial incentives for adolescent health behaviors and explores areas of parental concern around financial incentives, which could help inform future health care-based incentive programs.
Project description:ObjectiveTo explore healthcare providers' views on barriers to and facilitators of use of the national family planning (FP) guideline for FP services in Amhara Region, Ethiopia.DesignQualitative study.SettingNine health facilities including two hospitals, five health centres and two health posts in Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia.ParticipantsTwenty-one healthcare providers working in the provision of FP services in Amhara Region.Primary and secondary outcome measuresSemistructured interviews were conducted to understand healthcare providers' views on barriers to and facilitators of the FP guideline use in the selected FP services.ResultsWhile the healthcare providers' views point to a few facilitators that promote use of the guideline, more barriers were identified. The barriers included: lack of knowledge about the guideline's existence, purpose and quality, healthcare providers' personal religious beliefs, reliance on prior knowledge and tradition rather than protocols and guidelines, lack of availability or insufficient access to the guideline and inadequate training on how to use the guideline. Facilitators for the guideline use were ready access to the guideline, convenience and ease of implementation and incentives.ConclusionsWhile development of the guideline is an important initiative by the Ethiopian government for improving quality of care in FP services, continued use of this resource by all healthcare providers requires planning to promote facilitating factors and address barriers to use of the FP guideline. Training that includes a discussion about healthcare providers' beliefs and traditional practices as well as other factors that reduce guideline use and increasing the sufficient number of guideline copies available at the local level, as well as translation of the guideline into local language are important to support provision of quality care in FP services.
Project description:IntroductionFamily planning methods are used to promote safer sexual practices, reduce unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortion, and control population. Young people aged 15-24 years belong to a key reproductive age group. However, little is known about their engagement with the family planning services in Nepal. Our study aimed to identify the perceptions of and barriers to the use of family planning among youth in Nepal.MethodsA qualitative explorative study was done among adolescents and young people aged 15-24 years from the Hattimuda village in eastern Nepal. Six focus group discussions and 25 in-depth interviews were conducted with both male and female participants in the community using a maximum variation sampling method. Data were analyzed using a thematic framework approach.ResultsMany individuals were aware that family planning measures postpone pregnancy. However, some young participants were not fully aware of the available family planning services. Some married couples who preferred 'birth spacing' received negative judgments from their family members for not starting a family. The perceived barriers to the use of family planning included lack of knowledge about family planning use, fear of side effects of modern family planning methods, lack of access/affordability due to familial and religious beliefs/myths/misconceptions. On an individual level, some couples' timid nature also negatively influenced the uptake of family planning measures.ConclusionWomen predominantly take the responsibility for using family planning measures in male-dominated decision-making societies. Moreover, young men feel that the current family planning programs have very little space for men to engage even if they were willing to participate. Communication in the community and in between the couples seem to be influenced by the presence of strong societal and cultural norms and practices. These practices seem to affect family planning related teaching at schools as well. This research shows that both young men and women are keen on getting involved with initiatives and campaigns for supporting local governments in strengthening the family planning programs in Nepal.
Project description:BackgroundOne strategy for improving family planning (FP) uptake at the community level is the use of performance-based incentives (PBIs), which offer community distributors financial incentives to recruit more users of FP. This article examines the use of PBIs in community-based FP programmes via a literature search of the peer-reviewed and grey literature conducted in April 2013.ResultsA total of 28 community-based FP programmes in 21 countries were identified as having used PBIs. The most common approach was a sales commission model where distributors received commission for FP products sold, while a referral payment model for long-term methods was also used extensively. Six evaluations were identified that specifically examined the impact of the PBI in community-based FP programmes. Overall, the results of the evaluations are mixed and more research is needed; however, the findings suggest that easy-to-understand PBIs can be successful in increasing the use of FP at the community level.ConclusionFor future use of PBIs in community-based FP programmes it is important to consider the ethics of incentivising FP and ensuring that PBIs are non-coercive and choice-enhancing.
Project description:BackgroundEven though the effectiveness of lifestyle modifications and antihypertensive pharmaceutical treatment for the prevention of hypertension and its complications have been demonstrated in randomized controlled trials, the benefits of adhering to these treatments have not been popularized among the general public. Studies suggest that incentive approaches based on behavioral economic concepts can improve patients' adherence to treatment. Therefore, we aimed to test whether financial incentives will reduce the blood pressure (BP) of hypertensive patients in China.Methods/designThis is a multicenter, randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms. A total of 400 participants from six cities in the Liaoning and Shanxi provinces of China are block-randomized into intervention and control group with a 1:1 ratio. Patients in the control group will receive interactive management of mobile devices, including patient education and communication. Patients in the intervention group will receive financial incentives in addition to interactive management of mobile devices, conditional on them achieving their antihypertensive goals or hypertension control. Masking the arm allocation will be precluded by the behavioral nature of the intervention and investigators of BP measurement and statistics are masked to clinic assignment. The primary outcome is net change in systolic BP (SBP) from baseline to month 12 between the intervention and control groups. The secondary outcomes are net change in diastolic BP (DBP), BP control, change in medication adherence and lifestyle, and cost-effectiveness.DiscussionThis trial will determine whether financial incentives will improve hypertension control and generate necessary data for controlling hypertension and concomitant cardiovascular diseases among hypertensive patients in China.Trial registrationISRCTN13467677. Registered on 16 May 2019.
Project description:PurposeTo explore financial incentives as an intervention to improve colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) adherence among traditionally disadvantaged patients who have never been screened or are overdue for screening.ApproachWe used qualitative methods to describe patients' attitudes toward the offer of incentives, plans for future screening, and additional barriers and facilitators to CRCS.SettingKaiser Permanente Washington (KPWA).ParticipantsKPWA patients who were due or overdue for CRCS.MethodWe conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 37 patients who were randomized to 1 of 2 incentives (guaranteed $10 or a lottery for $50) to complete CRCS. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a qualitative content approach.ResultsPatients generally had positive attitudes toward both types of incentives, however, half did not recall the incentive offer at the time of the interview. Among those who recalled the offer, 95% were screened compared to only 25% among those who did not remember the offer. Most screeners stated that staying healthy was their primary motivator for screening, but many suggested that the incentive helped them prioritize and complete screening.ConclusionsIncentives to complete CRCS may help motivate patients who would like to screen but have previously procrastinated. Future studies should ensure that the incentive offer is noticeable and shorten the deadline for completion of FIT screening.
Project description:Problem:In Burkina Faso, the coverage of services for family planning is low due to shortage of qualified health staff and limited access to services. Approach:Following the launch of the Ouagadougou Partnership, an alliance to catalyse the expansion of family planning services, the health ministry created a consortium of family planning stakeholders in 2011. The consortium adopted a collaborative framework to implement a pilot project for task sharing in family planning at community and primary health-care centre levels in two rural districts. Stakeholders were responsible for their areas of expertise. These areas included advocacy; monitoring and evaluation; and capacity development of community health workers (CHWs) to offer oral and injectable contraceptives to new users and of auxiliary nurses and auxiliary midwives to provide implants and intrauterine devices. The health ministry implemented supportive supervision cascades involving relevant planning and service levels. Local setting:In Burkina Faso, only 15% (2563/17 087) of married women used modern contraceptives in 2010. Relevant changes:Adoption of new policies and clinical care standards expanded task sharing roles in family planning. The consortium trained a total of 79 CHWs and 124 auxiliary nurses and midwives. Between January 2017 and December 2018, CHWs provided injectables to 3698 new users, and auxiliary nurses or midwives provided 726 intrauterine devices and 2574 implants to new users. No safety issues were reported. Lessons learnt:The pilot project was feasible and safe, however, financial constraints are hindering scale-up efforts. Supportive supervision cascades were critical in ensuring success.
Project description:BackgroundDespite significant interest in integrating sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services into HIV services, less attention has been paid to linkages in the other direction. Where women and girls are at risk of HIV, offering HIV testing services (HTS) during their visits to family planning (FP) services offers important opportunities to address both HIV and unwanted pregnancy needs simultaneously.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review of studies comparing FP services with integrated HTS to those without integrated HTS or with a lower level of integration (e.g., referral versus on-site services), on the following outcomes: uptake/counseling/offer of HTS, new cases of HIV identified, linkage to HIV care and treatment, dual method use, client satisfaction and service quality, and provider knowledge and attitudes about integrating HTS. We searched three online databases and included studies published in a peer-reviewed journal prior to the search date of June 20, 2017.ResultsOf 530 citations identified, six studies ultimately met the inclusion criteria. Three studies were conducted in Kenya, and one each in Uganda, Swaziland, and the USA. Most were in FP clinics. Three were from the Integra Initiative. Overall rigor was moderate, with one cluster-randomized trial. HTS uptake was generally higher with integrated sites versus comparison or pre-integration sites, including in adjusted analyses, though outcomes varied slightly across studies. One study found that women at integrated sites were more likely to have high satisfaction with services, but experienced longer waiting times. One study found a small increase in HIV seropositivity among female patients testing after full integration, compared to a dedicated HIV tester. No studies comparatively measured linkage to HIV care and treatment, dual method use, or provider knowledge/attitudes.ConclusionsGlobal progress and success for reaching SRH and HIV targets depends on progress in sub-Saharan Africa, where women bear a high burden of both unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. While the evidence base is limited, it suggests that integration of HTS into FP services is feasible and has potential for positive joint outcomes. The success and scale-up of this approach will depend on population needs and health system factors.