Measuring quality of family planning counselling and its effects on uptake of contraceptives in public health facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India: A cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Quality of care in family planning traditionally focuses on promoting awareness of the broad array of contraceptive options rather than on the quality of interpersonal communication offered by family planning (FP) providers. There is a growing emphasis on person-centered contraceptive counselling, care that is respectful and focuses on meeting the reproductive needs of a couple, rather than fertility regulation. Despite the increasing global focus on person-centered care, little is known about the quality of FP care provided in low- and middle- income countries like India. This study involves the development and psychometric testing of a Quality of Family Planning Counselling (QFPC) measure, and assessment of its associations with contraceptives selected by clients subsequently. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional survey data from N = 237 women following their FP counselling in 120 public health facilities (District Hospitals and Community Health Centers) sampled across the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. The study captured QFPC, contraceptives selected by clients post-counselling, as well as client and provider characteristics. Based on formative research and using Principal Component Analysis, we developed a 13-item measure of quality of FP counselling. We used adjusted regression models to assess the association between QFPC and contraceptive selected post-counselling. RESULTS: The QFPC measure demonstrated good internal reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.80) as well as criterion validity, as indicated by client reports of high QFPC being significantly more likely for clients with trained versus untrained counsellors. We found that each point increase in QFPC, including increasing quality of counselling, is associated with higher odds of clients selecting an intrauterine device (IUD) (aRR:1.03; 95% CI:1.01-1.05) and sterilization (aRR:1.06; 95% CI:1.03-1.08), compared to no method selected. CONCLUSIONS: High-quality FP counselling is associated with clients subsequently selecting more effective contraceptives, including IUD and sterilization, in India. High-quality counselling is also more likely among FP-trained providers, highlighting the need for focused training and monitoring of quality care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CTRI/2015/09/006219. Registered 28 September 2015.

Choice of contraceptive methods in public and private facilities in rural India.

BACKGROUND: Client-centric quality of care (QoC) in family planning (FP) services are imperative for contraceptive method adoption and continuation. Less is known about the choice of contraceptive method in India beyond responses to the three common questions regarding method information, asked in demographic and health surveys. This study argues for appropriate measurement of method choice and assesses its levels and correlates in rural India. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with new acceptors of family planning method (N = 454) recruited from public and private health facilities in rural Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the two most populous states in India. The key quality of care indicator 'method choice' was assessed using four key questions from client-provider interactions that help in making a choice about a particular method: (1) whether the provider asked the client about their preferred method, (2) whether the provider told the client about at least one additional method, (3) whether the client received information without any single method being promoted by the provider, and (4) client's perception about receipt of method choice. The definition of method choice in this study included women who responded "yes" to all four questions in the survey. The relationship between contraceptive communication and receipt of method choice was assessed using logistic regression analyses, after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. RESULTS: Although 62% of clients responded to a global question and reported that they received the method of their choice, only 28% received it based on responses about client-provider interactions. Receipt of the information on side-effects of the selected method (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]: 7.4, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 3.96-13.86) and facility readiness to provide a range of contraceptive choice (AOR: 2.67, 95% CI: 1.48-4.83) were significantly associated with receipt of method choice. CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrated that women's choice of contraceptive could be improved in rural India if providers give full information prior to and during the acceptance of a method and if facilities are equipped to provide a range of choice of contraceptive methods.

Infection prevention preparedness and practices for female sterilization services within primary care facilities in Northern India.

BACKGROUND: In 2014, 16 women died following female sterilization operations in Bilaspur, a district in central India. In addition to those 16 deaths, 70 women were hospitalized for critical conditions (Sharma, Lancet 384,2014). Although the government of India's guidelines for female sterilization mandate infection prevention practices, little is known about the extent of infection prevention preparedness and practice during sterilization procedures that are part of the country's primary health care services. This study assesses facility readiness for infection prevention and adherence to infection prevention practices during female sterilization procedures in rural northern India. METHOD: The data for this study were collected in 2016-2017 as part of a family planning quality of care survey in selected public health facilities in Bihar (n = 100), and public (n = 120) and private health facilities (n = 97) in Uttar Pradesh. Descriptive analysis examined the extent of facility readiness for infection prevention (availability of handwashing facilities, new or sterilized gloves, antiseptic lotion, and equipment for sterilization). Correlation and multivariate statistical methods were used to examine the role of facility readiness and provider behaviors on infection prevention practices during female sterilization. RESULT: Across the three health sectors, 62% of facilities featured all four infection prevention components. Sterilized equipment was lacking in all three health sectors. In facilities with all four components, provider adherence to infection prevention practices occurred in only 68% of female sterilization procedures. In Bihar, 76% of public health facilities evinced all four components of infection prevention, and in those facilities provider's adherence to infection prevention practices was almost universal. In Uttar Pradesh, where only 55% of public health facilities had all four components, provider adherence to infection prevention practices occurred in only 43% of female sterilization procedures. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that facility preparedness for infection prevention does play an important role in provider adherence to infection prevention practices. This phenomenon is not universal, however. Not all doctors from facilities prepared for infection prevention adhere to the practices, highlighting the need to change provider attitudes. Unprepared facilities need to procure required equipment and supplies to ensure the universal practice of infection prevention.

Associations Between Mistreatment by a Provider during Childbirth and Maternal Health Complications in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Objectives This study assesses associations between mistreatment by a provider during childbirth and maternal complications in Uttar Pradesh, India. Methods Cross-sectional survey data were collected from women (N = 2639) who had delivered at 68 public health facilities in Uttar Pradesh, participating in a quality of care study. Participants were recruited from April to July 2015 and surveyed on demographics, mistreatment during childbirth (measure developed for this study, Cronbach's alpha = 0.70), and maternal health complications. Regression models assessed associations between mistreatment during childbirth and maternal complications, at delivery and postpartum, adjusting for demographics and pregnancy complications. Results Participants were aged 17-48 years, and 30.3% were scheduled caste/scheduled tribe. One in five (20.9%) reported mistreatment by their provider during childbirth, including discrimination and abuse; complications during delivery (e.g., obstructed labor) and postpartum (e.g., excessive bleeding) were reported by 45.8 and 41.5% of women, respectively. Health providers at delivery included staff nurses (81.8%), midwives (14.0%), and physicians (2.2%); Chi square analyses indicate that women were significantly more likely to report mistreatment when their provider was a nurse rather than a physician or midwife. Women reporting mistreatment by a provider during childbirth had higher odds of complications at delivery (AOR = 1.32; 95% CI 1.05-1.67) and postpartum (AOR = 2.12; 95% CI 1.67-2.68). Conclusions for Practice Mistreatment of women by their provider during childbirth is a pervasive health and human rights violation, and is associated with increased risk for maternal health complications in Uttar Pradesh. Efforts to improve quality of maternal care should include greater training and monitoring of providers to ensure respectful treatment of patients.

Differential effects of community health worker visits across social and economic groups in Uttar Pradesh, India: a link between social inequities and health disparities.

BACKGROUND: Uttar Pradesh (UP) accounts for the largest number of neonatal deaths in India. This study explores potential socio-economic inequities in household-level contacts by community health workers (CHWs) and whether the effects of such household-level contacts on receipt of health services differ across populations in this state. METHODS: A multistage sampling design identified live births in the last 12 months across the 25 highest-risk districts of UP (N = 4912). Regression models described the relations between household demographics (caste, religion, wealth, literacy) and CHW contact, and interactions of demographics and CHW contact in predicting health service utilization (> = 4 antenatal care (ANC) visits, facility delivery, modern contraceptive use). RESULTS: No differences were found in likelihood of CHW contact based on caste, religion, wealth or literacy. Associations of CHW contact with receipt of ANC and facility delivery were significantly affected by religion, wealth and literacy. CHW contact increased the odds of 4 or more ANC visits only among non-Muslim women, increased the odds of both four or more ANC visits and facility delivery only among lower wealth women, increased the odds of facility delivery to a greater degree among illiterate vs. literate women. CONCLUSION: CHW visits play a vital role in promoting utilization of critical maternal health services in UP. However, significant social inequities exist in associations of CHW visits with such service utilization. Research to clarify these inequities, as well as training for CHWs to address potential biases in the qualities or quantity of their visits based on household socio-economic characteristics is recommended.