The following documents provide interested parties with unique guidance on the strategies, challenges, and best practices to consider in the introduction of new RH technologies. While each document has its own particular focus (on a specific method, on contraceptive introduction in general, or more broadly on the development/introduction of any new health technologies), the aim of sharing them here is to draw on links between past experience and current efforts with the introduction of new RH technologies. If you or your organization would like to share your own documented experience on the strategic introduction of a particular RH technology, please contact Matt Havlik.
Making Decisions about Contraceptive Introduction: A Guide for Conducting Assessments to Broaden Contraceptive Choice and Improve Quality of Care, by the World Health Organization
In response to lessons learned from past approaches to contraceptive introduction, the WHO Department of Reproductive Health and Research (RHR) developed, tested, and refined this Strategic Approach to Contraceptive Introduction, published in 2002. The approach emphasizes the need to examine the entire method mix, clients’ and other community members’ needs and perspectives, and the capacity of the service-delivery system to provide quality services prior to making decisions about contraceptive introduction. Download this document here.
PATH's Framework for Product Introduction, by PATH
PATH's product introduction framework looks at the critical interplay between each phase in the initial lifecycle of a new health technology: development, introduction, and integration. The aim of this systems approach is to strategically identify and address barriers that could hinder a particular technology’s introduction and use. Download this document here.
Being Strategic about Contraceptive Introduction: the experience of the Standard Days Method, by the BRIDGE Project, Population Reference Bureau, Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Many national and institutional family planning policies explicitly include fertility awareness-based methods among the method options that should be made available, but these methods are often not offered for a variety of reasons. After testing the efficacy of the Standard Days Method® (SDM), which is a fertility awareness-based method that identifies days 8–19 of the menstrual cycle as fertile for women with cycles lasting between 26 and 32 days, 14 pilot studies were conducted to introduce it into programs. The results of the pilot studies offer guidance for scaling up service delivery of the SDM. Download this document here.
This article is posted with the publisher's permission.
ECP Introduction and Mainstreaming Handbook, by Population Council
As with the introduction of most contraceptive methods that are new to a national program, the process of successfully introducing emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) into a country’s health care system is a complex and usually protracted undertaking. This handbook is designed to provide step-by-step guidance for introducing and then mainstreaming ECPs within a variety of country contexts, in a manner that will be responsive to their diverse needs and resource availability. Download this document here in English and French.
