Addressing the Family Planning Needs of People Living with HIV in Ghana: A Community-Facility Partnership Approach

This project poster presents an evaluation of the Family Planning for Healthy Living project in Ghana implemented by the ACQUIRE Project partnership with Quality Health Partners and Opportunities Industrialisation Centers International (OICI). The project was designed to reach people living with HIV (PLHIV) with the message that family planning can help them prevent unintended pregnancies, minimise the risk of infecting their partners, and plan the growth of their families in a way that maximises the safety of mother and child. It focused on peer education via support groups for PLHIV. According to the evaluation, peer educators and providers work together to support family planning, and there is an increased awareness and understanding of family planning among PLHIV.

The objectives of the project were to incorporate awareness of family planning for PLHIV into community activities and increase use of family planning, if desired, among HIV-positive men and women. The project involved a number of interventions, including family planning provider training, peer educator training, the development of job aids and behaviour change communication materials, and regional meetings of peer educators and family planning providers.

The evaluation involved a baseline study within 34 HIV support groups, as well as an endline assessment among 12 selectively sampled HIV support groups, focus group discussions with peer educators and family planning providers, a review of programme peer educator activity logs and other programme documents, and a collection of champion stories. According to the evaluation, awareness of the female condom was just over 40% in the baseline study. In the endline study this increased to over 80%. Awareness of the pill increased by just over 10%. The study also found that the family planning method mix among PLHIV expanded to include long-acting methods. For example, other than condoms, baseline family planning users used natural methods of contraception, injectables, and the pill. For endline users, this expanded to include implants and tubal ligation. The percentage of people using methods such as the pill and injectables also increased.

The assessment also presents key lessons learned, including supporting peer educators through adequate training and supervision; ensuring trained provider coverage of HIV support groups and facilities; fostering peer educator-provider partnerships for referrals; identifying champions to advocate for family planning and promoting scale-up; and addressing barriers to family planning such as stigma, transport costs, and myths/misperceptions.