Resource Library

COPE Handbook: A Process for Improving Quality in Health Services

COPE® was pilot-tested in Kenya and Nigeria in 1988 and was then introduced in other countries in Africa and Asia from 1989 through 1994. In 1995, EngenderHealth published COPE: Client-Oriented, Provider-Efficient Services: A Process and Tools for Quality Improvement in Family Planning and Other Reproductive Health Services. This handbook was designed to help clinic and hospital staff improve the quality of their family planning services through more efficient use of resources and improved overall performance. Now used in more than 45 countries worldwide, COPE has been translated into at least 15 languages (Arabic, Bahasa, Bangla, French, Khmer, Malagasy, Mongolian, Nepali, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese). Over the years, service providers have asked that the tools be expanded to include other aspects of health services, such as maternal care, child health, and adolescent reproductive health services. This new edition provides a more comprehensive explanation of how to introduce and sustain the COPE process. This process is applicable to any set of services that the facility wants to explore, with adaptations to the tools as needed. This handbook is intended for use together with different toolbooks, each containing Self-Assessment Guides, a Client- Interview Guide, Client-Flow Analysis forms, and other assessment tools for a particular type of health services.