Identifying and Engaging Private Providers

In Jordan more than half of family planning expenditures are made in the private sector. Women in Jordan specifically seek care for reproductive health issues with private providers for many reasons, for example: a patient seeking a female provider when only males are available at the public facility, a perception that private clinics are cleaner and more protective of personal information. Private providers are found in private clinics and centers, private hospitals and NGOs clinics, for example, the Jordan Association for Family Planning and Protection (JAFPP) or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) which has a special charge to care for Palestinian refugees. However, private providers are often not organized within professional associations or in large practices, and are not affiliated with systems that monitor their whereabouts or practice standards, so finding them and monitoring their quality can be a difficult prospect.

Changing Physician Behavior: Four Tools for "Mission Impossible"

PSP-One End-of-Project Conference So You Think You Know Your Audience: Behavior Change Tools and Strategies to Maximize Results

Engaging Manufacturers in a Changing Contraceptive Market: Who are the "new" players and what do they want?

PSP-One End-of-Project Conference The Next Frontier: Private Sector Participation in the Global AIDS Response

Community Outreach: Lessons Learned In How to Improve Outreach

The Private Sector Project for Women's Health (PSP) in Jordan is implementing a comprehensive outreach strategy designed to specifically address the most difficult programmatic challenges in family planning: contacting and changing attitudes among women with the highest unmet need. PSP partnered with two non-government organizations (NGOs) - Circassian Charity Association (CCA) and General Union of Voluntary Societies (GUVS). 

Recently, the PSP project conducted an evaluation of the outreach visit data sets to determine how the home visits can be further improved. Key findings related to the home visits include:

• Women visited by community health workers adopt modern methods at visits three, four, seven, and eight.
• The largest percentage of women adopt a modern method at visits four and eight.
• Women who are non-method users adopt modern methods at rates higher than women who use traditional methods (safe period, withdrawal).
• Contrary to expectations, few women visited report that cultural or religious beliefs prevent them from adopting a family planning method.
• In the first visit, women who indicate that they do not use a family planning method because they wish to become pregnant are unlikely to adopt a family planning method.

Brief includes explanation of how to improve effectiveness of home visits, which is the cornerstone of the PSP Jordan's outreach strategy.

Community Outreach: Opening Doors to Increase Family Planning Use

Although Jordan enjoys favorable population and family health conditions, certain challenges persist in trying to improve the overall health of Jordanian women. Since 2002, the contraceptive use - particularly of modern methods - has stalled; approximately 42% of married women of reproductive age (MWRA) report using a modern method. Moreover, unmet need for family planning - 12% of MWRA - has remained constant during this same time period, with higher unmet need among women with little or no education and among those in the poorest households. In response, the Private Sector Project for Women's Health (PSP) in Jordan is implementing a comprehensive outreach strategy designed to specifically address the most difficult programmatic challenges in family planning: contacting and changing attitudes among women with the highest unmet need. This brief explains PSP Jordan's main outreach programs, including home-based visits by Community Health Workers (CHWs), its violence against women (VAW) strategy aimed at providing services to women who have been victims of domestic violence, its family planning and breast cancer screening referral program, and its behavior change communication strategy.

The CHWs provide important health information to women age 15 – 60 years old in towns and villages across Jordan through home visits. They discuss the benefits of modern family planning methods, the importance of early detection of breast cancer, and also teach self-breast examination. In addition to health education, the CHW also provides referrals for family planning, early cancer detection (breast and cervical) and antenatal/post natal care. Interpersonal communication messages are reinforced by mass media communications on TV and radio and print materials for maximum synergy.

Integrating Breast Cancer Screening into FP/RH Women's Outreach

Rita Leavell's Global Health Council Conference 2008 presentation "Integrating Breast Cancer Screening into FP/RH Women's Outreach" presented May 28, 2008 on behalf of the Private Sector Project for Women's Health Jordan (PSP Jordan).

PSP Jordan Women's Health Brief-May 2008

The Private Sector Project for Women's Health (PSP) is a five-year project 2005 to 2010, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with a mandate to improve the health of Jordanian women and families. The project uses an integrated approach to increase demand for modern contraception and related women's health services, increase availability of quality private sector health care services, increase early detection of breast cancer, and address domestic violence against women.

PSP-One Trip Report: Developing a Jordan Certificaiton Program for Private Physicians - February 07

The purpose of this trip was to develop a plan for the application of a quality assurance/self-assessment tool by general practitioners in private practice in Jordan with checklist and agreed upon criteria for receiving a sign of approval for the provision of FP and RTI/STI services.

PSP-One Trip Report: Jordan Certification Program for Private Physicians - August 07

Mary Segall, PSP-One Subcontractor, traveled to Jordan from August 4th through 16th to work with Jordan/PSP for Women's Health project staff to finalize tools and processes in order to implement a certification assessment of physicians in private practice of the quality of RTI and STI services provided. During her stay the two tools were finalized for use by the Assessors and the medical providers along with certification criteria in order to certify physicians as providing quality RTI/STI services. In addition the Jordan/PSP for Women's Health project staff and consultants were oriented to the use of the tools and conducted a meeting with the doctors to orient them to the tool and certification criteria.

PSP Jordan USAID Brief - VAW

USAID brief on the Private Sector for Women's Health Project and its recent activities in Jordan.