title: Safety and acceptability of tubal ligation procedures performed by trained clinical officers in rural Uganda.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess safety associated with tubal ligation performed by trained clinical officers (COs) in rural Uganda.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between March and June 2012, 518 women in 4 regions of Uganda were recruited into a prospective cohort study and followed at days 3, 7, and 45 after undergoing tubal ligation performed by a trained CO. Intraoperative and postoperative adverse events (minor, moderate, or major), and acceptability were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age was 36 years (range, 20-49 years) and mean number of living children was 6.7 (range, 0-15). The overall rate of major adverse events was 1.5%: 0.4% intraoperatively; 1.9% at day 3; and 0.2% at day 7. The majority of women who underwent tubal ligation reported a good/very good experience at the facility (range, 94%-99%) and would recommend the health services to a friend (range, 93%-98%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present study, task sharing of tubal ligation to trained COs in private facilities was safe. Women reported high levels of satisfaction with the procedure. Training COs could be an effective strategy for expanding family-planning services to rural Uganda.
authors.affiliation: Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Team, Health System Department, Marie Stopes International, London, UK. Electronic address: cristin.gordon-maclean@mariestopes.org.
authors.forename: Cristin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gordon-Maclean
authors.affiliation: Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Team, Marie Stopes Uganda, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Lois K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Nantayi
authors.affiliation: USAID Support for International Family Planning Organizations (SIFPO) Team, Marie Stopes International, London, UK.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.affiliation: Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Team, Health System Department, Marie Stopes International, London, UK.
authors.forename: Thoai D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Ngo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013246:Sterilization, Tubal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014454:Uganda; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Family planning; Permanent method; Task sharing; Tubal ligation; Uganda