title: Meeting Postpartum Women's Family Planning Needs Through Integrated Family Planning and Immunization Services: Results of a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Rwanda.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The primary objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of integrating family planning service components into infant immunization services to increase modern contraceptive method use among postpartum women.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a separate sample, parallel, cluster-randomized controlled trial. Fourteen randomly selected primary health facilities were equally allocated to intervention (integrated family planning and immunization services at the same time and location) and control groups (standard immunization services only). At baseline (May-June 2010), we interviewed postpartum women attending immunization services for their infant aged 6 to 12 months using a structured questionnaire. A separate sample of postpartum women was interviewed 16 months later after implementation of the experimental health service intervention. We used linear mixed regression models to test the study hypothesis that postpartum women attending immunization services for their infants aged 6-12 months in the intervention facilities will be more likely to use a modern contraceptive method than postpartum women attending immunization services for their infants aged 6-12 months in control group facilities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We interviewed and analyzed data for 825 women from the intervention group and 829 women from the control group. Results showed the intervention had a statistically significant, positive effect on modern contraceptive method use among intervention group participants compared with control group participants (regression coefficient, 0.15; 90% confidence interval [CI], 0.04 to 0.26). Although we conducted a 1-sided significance test, this effect was also significant at the 2-sided test with alpha = .05. Among those women who did not initiate a contraceptive method, awaiting the return of menses was the most common reason cited for non-use of a method. Women in both study groups overwhelmingly supported the concept of integrating family planning service components into infant immunization services (97.9% in each group), and service data collected during the intervention period did not indicate that the intervention had any negative effect on infant immunization service uptake.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Integrating family planning service components into infant immunization services can be an acceptable and effective strategy to increase contraceptive use among postpartum women. Additional research is needed to examine the extent to which this integration strategy can be replicated in other health care settings. Future research should also explore persistent misconceptions regarding the relationship between return of menses and return to fertility during the postpartum period.
authors.affiliation: FHI 360, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Dulli
authors.affiliation: FHI 360, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Marga
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eichleay
authors.affiliation: FHI 360, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rademacher
authors.affiliation: FHI 360, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sortijas
authors.affiliation: Institute for Reproductive Health, Kigali, Rwanda.
authors.forename: Théophile
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nsengiyumva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002662:Child Health Services; D003267:Contraception / Q000379:methods*; D003268:Contraception Behavior; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D007223:Infant; D049590:Postpartum Period; D014611:Vaccination; D014932:Women's Health Services