Informing the medical community in Guatemala about emergency contraception

Abstract

The general purpose of this project was to increase the awareness of and access to emergency contraception (EC) among the medical community in Guatemala. Specific project objectives included: 1) training three physicians as trainers in all aspects of EC; 2) adapting and disseminating scientific literature and informational materials about the method and about EC programs in Latin America and worldwide; and 3) training at least 250 participants about the characteristics of emergency contraception, its mechanisms of action, and counseling techniques. On October 2002, a group of five health workers attended the Latin American Conference on Emergency Contraception organized by the Latin American Consortium on Emergency Contraception (LACEC) and the Population Council's Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program (FRONTIERS) in Quito, Ecuador. Conference participants were trained to implement and follow-up emergency contraception activities in their country. Upon their return to Guatemala and under the leadership of the Center for Research in the Epidemiology of Sexual and Reproductive Health (Centro de Investigación Epidemiológica en Salud Sexual y Reproductiva-CIESAR), the five conference participants established the Guatemalan Consortium on Emergency Contraception (GCEC) to coordinate information and training activities on emergency contraception in the country. The five founding members of GCEC acted as project coordinators. They developed and adapted training, educational, and informational materials to be used and distributed during workshops. They trained 10 trainers to replicate the EC workshop among interested organizations and professional groups. Between February and April 2003, these trainers conducted a total of 21 workshops that were attended by 556 participants. Workshops were held among medical and nursing organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), selected hospitals, and members of Guatemala's justice system. In total, 124 doctors, 121 nurses and social workers, 54 health workers, 144 members of the justice system, 46 female community leaders, and 67 health promoters were trained during this period. The workshops increased the participants' knowledge of EC. The proportion of trainees with high levels of knowledge (75 or higher on a 100-point scale) increased from 11 percent to 40 percent.

Workforce interventions to improve access to emergency contraception pills: a systematic review of current evidence in low- and middle-income countries and recommendations for improving performance

“…Some surveyed Nigerian and Nepalese providers reporting having received ECP training [ 41 , 45 ] while one Senegalese study found that a considerable proportion of providers (38%) had not received any ECP training [ 49 ]. Four studies described training initiatives that had led to improvements in provider knowledge and dispensing practice and more positive attitudes towards ECP [ 28 , 47 , 55 , 56 ]. A study of ECP from Guatemala included training for police officers, social workers and health professionals.…”

“…A study of ECP from Guatemala included training for police officers, social workers and health professionals. The findings indicated that these professionals not only shared their ECP knowledge and practice experiences with colleagues in their own organizations but across these sectors [ 55 ].…”

“…A review of medicine retailers selling malaria medications in sub-Saharan Africa found that on-going supervision and on-the-job-training can contribute to improving the appropriateness of drugs and information provided by these providers [ 78 ]. One study in the current review found that training providers in the health, community and justice sectors has positive outcomes in knowledge gains, attitudes and self-reported practice [ 55 ]. More knowledge is needed to better understand best practices in improving and training the ECP-capacity of different cadres across sectors.…”

Introduction and Scaling-up of Emergency Contraception: Lessons Learned from Three Regions

“…Cascade capacity-building strategies can also be used to sensitize and involve stakeholders in non-health settings. In Guatemala, for example, five participants at a the pre-conference workshop in Quito in 2002 trained 10 trainers and organized 21 workshops, ultimately reaching 556 participants including service providers like nurses and physicians, NGO staff, and members of the justice system (Kestler and Ramirez 2004). In Ethiopia, a one day workshop model has been developed to train physicians, mid-level paramedical staff and community health workers (ECAfrique 2004;ESOG, ECAfrique, and MoH 2005).…”