Community-based provision of family planning in the developing world: recent developments

The study reviews important contributions to the peer-reviewed literature on the community-based provision of family planning in developing countries, from 2012 to the present.

The major areas on which recent reports have focused include pilot studies, drug shops, and new contraceptive technology. The key studies focus largely on the provision of injectable contraception at the community level.

Decades of previous research on community-based family planning has focused on the traditional community health worker. Yet, recent developments in this field have expanded many areas that have been studied previously. A major emphasis of recent research has dealt with broadening the community-based locations from which clients can obtain injectable contraception. Drug shops in developing countries are promising locations for family planning services. They are ubiquitous, frequently accessed, and generally sustainable businesses. Also, a new formulation of injectable contraception in an easy-to-use delivery device is garnering global attention for its potential benefits in community-level use. Additional research and programmatic interventions are needed to better understand the training, policy, regulatory, and logistical needs to ensure quality service delivery.