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Purpose: An earlier adoption of contraceptive methods during the postpartum period could help women to extend the inter-pregnancy interval. This article aimed to determine and compare the timing of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) use (ie, intrauterine device and implant) in Burkina Faso (BF) and DR Congo (DRC) between the intervention and control groups. Patients and Methods: A total of 1120 postpartum women were enrolled and followed up to 12 months postpartum. We used Yam-Daabo trial data which was a multi-intervention, single-blinded, cluster-randomised controlled trial done in primary health-care centres (clusters) in both countries. Centres were randomly allocated to receive the six-component intervention or standard antenatal and postnatal care in matched pairs (1:1). We did a secondary analysis using Royston-Parmar's semi-parametric model to estimate the effect of the interventions on the median time of LARC uptake. Results: Our analysis included 567 postpartum women in BF (284 in the intervention group and 283 in the control group) and 553 in the DRC (274 in the intervention group and 279 in the control group). After showing an increase in family planning use in these two African countries, Yam Daabo's interventions showed a reduction of the median time of LARCs adoption in the intervention group compared to the control group in both countries (difference of 39 days in Burkina Faso; difference of 86 days in the DR Congo). Conclusion: The Yam Daabo intervention package resulted in increased and earlier adoption of LARC in rural settings in Burkina Faso and urban settings in DR Congo. Such an intervention could be relevant in similar contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa with very high fertility rates and high unmet needs for contraception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The YAM DAABO study ("your choice" in Mooré) takes place in Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has the objective to identify a package of postpartum family planning (PPFP) interventions to strengthen primary healthcare services and determine its effectiveness on contraceptive uptake during the first year postpartum. This article presents the process of identifying the PPFP interventions and its detailed contents.Methods: Based on participatory action research principles, we adopted an inclusive process with two complementary approaches: a bottom-up formative approach and a circular reflective approach, both of which involved a wide range of stakeholders. For the bottom-up component, we worked in each country in three formative sites and used qualitative methods to identify barriers and catalysts to PPFP uptake. The results informed the package design which occurred during the circular reflective approach - a research workshop gathering service providers, members of both country research teams, and the WHO coordination team.Results: As barriers and catalysts were found to be similar in both countries and with the view to scaling up our strategy to other comparable settings, we identified a common package of six low-cost, low-technology, and easily-scalable interventions that addressed the main service delivery obstacles related to PPFP: (1) refresher training of service providers, (2) regularly scheduled and strengthened supportive supervision of service providers, (3) enhanced availability of services 7 days a week, (4) a counseling tool, (5) appointment cards for women, and (6) invitation letters for partners.Conclusions: Our research strategy assumes that postpartum contraceptive uptake can be increased by supporting providers, enhancing the availability of services, and engaging women and their partners. The package does not promote any modern contraceptive method over another but prioritizes the importance of women's right to information and choice regarding postpartum fertility options. The effectiveness of the package will be studied in the experimental phase. If found to be effective, this intervention package may be relevant to and scalable in other parts of Burkina Faso and the DRC, and possibly other Sub-Saharan countries.Trial Registration: Retrospectively registered in the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry ( PACTR201609001784334 , 27 September 2016). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postpartum family planning (PPFP) information and services can prevent maternal and child morbidity and mortality in low-resource countries, where high unmet need for PPFP remains despite opportunities offered by routine postnatal care visits. This study aims to identify a package of PPFP interventions and determine its effectiveness on the uptake of contraceptive methods during the first year postpartum. We hypothesize that implementing a PPFP intervention package that is designed to strengthen existing antenatal and postnatal care services will result in an increase in contraceptive use.Methods: This is an operational research project using a complex intervention design with three interacting phases. The pre-formative phase aims to map study sites to establish a sampling frame. The formative phase employs a participatory approach using qualitative methodology to identify barriers and catalysts to PPFP uptake to inform the design of a PPFP intervention package. The intervention phase applies a cluster randomized-controlled trial design based at the primary healthcare level, with the experimental group implementing the PPFP package, and the control group implementing usual care. The primary outcome is modern contraceptive method uptake at twelve months postpartum. Qualitative research is embedded in the intervention phase to understand the operational reasons for success or failure of PPFP services.Discussion: Designing, testing, and scaling-up effective, affordable, and sustainable health interventions in low-resource countries is critical to address the high unmet need for PPFP. Due to socio-cultural complexities surrounding contraceptive use, this research assumes that this is more effectively accomplished by engaging key stakeholders, including adolescents, women, men, key community members, service providers, and policy-makers. At the individual level, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of women and couples toward PPFP will likely be influenced by a set of low-cost interventions. At the health service delivery level, the implementation of this trial will probably require a shift in behavior and accountability of providers regarding the systematic integration of PPFP into their clinical practice, as well as the optimization of health service organization to ensure the availability of competent staff and contraceptive supplies.Trial Registration: Retrospectively registered in the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry ( PACTR201609001784334 , 27 September 2016). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]