Integrating reproductive and child health services enables access to modern contraception in Sierra Leone

BACKGROUND From mid-2015, reproductive and child health interventions were integrated into a routine 6-month contact point: vitamin A supplementation, nutrition counseling with the mother's participation in the preparation of a complementary food, and confidential family planning counseling with provision of modern forms of contraceptives. By mid-2017, these services had reached 28% of health facilities nationwide. OBJECTIVE To evaluate awareness and uptake of modern contraception and complementary feeding practices. METHODS All health facilities were visited, and the health worker "in-charge" were interviewed to ascertain their training status and supply chains. Within each catchment, community mothers of children 6 to 23 months of age were interviewed. RESULTS Interviews were conducted with 321 "in-charges" and 670 mothers. Advantages and different types of contraception were understood by 99.0% of mothers, and 52.7% reported they were utilizing depot injections, hormonal implants, or oral contraceptive pills (45.1%, 34.6%, and 20.6% of users, respectively). Uptake was higher among Christians (62.1%) versus Muslims (48.6%) and among those with secondary/tertiary (61.5%) or primary education (60.5%) versus no education (43.3%) (P