Nigerian stakeholders' perceptions of a pilot tier accreditation system for Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors to expand access to family planning services.

BACKGROUND: Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) are often the first point of care for many Nigerians, and when sufficiently trained, they contribute to the expansion of family planning services. Nigeria's task shifting policy and existing regulatory and licensing bodies provide the enabling environment for PPMVs to be stratified and trained. This study explored the perceptions of stakeholders toward the pilot three-tier accreditation system instituted by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria with support from the IntegratE project. METHODS: Two rounds of qualitative phone interviews were conducted among stakeholders in Kaduna and Lagos states in 2020 and 2021. In addition, there were two rounds of phone interviews with CPs and PPMVs (program recipients) from Lagos and Kaduna states. All participants were purposively selected, based on their involvement in the IntegratE project activities. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using Atlas.ti software. Thematic analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Fifteen stakeholders and 28 program recipients and 12 stakeholders and 30 program recipients were interviewed during the first and second rounds of data collection respectively. The data are presented around three main themes: 1) the pilot three-tier accreditation system; 2) enabling environment; and 3) implementation challenges. The accreditation system that allows for the stratification and training of PPMVs to provide family planning services was perceived in a positive light by majority of participants. The integrated supportive supervision team that included representation from the licensing and regulatory body was seen as a strength. However, it was noted that the licensing process needs to be more effective. Implementation challenges that need to be addressed prior to scale up include bottlenecks in licensing procedures and the deep-rooted mistrust between CPs and PPMVs. CONCLUSION: Scale up of the three-tier accreditation system has the potential to expand access to family planning services in Nigeria. In other resource-poor settings where human resources for health are in short supply and where drug shops are ubiquitous, identifying drug shop owners, training them to offer a range of family planning services, and providing the enabling environment for them to function may help to improve access to family planning services.

How do changes in motivation to prevent pregnancy influence contraceptive continuation? Results from a longitudinal study with women who receive family planning services from Community Pharmacists and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that motivation to avoid pregnancy is associated with contraceptive use and continuation. These motivations can change, however, even within a short period of time. This paper uses longitudinal data to look at women's motivation to avoid pregnancy at two time points, and how changes in motivation influence contraceptive continuation. METHODS: Data for this analysis came from an evaluation of the IntegratE project which seeks to expand access to family planning (FP) in Nigeria through community pharmacies and drug shops. 491 women were interviewed within 10 days after receiving a FP service from these sources and again approximately 9 months later. The dependent variable was contraceptive continuation at the follow-up interview. A categorical independent variable was used to represent changes in motivation to avoid pregnancy from enrollment to the follow-up interview. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the association between changes in motivation and contraceptive continuation. RESULTS: 89% of women continued using contraception approximately 9 months after the enrollment interview. Women who remained highly motivated to avoid pregnancy were significantly more likely to continue using contraception compared to women who became more motivated (AOR 2.5; 95% CI 1.0-6.0). Women who became less motivated were 64% less likely to continue using contraception compared to who became more motivated (AOR 0.36 95% CI 0.1-0.9). CONCLUSION: FP providers, including private sector pharmacists and drug shop owners, should continuously check-in with women about their motivations around pregnancy to support continuation among those who wish to avoid pregnancy.

Previous research has found women's motivations to avoid pregnancy- how important it is to avoid pregnancy now- is associated with their contraception use. Yet women's motivations to avoid pregnancy often change, even within a short period of time. This paper looks at whether changes in motivation to avoid pregnancy are associated with continued use of contraception in Nigeria.We used data from a larger evaluation of the IntegratE project which seeks to expand access to family planning (FP) in Nigeria through community pharmacies and drug shops. 491 women were interviewed within 10 days after receiving a FP service (counseling, referral or FP method) from these sources and again 9 months later. We then used logistic regression models to assess whether changes in motivation to avoid pregnancy between receiving a FP service to 9 months later is associated with continued use of FP.We found that many women (89%) continued using contraception approximately 9 months after the enrollment interview. Women who remained highly motivated (reported it was very important to avoid pregnancy at both interviews) were more likely to continue using contraception compared to women who became more motivated between the two interviews. Women who became less motivated were 64% less likely to continue using contraception compared to who became more motivated. Our results suggest that FP providers, including private sector pharmacists and drug shop owners, should continuously check in with women about their motivations around pregnancy to support continuation contraceptive use among those who wish to avoid pregnancy.

How do fertility intentions lead to contraceptive continuation among a cohort of family planning users who received services from the private sector in Nigeria.

Background: The Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria is exploring task sharing family planning (FP) services to Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs). Yet few studies have explored contraceptive continuation of clients who received FP services from pharmacies and drug shops. This paper uses longitudinal data and looks at women's contraceptive continuation approximately nine months after they received FP services from CPs and PPMVs in Kaduna and Lagos states. Methods: Longitudinal data for this analysis come from an evaluation of the IntegratE project. 491 women were interviewed within 10 days after receiving a FP service from an IntegratE CP or PPMV and approximately nine months later. The dependent variable is contraceptive continuation at the follow-up interview and the independent variable is fertility intentions as reported at enrollment. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the association between fertility intentions and contraceptive continuation. Results: 89% of women continued using contraception approximately 9 months after the enrollment interview. Women who intended to have a child in more than two years were significantly more likely to continue using contraception compared to women who intended to have a child within two-years (AOR 2.6; 95% CI 1.1-6.1). Among women who were asked about the quality of care received, 93% said the CP/PPMV asked whether they wanted to have a/another child in the future and 85% said they were asked when they would like to have that child. Conclusion: The fertility intentions of women who seek FP services from CPs and PPMVs in Nigeria can predict contraceptive continuation. As Nigeria task shares FP services to CPs and PPMVs, training on comprehensive FP counseling will be essential for scale-up. Since many women continued using FP, CPs and PPMVs have the potential to expand access to, and support women's continued use of, FP.