Join HIFA for a global discussion: Meeting the Family Planning and Contraception information needs of adolescents, girls, women, and men

10 September, 2017

Join HIFA for a series of thoughtful discussions on how to meet the family planning and contraception (FP/C) information needs of the general public, healthcare providers, and policymakers in low- and middle-income countries, as ell as how to address harmful myths and misconceptions surrounding FP/C. 

The Knowledge for Health (K4Health) Project is working with HIFA (Health Information For All) to host a moderated discussion forum on family planning information needs, benefits, and myths and misconceptions. Results from our recent global survey among HIFA members and health professionals showed that 'access to up-to-date information' is the greatest information challenge related to family planning, followed closely by 'internet/library access' and 'inability to access publications free of charge.' Email was cited as the most frequent way to learn of new developments in family planning. The survey findings, including the prevalence of myths and misconceptions about family planning, will be made available on HIFA for further discussion. 

Our first discussion reflects the core area of interest that was clearly shown in our survey: Meeting the FP/C information needs of adolescents, girls, women, and men. The discussion begins on Monday, September 18, 2017 and will run for four weeks. This discussion is part of the new HIFA project on Family Planning. Future discussions will explore the information and learning needs of frontline health workers who provide FP/C services; policymakers and programme managers at international, national and local levels; and specific issues/areas identified by HIFA members.

The discussion will be held on HIFA’s main discussion forum (with more than 10,000 health workers, program managers, researchers, and policymakers worldwide) and also on CHIFA, HIFA-Portuguese, HIFA-French, and HIFA-Zambia. It will be supported by experts in family planning at the World Health Organization, University of Oxford, Guttmacher Institute, IntraHealth, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, and USAID. 

Become a HIFA member (free) to join the discussion! 

QUESTIONS/THEMES FOR DISCUSSION: Meeting the family planning and contraception information needs of adolescents, girls, women, and men 

  1. Why is family planning and contraception (FP/C) information important (for individuals, communities, countries, world)?
  2. What is the current level of FP/C knowledge among adolescents, girls, women, and men? What are the common myths and misconceptions related to FP/C?
  3. What are the drivers and barriers to FP/C information? 
  4. Who is doing what, and where, to provide reliable FP/C information for adolescents, girls, women, and men? What works well and why?
  5. What can be done to improve the availability and use of FP/C information for adolescents, girls, women, and men?

Join HIFA today!

Note: The proposed themes/questions above are meant only as a guide. We welcome contributions on any of the questions at any point in the discussion. And we welcome any other questions/comments on FP/C that people would like to raise.
Photo credit: Trevor Snapp, IntraHealth International