Family Planning

Key points:
1. 93 respondents: 10% working globally, 10% mainly in UK, 10% mainly in Nigeria, and 4-5% each mainly in India, Cameroon, Uganda, Senegal and Zambia. Many other countries were represented in smaller numbers
2. Respondents were diverse professionally: Researchers/academics make up the largest group, with healthcare providers as the second largest group. There were no respondents who identified themselves as ‘Government representatives’
3. More than two-thirds of respondents said they were ‘very interested’ in learning about ‘Key tools and resources on FP/C’; 'How to improve the use of evidence-based FP/C information among health workers, citizens and policymakers'; and 'Promising practices and challenges in supporting FP/C service delivery’. 
4. A notable and unexpected finding is that more than two-thirds were 'very interested'in how to improve the use of evidence-based FP/C information among policymakers
5. ‘Information that is not up to date’ is described as the main challenge, followed closely by ‘poor access to library/internet’ and ‘Information is not freely available’ In addition, many comments pointed to ‘too much information’, ‘difficult to find relevant info’, lack of information in the right language, lack of information appropriate for different user groups (general, policymakers), and lack of critical appraisal skills .
6. Interestingly, Email was cited as the most popular mechanism for receiving information about new developments in the field of FP/C, followed by systematic reviews and peer-reviewed literature. 
7. 1 in 4 respondents thought their friends and colleagues believe that 'most contraceptives also protect against sexually transmitted infections such as HIV'
8. 1 in 7 respondents thought their friends and colleagues believe that 'contraceptives are dangerous to a woman’s health'
9. 1 in 7 respondents thought their friends and colleagues believe that 'contraceptives often cause long-term problems with fertility'