Providing family planning information and services to postpartum women during their infants’ immunization visits provides an opportunity to reach women with unmet need for family planning. While evidence of the effect of integration on immunization services is limited, it is possible that effective integration may result in strengthened health systems, more focus and attention brought to immunization services and outcomes, and more efficient use of staff time and resources.
To be successful, integrated immunization and family planning service provision requires actions that support family planning and immunization alike. Supportive policies, evidence-based service delivery guidelines, capable service providers and managers, strong logistics to ensure availability of supplies, and broad acceptance by both communities and health workers are essential.
This toolkit, developed by the Family Planning and Immunization Integration Working Group, houses relevant resources developed by partner institutions. The objectives of the toolkit are:
- To provide a repository of information on integrated family planning and immunization service delivery.
To make evidence-based information and tools accessible for health professionals and others around the world. To identify gaps in existing resources and provide new resources and tools as needed to fill gaps.
This toolkit contains the following sections:
- Essential Knowledge: highlights the rationale for integration and presents key resources documenting the evidence around FP & immunization integration
Evidence-based Advocacy: presents advocacy considerations, as well as briefs, reports, and presentations used to advocate for FP & immunization integration among key stakeholders
Implementation Tools: includes field-tested tools used to guide implementation of integrated service delivery, such as tools for screening and referral, training, supervision, and cost assessment
Social & Behavior Change Communication: provides a range of tools and materials for designing a strategic approach integrated service delivery, including tools for formative assessment, sample job aids and IEC materials, and guidance on SBCC strategy design
M&E and Research Tools: presents guidance documents and tools to guide monitoring and evaluation of integrated family planning and immunization service delivery, including recommended indicators and priority research questions
- Country Experiences: offers examples of country experiences with integrating family planning and immunization services, and highlights various strategies used, challenges faced, and lessons learned
The Working Group: includes FP/Immunization Integration Working Group meeting reports and other documents.
Family planning and immunization integration has been recognized by USAID as a “Promising Practice” for family planning. USAID maintains a map and inventory list of countries implementing FP and immunization integration activities through their Family Planning High Impact Practices site.
We welcome additional resources for inclusion in the toolkit! Please email us at toolkits@k4health.org or fill out the feedback form if you have a relevant resource that you would like to share.