Skip Navigation

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: The INFO Project

Your knowledge-sharing resource on family planning and reproductive health

Universal Navigation:
 INFO Home  |  Order  |  e-lists  |  Search Web Site  |  Contact Us  |  Press  |  Site Map  |  Espaņol/Francais

Shopping Basket

Info Reports Logo

Injectable Contraceptives: Tools for Providers

From INFO's Toolbox
December 2006
Issue No. 8		 The INFO Project • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health • Center for Communication Programs • 111 Market Place, Suite 310 • Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA • 410-659-6300 • 410-659-6266 (fax) • www.infoforhealth.org • infoproject@jhuccp.org
PDF version of the INFO Reports, December 2006, Number 8, Injectable Contraceptives: Tools for Providers

Checkmark image within a Checkbox From INFO's ToolboxChecklist for Giving Intramuscular Contraceptive Injections

Family planning providers can use this checklist to help ensure that injections are safe.
Prepare equipment and supplies
Checkbox In advance, assemble the supplies and materials needed
  • Single-dose vial
  • Sterile needle and syringe (If auto-disable (AD) or conventional disposable syringes and needles are not available, use sterile equipment designed for steam sterilization. Do not reuse disposable equipment.)
  • Cotton wool
Checkbox Wash hands with soap and water before giving the injection, if possible. Gloves are not needed unless there is a chance of direct contact with blood or other body fluids.
Checkbox Inspect the vial and check expiry date. Discard any with visible cracks or leaks.
Checkbox With injectables containing DMPA, roll the vial back and forth or gently shake to mix contents. If the vial of NET-EN is cold, warm to skin temperature before giving the injection.
   
Give the injection safely
Checkbox Explain the injection procedure to the client and point out that the syringe and needle are sterile.
Checkbox Ask the client her preferred site for injection: upper arm (deltoid muscle) or buttocks (gluteal muscle). To decrease discomfort, position her so that her muscles are relaxed.
Checkbox Wash the injection site with soap and water if it is visibly dirty. Swabbing clean skin or wiping the skin with antiseptic before giving an injection is not necessary.
Checkbox Pierce the top of the vial with the sterile needle and fill syringe with the proper dose.
Checkbox With a smooth, steady motion, insert the needle deep into the muscle at a right angle (90°) and inject the contents of the syringe.
Checkbox After the injection ask the client to hold cotton wool on the injection site. Instruct the client not to massage the injection site.
Checkbox Wash hands with soap and water after giving the injection, if possible.
Dispose of waste appropriately
Checkbox Do not recap, bend, cut, or break needles after use. Discard the used disposable needle and syringe immediately in an enclosed sharps container.
Checkbox If reusable syringes and needles are used, they must be sterilized again after each use.
Checkbox Seal and dispose of sharps containers when they are three-fourths full. Follow program or clinic guidelines for proper waste management.

Adapted from: Hutin 2003 (80)
1Intramuscular injection of the combined injectable Cyclofem can also be given in the thigh (lateral muscle of the quadriceps).

 


Go to Previous Page  Go to Next Page
Back to top

Disclaimer: The information provided on this web site is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Government or The Johns Hopkins University.