Acknowledgements
This report was prepared by
Ruwaida M. Salem, MPH.
Bryant Robey, Editor.
Francine Mueller, Designer.
INFO Reports appreciates the assistance of
the following reviewers: Kathryn Church, Kathryn
Curtis, Mary Lyn E. Gaffield, Sarah Johnson,
Anshu Mohllajee, Herbert Peterson,
James D. Shelton, and Irving Sivin.
Suggested citation: Salem, R. “World Health
Organization Updates Guidance on How To Use
Contraceptives.” INFO Reports, No. 4. Baltimore,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
The INFO Project, April 2005.
The INFO Project
Center for Communication Programs
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health
Jane T. Bertrand, PhD, MBA, Professor and Director,
Center for Communication Programs and
Principal Investigator, The INFO Project;
Ward Rinehart, Project Director;
Stephen Goldstein, Chief, Publications Division;
Theresa Norton, Associate Editor;
Linda Sadler, Production Manager.
INFO Reports is designed to provide an
accurate and authoritative report on important
developments in family planning and
related health issues. The opinions expressed
herein are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the US
Agency for International Development or
the Johns Hopkins University.
Published with support from USAID, Global, GH/POP/PEC, under the terms of Grant No. GPH-A-00-02-00003-00.
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New Guidance Updates Previous Recommendations
The World Health Organization’s 2004 Selected Practice Recommendations offer updated advice on how family planning clients can best use their contraceptive methods to protect against pregnancy, as well as on how to manage side effects or other problems during contraceptive use (66). This new guidance includes important departures from what has been commonly advised about certain contraceptive methods.
The 2004 WHO guidance updates the Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use first issued in 2002 (64). The 2004 edition includes 10 new recommendations as well as revisions of 12 recommendations from the 2002 edition. (For information on obtaining the full 2004 WHO report, see box, below.)
This issue of INFO Reports focuses on the new 2004 WHO guidance that is likely to have the greatest impact on service delivery. It also summarizes the other new recommendations, which pertain to the levonorgestrel-releasing IUD (LNG-IUD) (see Guidance for Cu-IUDs Extended To the LNG-IUD).
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Evidence-Based Family Planning Guidance:
What’s New, What’s Next?
The 2004 edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) publication Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use is the second of four cornerstones of evidence-based family planning guidance from WHO. The first cornerstone is the 2004 publication, Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use. WHO is in the process of developing the
third and fourth cornerstones of the evidence-based guidelines series (see below). The development of the series was led by Herbert Peterson, former coordinator for the Promoting Family Planning Team of the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at WHO.
The WHO Medical Eligibility Criteria provide guidance on who can use contraceptive methods safely in the presence of certain health conditions (65). (For a summary of recent additions and changes, see INFO Reports, “WHO Updates Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptives,”
No. 1, August 2004, at http://www.infoforhealth.org/inforeports/mec/index.shtml.)
The full texts of both the Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use and Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use are available on the WHO Web site at: http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/publications/mec/. Printed copies can be requested by postal mail, telephone, fax, or e-mail:
Postal mail: World Health Organization, Department of Reproductive Health and Research, Documentation Centre, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Telephone: 0041 22 791 4447/3346
Fax: 0041 22 791 4189
E-mail: reproductivehealth@who.int
New Evidence-Based Guidance Available in 2005
The third cornerstone in the WHO evidence-based series, the Decision-Making Tool for Family Planning Clients and Providers, is a flipchart for family planning clients and providers to use together to help clients choose and use a contraceptive method. It is being prepared in collaboration with The INFO Project.
The fourth cornerstone is a handbook intended as the successor to The Essentials of Contraceptive Technology. Written for family planning clinic staff, the handbook will provide up-to-date, evidence-based information on contraceptive methods. The new handbook is being prepared in collaboration with The INFO Project and more than 20 other reproductive health organizations.
The Decision-Making Tool and handbook are expected to be available in spring 2005 and winter 2006, respectively, through The INFO Project. Requests can be sent to:
Postal mail: The INFO Project, Center for Communication Programs, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland 21202,
Fax: 410-659-6266
E-mail: orders@jhuccp.org
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