PIP MAQ Pack

	The Johns Hopkins University Population Information Program MAQ Pack Materials for Maximizing Access and Quality Français Español

MAQ (Maximizing Access and Quality) is an initiative of USAID and collaborating agencies to serve clients and programs by improving both access to and quality of services. MAQ promotes good-quality services that clients want and need; MAQ also works to remove unnecessary barriers that discourage clients from using services.

JHU/PIP offers a special package of materials and information to support MAQ.

The MAQ Pack consists of the following materials, some of which are available in multiple languages as indicated:

The Essentials of Contraceptive Technology—A Handbook for Clinic Staff
This handbook published by the Johns Hopkins Population Information Program (JHU/PIP) answers the questions family planning providers face every day. Built on the consensus of experts around the world, The Essentials of Contraceptive Technology is becoming a standard reference in clinics throughout the developing world. The handbook includes a chapter on each major family planning method, from combined oral contraceptives to the Lactational Amenorrhea Method. Each chapter organizes information in standard sections for easy reference. Other chapters cover counseling and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. Includes wall chart, which also can be ordered separately (see below). Endorsed by the World Health Organization and published with the collaboration and support of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Also in Spanish. Arabic, French, and Portuguese forthcoming.
Population Reports, Informed Choice: Helping People Decide (Series J, No. 50)
The best decisions about family planning are those that people make for themselves, based on accurate information and a range of choices. This report proposes a 5-part strategy to enable more and better informed choices: setting supportive policies, expanding communication programs, increasing access, improving management strategies, and strengthening client-provider communication. Includes "The Choice Is Yours. Please Ask!," a list of suggested questions that clients can ask providers. French, and Spanish forthcoming. (Available on this site.)

Do you know your family planning choices?
The wall chart that accompanies The Essentials of Contraceptive Technology. Designed to be displayed at service sites for clients to see, the chart presents important points about major family planning methods. The chart includes a new table of medical conditions and lists methods not advised for those conditions. Also in French, Spanish Arabic and Portuguese. (Available on this site.)
Population Reports, GATHER Guide to Counseling (Series J, No. 48)
The new GATHER Guide to Counseling updates and expands the widely used Population Reports counseling guide. Each GATHER element in the counseling process (Greet, Ask, Tell, Help, Explain, and Return) has its own pull-out pages for display or quick reference. Also in French and Spanish. (Available on this site.)
<MAQ Checklist MAQ (Maximizing Access and Quality) Checklist
A checklist for family planning service delivery, with selected linkages to reproductive health. It is designed to be an annotated "memory jogger." The checklist identifies a number of critical areas of access and quality (e.g., client-provider interaction) and then poses a number of provocative questions about each. Thus, it is neither a formal evaluation tool nor an encyclopedia. Rather, it simply directs the user's attention to a number of critical issues in each area. Prepared by James Shelton, Sarah Davis, and Jill Mathis at USAID. Also in French and Spanish.
Population Reports, Family Planning Programs: Improving Quality (Series J, No. 47)
Improving quality and putting clients first are winning strategies for developing-country reproductive health programs. The new report emphasizes that every program can do something to improve quality, no matter what its resources or its current level of quality. Designing programs to meet clients' needs and adopting quality assurance methods borrowed from modern management practice benefit both clients and providers. The report covers quality design, quality control, and quality improvement. The centerspread, "Improving Care and Raising Expectations," describes Egypt's Gold Star Program. Also in Portuguese, Spanish and French. (Available on this site.)

Jim Shelton's Pearls
The "Pearls" offer answers to commonly asked questions about family planning. Check out the new "Pearl" each week. These "Pearls" are prepared by Dr. James D. Shelton, Senior Medical Scientist, Office of Population, United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Have a question for a future "Pearl"? Send your proposed question to Dr. Shelton. Your question may be chosen as a future "Pearl of the Week." (Available on this web site.)
Population Reports Family Planning Methods: New Guidance (Series J, No. 44)
This special issue presents guidance from the Technical Guidance/Competence Working Group and of WHO scientific group meetings that improve access to good-quality care in family planning. Laid out in question-and-recommendation format, the report also explains the rationale behind the recommendations. The report covers all major methods and includes a table detailing the WHO Medical Eligibility Criteria for starting contraceptive methods. Also in French and Spanish. (Available on this site.)

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Phone: (410) 659.6300/Fax: (410) 659.6266/E-mail: Poprepts@jhuccp.org

*The Essentials of Contraceptive Technology—A Handbook for Clinic Staff* This handbook published by the Johns Hopkins Population Information Program (JHU/PIP) answers the questions family planning providers face every day. Built on the consensus of experts around the world, The Essentials of Contraceptive Technology is becoming a standard reference in clinics throughout the developing world. The handbook includes a chapter on each major family planning method, from combined oral contraceptives to the Lactational Amenorrhea Method. Each chapter organizes information in standard sections for easy reference. Other chapters cover counseling and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. Includes wall chart, which also can be ordered separately (see below). Endorsed by the World Health Organization and published with the collaboration and support of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Also in Spanish. Arabic, French, and Portuguese forthcoming.	*Population Reports, Informed Choice: Helping People Decide* (Series J, No. 50)** The best decisions about family planning are those that people make for themselves, based on accurate information and a range of choices. This report proposes a 5-part strategy to enable more and better informed choices: setting supportive policies, expanding communication programs, increasing access, improving management strategies, and strengthening client-provider communication. Includes "The Choice Is Yours. Please Ask!," a list of suggested questions that clients can ask providers. French, and Spanish forthcoming. (Available on this site.)
*Do you know your family planning choices?* The wall chart that accompanies The Essentials of Contraceptive Technology. Designed to be displayed at service sites for clients to see, the chart presents important points about major family planning methods. The chart includes a new table of medical conditions and lists methods not advised for those conditions. Also in French, Spanish Arabic and Portuguese. (Available on this site.)	*Population Reports, GATHER Guide to Counseling* (Series J, No. 48)** The new GATHER Guide to Counseling updates and expands the widely used Population Reports counseling guide. Each GATHER element in the counseling process (Greet, Ask, Tell, Help, Explain, and Return) has its own pull-out pages for display or quick reference. Also in French and Spanish. (Available on this site.)
MAQ (Maximizing Access and Quality) Checklist A checklist for family planning service delivery, with selected linkages to reproductive health. It is designed to be an annotated "memory jogger." The checklist identifies a number of critical areas of access and quality (e.g., client-provider interaction) and then poses a number of provocative questions about each. Thus, it is neither a formal evaluation tool nor an encyclopedia. Rather, it simply directs the user's attention to a number of critical issues in each area. Prepared by James Shelton, Sarah Davis, and Jill Mathis at USAID. Also in French and Spanish.	*Population Reports, Family Planning Programs: Improving Quality* (Series J, No. 47)** Improving quality and putting clients first are winning strategies for developing-country reproductive health programs. The new report emphasizes that every program can do something to improve quality, no matter what its resources or its current level of quality. Designing programs to meet clients' needs and adopting quality assurance methods borrowed from modern management practice benefit both clients and providers. The report covers quality design, quality control, and quality improvement. The centerspread, "Improving Care and Raising Expectations," describes Egypt's Gold Star Program. Also in Portuguese, Spanish and French. (Available on this site.)
Jim Shelton's Pearls The "Pearls" offer answers to commonly asked questions about family planning. Check out the new "Pearl" each week. These "Pearls" are prepared by Dr. James D. Shelton, Senior Medical Scientist, Office of Population, United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Have a question for a future "Pearl"? Send your proposed question to Dr. Shelton. Your question may be chosen as a future "Pearl of the Week." (Available on this web site.)	*Population Reports Family Planning Methods: New Guidance* (Series J, No. 44)** This special issue presents guidance from the Technical Guidance/Competence Working Group and of WHO scientific group meetings that improve access to good-quality care in family planning. Laid out in question-and-recommendation format, the report also explains the rationale behind the recommendations. The report covers all major methods and includes a table detailing the WHO Medical Eligibility Criteria for starting contraceptive methods. Also in French and Spanish. (Available on this site.)