Published by the Population Information Program, Center for Communication Programs, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland 21202-4012, USA

Current scientific findings increase choices for family planning clients while making contraceptive use even safer and more effective. On this basis, service delivery practices can be updated to improve quality and access.

Based on scienfitic evidence, two expert groups, working collaboratively, offer new guidance for family planning service delivery. One group answers key biomedical questions about contraceptive practices. The Technical Guidance/Competence Working Group is a part of the Maximizing Access and Quality initiative, a joint effort of the US Agency for International Development, its Cooperating Agencies, and other experts. The other guidance recommends medical eligibility criteria for who can use each major contraceptive method and who should not. Both sets of recommendations are endorsed by the World Health Organization/Family Planning and Population Unit, which also organized the latter group.

In general, the new guidance, summarized in this issue, helps providers give clients more choice among contraceptive methods, about when to start methods, and about obtaining and using them conveniently. The recommendations imply ending some practices that burden clients without benefiting them. Also, the new guidance assists providers helping clients to use their chosen methods effectively and to deal with side effects. It indicates what clinical practices are important to providing and using various methods safely and effectively.

This new guidance is not intended as off-the-shelf program guidelines. Rather, it should be adapted to local needs, providing the sense and the science behind practices that maximize service quality and access.