Project Overview
This ongoing qualitative study seeks to understand the factors that contributed to the successful scale-up of task-sharing policies for family planning services in Ghana. Task sharing, which enables appropriately trained community health workers and other frontline providers to deliver selected family planning services, has been recognized as an effective strategy for expanding access to contraceptive information and services.
Evidence from the Exemplars in Global Health initiative indicates that task sharing has played a significant role in improving modern contraceptive prevalence rates (mCPR) in countries such as Ghana, Malawi, and Senegal. Building on these findings, the study aims to document the implementation strategies, policy approaches, and contextual factors that have supported the expansion of task sharing in Ghana.
Objectives
The study seeks to:
- Examine the strategies and approaches used in implementing task-sharing policies for family planning services.
- Identify health system, policy, and external factors that facilitated the scale-up of task sharing.
- Generate lessons that can inform future family planning and health workforce interventions in Ghana and other low- and middle-income countries.
Methodology
The study employs qualitative research methods, including:
- Review of key policy documents, guidelines, and program reports.
- Key informant interviews with stakeholders involved in the family planning sector.
- Focus group discussions with different categories of health providers engaged in task-sharing initiatives.
Expected Contribution
Findings from Ghana will contribute to a broader comparative assessment alongside similar studies conducted in Malawi and Senegal. The cross-country analysis will provide insights into common factors that support successful task-sharing policies and their contribution to improving access to family planning services across diverse health systems.