Abstract
BackgroundShort message service (SMS) presents an opportunity to expand the reach of care and improve reproductive health outcomes. SMS could increase family planning (FP) use through education, support and demand generation. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the perspectives of potential FP users to inform design of SMS.MethodsWe conducted focus group discussions (FGD) with HIV-infected women and in-depth interviews (IDI) with male partners and health care workers (HCW) at urban and rural clinics in Kenya to design SMS content for a randomized controlled trial.ResultsWomen and men indicated SMS could be used as a tool to discuss FP with their partners, and help decrease misconceptions about FP. Women stated SMS could make them more comfortable discussing sensitive topics with HCWs compared to in-person discussions. However, some women expressed concerns about FP SMS particularly if they used FP covertly or feared partner disapproval of FP use. These findings were common among women who had not disclosed their status. Providers viewed SMS as an important tool for tracking patients and clinical triage in conjunction with routine clinical visits.ConclusionOur findings suggest that SMS has the potential to facilitate FP education, counselling, and interaction with HCWs around FP.
Highlights
Short message service (SMS) presents an opportunity to expand the reach of care and improve reproductive health outcomes
Since SMS messages could be shared with male partners, many women felt family planning (FP)-related SMS could be a tool to educate partners about FP options, and help
This study explores the perspectives of key stakeholders, including HIV-infected women, male partners, and health care providers, on the utility of SMS for FP education and support
Summary
Short message service (SMS) presents an opportunity to expand the reach of care and improve reproductive health outcomes. Providing quality family planning (FP) counselling and service delivery remains a challenge to achieving optimal FP access in Sub-Saharan Africa This is especially important among HIV-infected women of reproductive age who account for the largest proportion of HIV-infected individuals in Kenya [1]. Integration of FP into HIV services has been successful in improving access to and uptake of FP among HIV-infected individuals [2], and Previous work has shown that HIV-infected women have many of the same concerns about FP as uninfected women including partners’ disapproval [7], fertility desires [7] and concerns about side effects [7] They face specific challenges, such as need for dual contraceptive use, prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) [8], and interactions with antiretroviral therapy (ART) [8, 9]. It is necessary to design novel approaches to FP care delivery for HIV-infected women
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
