{"id":6319,"date":"2022-10-19T13:00:24","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmtraining.org\/using-hip-products-to-inform-and-strengthen-fp-programs-part-1\/"},"modified":"2022-10-19T13:00:24","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T13:00:24","slug":"using-hip-products-to-inform-and-strengthen-fp-programs-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmtraining.org\/fr\/using-hip-products-to-inform-and-strengthen-fp-programs-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Using HIP Products to Inform and Strengthen FP Programs, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"
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High Impact Practices in Family Planning (HIPs) are a set of evidence-based family planning practices vetted by experts against specific criteria and documented in an easy-to-use format. T<\/span>he Evaluation of High Impact Practices in Family Planning Products sought to understand whether and how HIP products were being used among health professionals at the country and global levels. Using key informant interviews (KIIs), a small study team found that various HIP products are used by family planning experts and professionals to inform policy, strategy, and practice. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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\"Cover<\/a>

Cover of Evaluation of High Impact Practices in Family Planning Products Summary Report<\/p><\/div>\n

I recently came across the concept of \u201c<\/span>unknown unknowns<\/span><\/a>.\u201d While the term generally implies the risk factors that are unexpected and unconsidered in program management and strategic planning, it can broadly cover any critical or surprising things we were not aware of previously. When I thought about whether I have encountered such a situation in my work, I remembered the <\/span>Evaluation of High Impact Practices in Family Planning Products<\/span><\/a>. I led the project in my role as a monitoring and evaluation officer at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs in early 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

High Impact Practices in Family Planning (HIPs) are a set of evidence-based family planning practices vetted by experts against specific criteria and documented in an easy-to-use format. The HIP Partnership, which includes co-sponsors, partners, a technical advisory group, a dissemination team, and technical experts, provides the framework for the development of HIP products. This development process is highly participatory to ensure that HIP products are a state-of-the-art synthesis of peer-reviewed, programmatic knowledge of what works in family planning. <\/span>The evaluation study that I conducted sought to understand whether and how HIP products were being<\/a> used among health professionals at the country and global levels. It also endeavored to understand how exposure to a HIP product affected knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs related to High Impact Practices in Family Planning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I, along with a small study team, used <\/span>key informant interviews (KIIs)<\/span><\/a> as the main data collection method. Tried and tested, KIIs can be powerful for KM practitioners in global health to uncover whether and how evidence-based knowledge leads to learning and action from people having in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience about a topic of interest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We interviewed 35 individuals from 16 countries and gained interesting insights by analyzing their responses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We found that various HIP products are used by family planning experts and professionals for decision-making purposes\u2014to inform policy, strategy, and practice. Family planning technical advisors and network coordinators working at the global or regional level generally use HIP products to guide the development of training materials, presentations, and guidance documents.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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However, one of the research questions proposed for the evaluation was, \u201cIf HIP products are not being used, why not?\u201d We were initially worried about getting sufficient data for this question. We anticipated that most KII participants would be those who were already actively engaging with HIP products. <\/span>Therefore, we made efforts to identify people who may not have had much experience with HIPs. We used probing questions to get insights into non-use cases.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before conducting KIIs, I assumed that the products were not effectively reaching the priority audiences and, as a result, were not being used. This assumption was likely rooted in my experience working on global-level projects where there is sometimes a disconnect between the program implementer and the audiences we aim to reach. Therefore, I expected the data to support expanding promotion and dissemination efforts. However, some of those who identified as subject matter experts or technical advisors said they were not using the HIP products because they felt they were already familiar with the subject matter; the content may not address the specific context in which they are working.<\/span><\/p>\n

Evidently, the suggestion to improve the scalability and contextual nature of HIP products had previously been raised among the family planning community. To address this need, in 2019\u20132020, the <\/span>IBP Network<\/span><\/a> hosted a contest. It called for field-based program implementation stories. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

IBP implementation stories<\/p><\/div>\n

Each of the <\/span>15-winning story submissions<\/span><\/a> includes:<\/span><\/p>\n