Field Placement: Mexican
Family Planning Association (Mexfam), Republic of Mexico
Preceptor: Elizabeth Butrick
Student Name: Graciella Funes-Coté
Year: 2002
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FAMILY PLANNING EVALUATION AT MEXFAM CLINICS
During the months of July
and August of 2002 I was part of a research team carrying out a study at Mexfam
clinics in the Republic of Mexico. Mexfam is the Mexican Family Planning Association,
a non-profit organization, governed by volunteers. Elizabeth Butrick, a Michigan
International Development Associate, was the study supervisor. Nicole Monastersky
and I, both of us graduate students in the department of Community Health Sciences
in the School of Public Health at UCLA, were the two other members of the evaluation
team. The goal of the study was to understand the role of family planning services
in Mexfam´s clinics.
Mexfam´s clinics provide both specialized and family medicine services. The clinics are responsible for supplying a sustainability base for a variety of social programs. These programs are central to Mexfam´s mission of providing services to the most vulnerable Mexican population sectors. Family Planning is one of these programs. Bi-annual reports of services provided demonstrate that productivity in the area of family planning services varies from one clinic to the next. These reports indicate a partial figure of family planning methods sold, but there is no systematic method in place to assess the quantity and quality of family planning services provided by the clinics. In addition, evaluations at Mexfam are mostly donor driven, and there hasn´t been an interest from donors or from within the organization to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the family planning program. Because the provision of family planning services is an important part of Mexfam´s mission, it is essential for the organization to understand to what extent clinics are promoting and providing these services. The family planning study was designed with the purpose of understanding the dynamics of the family planning program within Mexfam. It was considered of particular importance to learn: whether Mexfam clients use a family planning method, whether they get their method at Mexfam and how Mexfam´s family planning services compare to the rest of the services available in the community.
Mexfam has 20 clinics throughout Mexico. A convenience sample of 11 clinics was selected to participate in the study. The study was carried out at the following clinics: Alamedas, Guadalajara, Iguala, Ixtaltepec, La Villa (G.A. Madero), Naranjos, Nezahualcóyotl, San Luis de la Paz, San Luis Potosí, Oaxaca and Xola. Proximity to Mexico City and clinic manager`s availability and willingness to respond to the invitation to participate were major factors for inclusion to the study. The priority population identified were reproductive age women. This population was defined as women between the ages of 15 and 49. Clinic staff, in particular family physicians and gynecologists, was identified as a secondary population. The study was conducted using a multi-method approach for gathering information.
The study instruments consisted of: a short survey for clients; a questionnaire for family planning users who obtained their method at Mexfam; a questionnaire for family planning users who obtained their method elsewhere; and a service provider questionnaire. The information gathered from this study was useful in identifying strengths and weaknesses of the family planning program at Mexfam and it will serve to develop strategies to enhance the program in the future
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