Mexfam: Enhancing Family Planning Counseling Quality through Automated Feedback Systems
Mexfam collaborates with M4M to pilot self-reported measure of family planning counseling quality
BACKGROUND
Access to effective, affordable family planning (FP) services is crucial for reproductive autonomy and health. The quality of care provided during contraceptive counseling significantly influences clients’ reproductive health and method continuation. Evaluating and monitoring the quality of family planning counseling is essential to enhance client experience and achieve global contraceptive use goals. The Mexican Foundation for Family Planning (Mexfam) is dedicated to promoting sexual and reproductive rights through its clinics and advocacy work across Mexico. Mexfam encourages clients to complete satisfaction surveys after appointments to ensure counseling quality. However, these surveys mainly focus on overall satisfaction rather than specific aspects like contraceptive counseling. They are administered via electronic tablets at clinic front desks.
CHALLENGE: DEVELOPING AN EFFICIENT AUTOMATED FEEDBACK SYSTEM FOR FAMILY PLANNING COUNSELING QUALITY
Mexfam faced difficulties with their existing quality surveys due to their length and complexity. Processing survey data was time-consuming and labor-intensive, hindering responsiveness to client feedback. Moreover, the surveys failed to capture detailed information and extended lengths discouraged client participation. Mexfam sought a streamlined, cost-effective solution to collect and analyze data effectively. They aimed for a system that not only gauged client satisfaction but also demonstrated its impact on modern contraceptive use and continuation.
Solution: A New Tablet-Based Survey with Automated Results
Metrics for Management, in collaboration with Mexfam, implemented the Method Information Index (MII), a concise measure widely recognized in global public health circles. This index, integral to FP2030 indicators and prominent survey tools like USAID’s Demographic and Health Surveys, simplifies assessment by posing three crucial questions to clients after their family planning visits. To enhance data collection and reporting on counseling quality, Mexfam piloted an automated feedback system in January 2022.
The study aimed to gauge system effectiveness, client engagement, and its impact on decision-making. Metrics for Management facilitated kiosk installation in two high-volume Mexfam clinics in Mexico City. Initial deployment involved a six-week phase, followed by a seven-week extension with an expanded survey. Mexfam’s Research team ensured seamless integration and user engagement, addressing challenges such as kiosk visibility and staff training. Post-study analysis compared collected data with Mexfam’s records, offering insights for continuous improvement. This collaborative effort underscored the commitment to refining counseling quality assessment, leveraging technology for efficient and informed decision-making in family planning services.
Results: Enhancing Service Provision through Efficient Data Capture and Processing
Under Metrics for Management’s leadership, the implementation of tablet-based kiosks for client feedback at Mexfam proved to be highly successful. Clients readily embraced the user-friendly kiosks, resulting in robust engagement and invaluable feedback. The automated system introduced by our team streamlined the entire process of data capture, analysis, and reporting, yielding significant time and resource savings previously lost to manual procedures. Notably, despite the expanded survey in the second phase, participation rates remained steady, affirming the system’s capacity to accommodate extended data collection without compromising efficiency.
Throughout the study duration, a noteworthy 79.3% of family planning clients confirmed receiving comprehensive counseling, attaining the maximum MII score of three. While MII scores at Xola Clinic consistently outpaced those at La Villa Clinic, our collaboration with Mexfam facilitated marked improvements, particularly evident in the latter clinic during the second phase. Leveraging our expertise in near-real-time data analysis, Mexfam swiftly enacted adjustments, including personnel reallocations and targeted training initiatives for counselors and medical professionals, thereby elevating service quality across all clinics.
In our capacity as project leaders, the Research team assumed a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless functionality of the system, addressing any technical challenges, and fostering effective communication channels between Metrics for Management and Mexfam personnel. Mexfam’s steadfast commitment to data-centric decision-making and proactive responsiveness to client feedback remained evident throughout the study, underscoring a structured approach towards service enhancement. Our collaboration not only facilitated tangible improvements in service quality but also underscored Mexfam’s unwavering dedication to customer satisfaction and the continual refinement of family planning services.
NEXT STEPS
- Acknowledging the cost limitations of the kiosks used in the study, the team seeks to explore more economical device options suitable for wider deployment.
- Recognizing the challenge posed by limited internet access in certain clinic locations, Mexfam is exploring alternative survey implementation tools such as CommCare and Kobo ToolBox.
- While the study was conducted in Spanish using written surveys, Mexfam and Metrics for Management are eager to enhance accessibility by considering options for non-native Spanish speakers and non-literate populations. This may involve testing photo-based surveys or read-aloud technology to facilitate independent, automated survey participation.
- As a member association of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Mexfam aims to document their experiences with the MII for client satisfaction surveys and share insights and best practices with other member associations.
Key Takeaways:
- Employing concise and user-friendly surveys significantly boosts participation rates. Simplified surveys are more likely to elicit responses, especially from individuals with time constraints.
- Active promotion of surveys by medical staff and counselors, coupled with responsive action based on survey findings, plays a vital role in driving engagement and implementing improvements.
- Timely and comprehensive reporting is essential for informed decision-making processes, ensuring swift responses to emerging issues and opportunities for enhancement.
