Trial reportPloS one2017
Contraceptive uptake after training community health workers in couples counseling: A cluster randomized trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of the effectiveness of counselling strategies for modern contraceptive methods: what works and what doesn't?BMJ sexual & reproductive health · 2020Pooled it
- Use of community-based interventions to promote family planning use among pastoralist women in Ethiopia: cluster randomized controlled trial.BMC women's health · 2021Trial
- Measurement of Human Flourishing Constructs in Evaluation of Voluntary Family Planning Interventions: A Modified Scoping Review of the Literature.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Effect of healthcare worker vs. non-health worker delivered health education on modern contraceptive uptake among women in Malawi: a quasi-experimental study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Family planning in Jordan: a cross-sectional study on service availability, knowledge and attitudes among women.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- A Descriptive Analysis of Nasal Polyposis in HIV Positive Versus HIV Negative Patients.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2024Article
- Article
- Impact of sexual and reproductive health interventions among young people in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Article
- Involving men and boys in family planning: A systematic review of the effective components and characteristics of complex interventions in low- and middle-income countries.Campbell systematic reviews · 2023Review
- Effects of Postpartum Family Planning Counselling on Contraceptives Knowledge, Attitude and Intention Among Women Attending a General Hospital in The Gambia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Open access journal of contraception · 2023Article
- Strategies to improve interpersonal communication along the continuum of maternal and newborn care: A scoping review and narrative synthesis.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- The mediating role of partner communication on contraceptive use among adolescent girls and young women participating in a small-group intervention in Malawi: A longitudinal analysis.Global public health · 2022Article
- Elevating Social and Behavior Change as an Essential Component of Family Planning Programs.Studies in family planning · 2021Article
- Prevention of cervical cancer through two HPV-based screen-and-treat implementation models in Malawi: protocol for a cluster randomized feasibility trial.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2021Article
- Couples' decision-making on post-partum family planning and antenatal counselling in Uganda: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2021Article
- Community-based integrated approach to changing women's family planning behaviour in Pakistan, 2014-2016.Public health action · 2018Article
- Effect of family planning interventions on couple years of protection in Malawi.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2018Article
- Evaluation of Family Planning Counselling in North Jordan.Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundYoung women in Malawi face many challenges in accessing family planning (FP), including distance to the health facility and partner disapproval. Our primary objective was to assess if training HSAs in couples counseling would increase modern FP uptake among young women.
methodsIn this cluster randomized controlled trial, 30 HSAs from Lilongwe, Malawi received training in FP. The HSAs were then randomized 1:1 to receive or not receive additional training in couples counseling. All HSAs were asked to provide FP counseling to women in their communities and record their contraceptive uptake over 6 months. Sexually-active women <30 years of age who had never used a modern FP method were included in this analysis. Generalized estimating equations with an exchangeable correlation matrix to account for clustering by HSA were used to estimate risk differences (RDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
results430 (53%) young women were counseled by the 15 HSAs who received couples counseling training, and 378 (47%) were counseled by the 15 HSAs who did not. 115 (26%) from the couples counseling group had male partners present during their first visit, compared to only 6 (2%) from the other group (RD: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.33, p<0.01). Nearly all (99.5%) initiated a modern FP method, with no difference between groups (p = 0.09). Women in the couples counseling group were 8% more likely to receive male condoms (RD: 0.08, 95% CI: -7% to 23%, p = 0.28) and 8% more likely to receive dual methods (RD: 0.08, 95% CI: -0.065, 0.232, p = 0.274).
conclusionTraining HSAs in FP led to high modern FP uptake among young women who had never used FP. Couples counseling training increased male involvement with a trend towards higher male condom uptake.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.