Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34669735›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Evaluating the impact of female community health volunteer involvement in a postpartum family planning intervention in Nepal: A mixed-methods study at one-year post-intervention.

Rolina Dhital, Ram Chandra Silwal, Khem Narayan Pokhrel, Sabina Pokhrel, Heera Tuladhar, Suzanna Bright, Emily-Anne Tunnacliffe, Kusum Thapa, Anita Makins

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07443683 (Assessing The Effectiveness Of Eye Health Orientation On Service Uptake), which is not on this map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT07443683 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Eye Health Orientation On Service Uptake: A Study Among Female Health Volunteers In Sudurpashchim Province, Nepal

TypeinterventionalSponsorSeva Canada SocietyRan2026 to 2026Enrolled149ConditionsFemale Community Health Volunteers, Eye DisordersArmsEducational Session
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Rolina DhitalGreen Tara Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.ORCID 0000-0002-9491-2881
Ram Chandra SilwalGreen Tara Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Khem Narayan PokhrelGreen Tara Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.ORCID 0000-0001-6956-1672
Sabina PokhrelGreen Tara Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Heera TuladharNepal Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Suzanna BrightInternational Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, London, United Kingdom.
Emily-Anne TunnacliffeInternational Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, London, United Kingdom.
Kusum ThapaNepal Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Anita MakinsInternational Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, London, United Kingdom.
International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · GBMountain Medicine Society of Nepal · NPNepal Participatory Action Network · NP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThis is a one-year post-intervention study following an initiative to provide orientation to female community health volunteers (FCHVs) on postpartum family planning in Nepal. In light of positive results in the earlier post-intervention study, this study was designed to provide a more long-term perspective on sustainability by assessing the effect at one-year post-intervention.

methodsThis mixed-methods study was conducted in January 2020 in Morang district, Nepal. We collected quantitative data from a knowledge assessment of FCHVs who had participated in the intervention on postpartum family planning, data on their community-based counseling coverage and through interviews with postpartum mothers in two selected hospitals. Qualitative data were collected through six key informant interviews with health providers and four focus group discussions with FCHVs involved in the intervention. We performed descriptive and multivariate analyses for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data.

resultsIn total, 206 FCHVs participated in the one-year post-intervention study with significant improvement in knowledge of postpartum family planning as compared to pre-intervention period. The adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for knowledge of the 5 key messages on postpartum family planning as compared to the pre-intervention period included 1) knowledge on postpartum family planning can be used immediately after birth (AOR = 18.1, P<0.001), 2) postpartum intra-uterine device (PPIUD) can provide protection up to 12 years (AOR = 2.9, P = 0.011), 3) mothers who undergo cesarean section can use PPIUD (AOR = 2.3, P<0.001), 4) PPIUD can be inserted immediately after birth (AOR = 6.2, P <0.001), and 5) women should go for follow-up immediately if the IUD strings are seen outside vulva (AOR = 2.0, P = 0.08). The FCHVs answering 4 or more questions correctly was 10 times higher (AOR = 10.1, P<0.001) at one-year post-intervention, whereas it was 25 times higher at immediate-post-test (AOR = 25.1, p<0.001) as compared to pre-intervention phase. The FCHVs had counseled 71% of the pregnant women (n = 538) within their communities at one-year post-intervention. The postpartum mothers in hospitals had a 2 times higher odds of being counseled by FCHVs during their pregnancy at one-year post-intervention (AOR = 1.8, P = 0.039) than in pre-intervention phase. The qualitative findings suggested a positive impression regarding the FCHV's involvement in postpartum family planning counseling in the communities, however, supervision and monitoring over a longer term was identified as a key challenge and that may influence sustainability of community-based and hospital-based postpartum family planning services.

conclusionThe FCHVs' knowledge and community-based activities on postpartum family planning remained higher than in the pre-intervention. However, it declined when compared to the immediate post-intervention period. We propose regular supervision and monitoring of the work of the FCHVs to sustain progress.

Indexed as

Community Health WorkersCommunity ParticipationCounselingEvaluation Studies as TopicFamily Planning ServicesFemaleFocus GroupsHumansMaternal HealthNepalPostpartum PeriodPregnancyVolunteers

Identifiers

PMID34669735
PMCPMC8528303
OpenAlexW3153235907

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.