The DHS Program

Changes in Service Availability, Readiness,Process of Care, and Client Satisfaction of Family Planning Services: A Comparison between the 2015 and 2021 Nepal Health Facility Surveys (English) 

Document Type

Further Analysis

Publication Topic(s)

Health facilities/SPA surveys

Country(s)

Nepal

Survey

Nepal SPA, 2021

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Pant, Prakash Dev, and Sara Riese. 2023. Changes in Service Availability, Readiness, Process of Care, and Client Satisfaction with Family Planning Services: A Comparison between the 2015 and 2021 Nepal Health Facility Surveys. DHS Further Analysis Reports No. 147. Rockville, Maryland, USA: ICF.

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Publication Date

February 2024

Publication ID

FA147

Abstract:

This study examines changes in the provision of family planning services in health facilities of Nepal between 2015 and 2021. Seven broad domains of family planning services are assessed: service availability, infection prevention and control, family planning commodity management, management meetings and quality assurance monitoring, basic equipment and items for family planning service delivery/service readiness, provider’s adherence to provision of family planning service standards of quality care, and clients’ opinions of the family planning service. The data for this study come from the 2015 and 2021 Nepal Health Facility cross- sectional surveys. Bivariate cross-tabulation, percentage, and means are used as summary measures to interpret the results. Data analysis reveals that 98% of health facilities in both surveys offer at least one modern method of family planning. At the same time, the data analysis also reveals that methods such as IUCD, implants, male sterilization, and female sterilization were available only in selected health facilities. Measures of infection prevention and control, management and quality assurance, basic equipment and tools, and overall family planning service delivery all improved from 2015 to 2021. Quality of family planning service delivery was measured with six domains and improvements were seen in all areas except physical examination and discussion of partners and STIs. In addition, significantly fewer complaints were seen in clients in 2021 compared to 2015. Additional effort in addressing these barriers may ensure improved service delivery in the future and can be key to achieving goals identified in various plans and programs.