PSP-One Scale-Up of the DiMPA Network in Northern India

Since 2005, the Abt Associates-led PSP-One project has been scaling-up the successful DiMPA Network in northern India from three pilot cities and 105 providers in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to a total of 45 cities and 1,150 providers in UP, Uttrakhand, and Jharkhand. DiMPA is a branded network of OB/GYNs and general practitioners trained to provide quality family planning services with a focus on providing the Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA) 3-month injectable. The project adopted this 'network of clinics' model as its entry strategy to allow for collective ownership of the project, training of doctors in the network, monitoring the quality of service provision, and, initially, low-key consumer-directed communications.

Since its inception, the DiMPA network has been a dynamic program that has adapted its focus and direction as the environment changed as a result of project interventions. Yet throughout the life of the project, the basic goals have remained the same: to create awareness about DMPA as a safe and effective method of contraception; to increase access to and use of DMPA through the private health sector; and to promote correct use and compliance through sustained high quality of service.

Scale-up of the DiMPA Network has taken place over four phases, throughout which PSP-One has developed partnerships with the private and commercial sectors and implemented low cost and scalable interventions to increase network members’ knowledge and skills related to family planning, DMPA in particular. During the pilot phase, emphasis was placed on gauging interest among providers to participate in the network and demonstrating the feasibility of providing the three monthly contraceptive injections DMPA through the private sector while maintaining a high level of quality.

In Phase II, PSP-One grew the number of DiMPA providers to 286 in 9 cities, demonstrating the scalability of the Network’s design and cost efficiency. Phase III saw the number of DiMPA providers increase to 505 in 19 towns UP and Uttarkhand. It was during this phase that PSP-One began focusing its efforts to expand coverage by including more General Practitioners and strengthening the network’s support systems by introducing a provider segmentation tool. The segmentation tool was used to tailor programmatic inputs to the needs of individual network members and drop uncommitted providers from the network.

In Phase IV (the current phase), PSP-One further expanded the network, bringing the total to 1,150 providers in 45 towns. Also during this phase, PSP-One introduced a recruitment tool to identify potential new network members by evaluating their family planning services and determining if they met minimum eligibility criteria for membership. Having successfully expanded support for injectables and increased DiMPA’s providers level of comfort in offering the method, PSP-One is about to launch a large-scale multi-media communications campaign to increase use and knowledge of injectables.

For more information about PSP-One India, please click here.

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