The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Global Health eLearning Center with support from K4Health recently published a new online course that helps learners consider the benefits of integrating family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) services and counseling with HIV/AIDS services, and shows how it can be accomplished.



Distance learning, or eLearning, uses emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) to allow individuals worldwide to access and learn about needed information. Effective eLearning enhances the learning environment, disseminates knowledge to diverse audiences, and engages participants more efficiently and cost effectively than traditional approaches.



Guided by these principles, the new course, titled “FP/RH for People Living with HIV,” covers topics such as the contraceptive methods available for people living with HIV, as well as how HIV care providers can help their clients make the right FP decisions.



After completing the course, learners will be able to recognize how people in HIV care will benefit from the integration of FP services with HIV care, will be able to identify the FP methods that are appropriate for people living with HIV, and know how to explain the principles that FP counseling are based upon. Those who complete the course will also learn how to help clients with HIV make informed decisions about their FP needs, describe how FP services could be provided within larger categories of HIV services, and identify systems that need to be established in order to support the integration.



The new course is one of 33 the Global Health eLearning Center offers. Each course is authored by a subject matter expert or a team of experts and is extremely focused. The courses are free and can be completed in one to two hours. You can take the course by logging in (or registering for free) at the Global Health eLearning Center.



K4Health’s eLearning team is also eager to help organizations create courses that combine technical content with program principles, best practices, and case studies. Organizations can also suggest a course topic for consideration by contacting the team at virtualexchange@k4health.org.

We also recently published a new collaborative toolkit developed by Family Health International, titled "Family Planning and HIV Services Integration." We encourage you to check out the resources included in the toolkit, suggest others, or discuss issues related to the topic.

Chris Rottler, Senior Communication Manager