Program planners considering family planning and HIV (FP/HIV) integration must weigh a number of factors specific to their country or region to determine whether and how to integrate FP/HIV services, including the extent of the HIV epidemic, contraceptive prevalence, the capacity of providers, the facilities available, and t he human and financial resources required. They can begin by answering the following questions:

• What type of service integration is needed? What is feasible?
• To what extent should services be integrated?
• What steps are needed to establish and sustain high-quality integrated services?
• What information is needed to measure program success, to improve program or service delivery, and to replicate or scale up integrated services?

The Program Management section of the Family Planning and HIV Services Integration Toolkit houses a number of resources to assist with the many aspects of program management. Click on the links below to access information on these facets of integrated FP/HIV program management:

Facility & Service Assessment Tools: When facility space needs to be reorganized to accommodate FP/HIV services, program managers should work with community members to plan the changes. Some of the tools in this section can help program managers assess facility space available for integrated services. Materials are also available for assessing the feasibility of, preparedness for, and quality of integrated services. In addition, tools exist to help with implementing long-term monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems to support continual quality of care and ensure that programs and services are meeting the range of clients’ FP/HIV needs.

Procurement & Logistics: A regular supply of commodities such as contraceptives, HIV test kits, and antiretroviral drugs is essential to the success of service integration. The materials available in the Procurement & Logistics section can help program managers determine how to link with the appropriate supply chains and establish systems to monitor logistics for all commodities.

Program Models: A number of models exist for the provision of integrated FP/HIV services at the facility level and in community-based programs. The publications in the Program Models section describe and provide country-specific examples of some of these models, including community-based distribution, male engagement, integration of family planning with antiretroviral therapy programs, FP/ HIV counseling and testing integration, facilitated referral, PMTCT and postpartum family planning, youth-friendly integrated services, and more.

Quality Improvement: High-quality integrated services require supportive supervision and continual quality improvement efforts. Before integrating family planning and HIV services, program managers should assess and strengthen supervisors’ skills so they can effectively supervise service delivery and address providers’ concerns. As new services are introduced, managers should update supervisory protocols, monitoring forms, job descriptions, and checklists. The tools in the Quality Improvement section can help identify areas for improvement and ensure that the needs of clients, providers, and staff are being met.

Strengthening Linkages Between Family Planning and HIV Services: Program managers can take many actions to strengthen the linkages between family planning and HIV services. These include generating demand for integrated services, screening clients for unmet need for contraception, promoting dual protection, strengthening the skills of providers and supervisors, and establishing strong referral systems if family planning or HIV services are not available on site. There are several tools to help program managers identify facilities or programs offering high-quality services, establish collaborative relationships with them, establish systems for appropriate referrals, and evaluate the accessibility of the facilities or programs by clients who receive referrals to them. Additional resources in this section can help program planners assess needs, establish strategies, and take actions to strengthen FP/HIV linkages.

Do you have a comment about this section or would you like to suggest a new resource or management topic? Please share your feedback by emailing us at toolkits@k4health.org or posting on our discussion board.