Service Delivery

© 2003 Yesaya Banda, Courtesy of PhotoshareFamily planning and HIV (FP/HIV) services can be integrated in a variety of settings at both the facility level and in community-based programs. Venues for integration might include primary health care facilities, specialized clinics such as maternal and child health or family planning clinics, HIV counseling and testing centers, mobile clinics, and home-based care programs.

Within these settings, there are a number of FP/HIV integration service delivery models:

Integrating family planning services into HIV programs, including HIV counseling and testing programs; programs for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV; or HIV care, treatment, and support settings

Providers of HIV services can assess clients’ fertility intentions and offer family planning services or referrals to women at risk of unintended pregnancy. Women living with HIV who wish to become pregnant should be offered or referred to PMTCT services.

  • All providers of HIV services should be trained to offer condoms and demonstrate how to use them correctly.
  • They can also learn to promote condom use for dual protection from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, and to offer informed-choice counseling on the full range of family planning methods.
  • Some clinicians will be able to provide all appropriate contraceptive methods, while others will need to refer clients to family planning services for contraceptive supply and follow-up care.
  • If there are no reliable family planning services nearby, HIV service providers should offer condoms and, if possible, pills and injectable contraceptives.

Integrating HIV counseling, testing, and treatment services into family planning clinics or community-based family planning programs

If a client’s HIV status is unknown, the family planning provider can counsel the client on the benefit of knowing one’s status and refer the client for HIV counseling and testing services. With proper training and support, family planning providers can also offer HIV counseling and testing.

  • All family planning providers can learn to provide risk-reduction counseling, demonstrate correct condom use, provide condoms, and counsel clients on dual protection and dual method use to protect against unintended pregnancy, HIV, and other STIs.
  • If a client is known to be HIV-positive, the family planning provider can assess the client’s fertility intentions and counsel the client on the reproductive choices and contraceptive options for women and couples living with HIV.
  • Family planning providers can also refer clients living with HIV to care and treatment services.
  • If a client is at risk of unwanted pregnancy and it is not possible to provide her method of choice on the same day, the family planning provider should consider offering emergency contraceptive pills with condoms. 

The materials housed in the Service Delivery section of the Family Planning and HIV Services Integration Toolkit provide guidance on decisions about where and how to integrate FP/HIV services, as well as tools to help providers work effectively with clients across the spectrum of their needs. Click on the links below to access:

Counseling Tools & Job Aids

Guidelines & Reference Materials

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

Counseling Tools & Job Aids

Guidelines & Reference Materials

    2009 | World Health Organization [WHO], Department of Reproductive Health and Research | 121 pp
    The revised fourth edition of this evidence-based guideline reviews the medical eligibility criteria for who can safely use a contraceptive method. It offers guidance on the safety of using 19 different methods for women and men with specific characteristics or known medical conditions. The recommendations are based on systematic reviews of available clinical and epidemiological research.
    2008 | World Health Organization [WHO], Department of Reproductive Health and Research | 4 pp
    This 2008 update of Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use (2004) is intended for use by policy makers, program managers, and the scientific community in the preparation of national family planning/sexual and reproductive health programs for delivery of contraceptives. It provides evidence-based recommendations on how to safely and effectively use contraceptive methods once they are deemed medically appropriate for an individual.
    2007 | FHI | 87 pp
    This manual provides: Step-by-step information for using a counseling and testing model for youth in general or specialized clinical settings Information on how to counsel youth and use youth-friendly service approaches Resources to help meet the broader sexual needs of youth, including information on contraceptive options and sexually transmitted infections Tips and role-plays to use with young people on abstinence, being faithful, and using condoms A guide for creating a referral network and more
    2004 | World Health Organization [WHO] | 170 pp
    The document provides selected practice recommendations based on the best available evidence and is intended to be used by policy-makers, programme managers, and the scientific community. It aims to provide guidance to national family planning/reproductive health programmes in the preparation of guidelines for service delivery of contraceptives.