Reorganizing skills among cadres is called task shifting (moving skills from one cadre to another) or task sharing (increasing the number of cadres able to perform a skill). Based on a review of the literature and country examples, the brief describes why task shifting is important and highlights some key steps in planning for, developing, and supporting cadres involved in task shifting. The guidance in this brief can be applied to task sharing for IUD programs, which is needed to meet the high demand demonstrated by IUD programs.

The Model List of Essential Medicines from the World Health Organization presents a list of minimum medicine needs for a basic health care system and essential medicines for priority diseases. The Model List covers contraceptive methods, including IUDs. The type of IUD mentioned in the Model List is the "copper-containing device." (See p. 24 of the full-text document.) The WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines has been updated every two years since 1977.

This document reviews the medical eligibility criteria for use of contraception, offering guidance on the safety of different methods for women and men with specific characteristics or known medical conditions.

Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers, offers clinic-based health care professionals in developing countries the latest guidance on providing contraceptive methods. Primary features of the handbook include:

These guidelines from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) are intended to improve the knowledge, skills, and confidence of service providers in the delivery of high-quality sexual and reproductive health services. The IUD chapter specifically offers up-to-date evidence-based guidance on a range of sexual and reproductive issues related to the IUD.

This guide provides guidance on how to provide contraceptives, with the goals of maximizing effectiveness and managing side effects and other problems. The second edition contains 33 recommendations ranging from when to start a method, how to manage problems women experience using certain methods, how to provide emergency contraception, and what clinical exams to perform before a method can be initiated.

Produced by the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation’s Division of Reproductive Health in collaboration with a number of organizations and institutions, this updated edition of the Kenya family planning guidelines incorporates the 2009 Medical Eligibility Criteria (MEC) from the World Health Organization (WHO). Technical experts from EngenderHealth and Family Health International who reviewed these and other country guidelines found the Kenya guidelines to be the best model among all reviewed guidelines.

These PowerPoint slides identify guideline components and lead the reader through the best practices for development, update, and dissemination of national guidelines.

This document provides general principles for a systematic approach to the adaptation and adoption of guidelines developed by WHO to improve sexual and reproductive health. Its purpose is to encourage the implementation of evidence-based interventions identified in various WHO sexual and reproductive health practice guides. The introduction of interventions depends on the circumstances, contextual issues and development stages of programmes.