Research for impact
FHI's work affects public health on a local, regional, and global level. In collaboration with our partners, we focus on high priority research and programs and strive to improve reproductive health policy and practice by generating evidence that affects international standards and host country norms and guidelines for the provision of services.
Under the CRTU, Family Health International focused on the following activities:
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Ensuring that new and improved contraceptive and reproductive health technologies are developed, evaluated, and approved--FHI is a recognized leader in the design, implementation, and analysis of research on contraceptive safety, efficacy, and acceptability. Under the CRTU, we conducted clinical trials on new contraceptive methods and evaluated improvements in methods that are already available. Areas of focus included increasing long-term and permanent contraceptive options for women and men, evaluating improvements in hormonal method use, and addressing issues related to contraception and HIV.
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Ensuring development, evaluation, and regulatory approval for microbicides and microbicidal spermicides--FHI worked to complete microbicide studies, identify and train staff at new study sites, evaluate innovative microbicide delivery systems, conduct contraceptive efficacy trials of candidate microbicides, and ensure the quality of new microbicides and production facilities.
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Promoting use of contraceptives, microbicides, and other reproductive health technologies in the developing world--Under the CRTU, FHI conducted behavioral and health services research and related research utilization activities that advance evidence-based services in targeted countries. We examined factors that reduce access to services and designed interventions to increase the provision of family planning (including integration of contraception into HIV programs), reduce barriers to service provision, and identify effective strategies to increase the quality of information and counseling available to clients.
Focus countries
Under the CRTU, FHI concentrated its efforts in a few targeted countries in order to achieve the greatest impact with available resources. FHI and its partners have a strong presence in the focus countries. As a result, we enjoyed good working relationships with local stakeholders and policy-makers, who informed our research and worked with us to ensure that emerging results were put into practice. Our presence in these countries also helped us integrate results into service programs and more widely apply key results through partners' service delivery networks.
Our partners
We worked in collaboration with a wide range of USAID cooperating agencies, international normative bodies, faith-based organizations, country-based programs, and service providers. Collaborating partners included the INFO Project at Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs; the ACQUIRE Project (EngenderHealth); CONRAD; Management Sciences for Health Inc.; PATH; the Population Council; and Save the Children.
CRTU Highlights: End-of-Program Briefs
