Safe, high quality abortion services are a critical component of reproductive health care. But what constitutes high quality abortion services? This study describes a process used to create a new, more concise measure of abortion care quality, and an approach to defining and selecting a set of indicators that can be applied in pharmacies, facilities, or with hotlines, and for clients of surgical or medical abortion services in all countries. Keywords: abortion, quality of care, measurement, user-centered design, stakeholder acceptance, Abortion Service Quality (ASQ)

A set of abortion care videos designed to better train health care providers to improve their abortion care and help women safely self-manage their abortion using pills. There are 11 videos for health workers and 3 videos for women. These videos were filmed in facilities in Africa and Asia and are consistent with the latest WHO and Ipas clinical guidance.

La publicación de Ipas titulada Actualizaciones clínicas en salud reproductiva contiene recomendaciones clínicas actualizadas, basadas en evidencia, sobre la atención integral del aborto, así como nuevos temas y recursos agregados con regularidad. Actualizaciones clínicas en salud reproductiva ofrece información concisa y fácil de leer sobre los servicios de aborto, y combina las evidencias más recientes con lecciones aprendidas de profesionales de la salud a nivel mundial para producir recomendaciones clínicas pertinentes.

Actualités cliniques dans le domaine de la santé reproductive vise à permettre aux membres du personnel d’Ipas, aux formateurs, à nos partenaires et aux autres professionnels de santé d’avoir accès aux recommandations basées sur des éléments factuels les plus récentes.

As Actualizações clínicas em saúde reprodutiva foram concebidas para fornecer ao pessoal do Ipas, formadores, parceiros e outros provedores de serviços de saúde acesso a recomendações actualizadas e baseadas na evidência. Em geral, as recomendações são as mesmas que aquelas na edição de 2012 do guia da Organização Mundial da Saúde titulado Abortamento seguro: orientação técnica e de políticas para sistemas de saúde, Segunda edição. Em casos excepcionais, as recomendações foram modificadas de acordo com os contextos em que trabalhamos. Além disso, se houver evidência mais actualizada para informar as recomendações, estas serão actualizadas aqui.

This publication provides evidence and explanation for why Ipas urges governments and policymakers to ensure that all young women—including survivors of sexual violence—have access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care, including safe abortion services.

This job aid provides clinicians with step-by-step instructions for performing a paracervical block.

Yukti Yojana – A Public Private Partnership for Expanding Availability of Safe Abortion Services in Bihar, featured in the compendium of successful projects in the field of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health that was launched in a conference ‘Sharing of Best Practices: Improving Maternal, New Born and Child Health in India’. The conference was jointly organised by FICCI Aditya Birla CSR Centre of Excellence and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals’ CSR arm Glenmark Foundation on March 28, 2018 in New Delhi.

This policy brief has been developed in consultation with experts in India after a careful review of the Indian context and mapping it with the WHO Guidelines on ‘Health worker roles in providing safe abortion care and post-abortion contraception’ released in 2015. The policy brief highlights legal and policy recommendations for strengthening women’s access to comprehensive abortion care in India.

Clinical Updates in Reproductive Health (CURHs) are designed to provide Ipas staff, trainers, partners and other health-care providers with access to up-to-date, evidence-based recommendations. In general, the recommendations are the same as those in the World Health Organization's 2012 Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance for Health Systems, Second edition. In rare cases, the recommendations have been modified due to the settings where we work. In addition, if there is more current evidence to inform the recommendations, they will be updated here. Please note: Clinical Updates in Reproductive Health provides Ipas’s most up-to-date clinical guidance. Recommendations in this publication supersede any clinical guidance in Ipas curricula that differs from the guidance provided here.

Le présent manuel est un ouvrage de référence destiné à toutes les personnes qui impartissent des cours de formation aux professionnels de santé qui dispensent l’ensemble des soins complets d’avortement centrés sur la femme, y compris des soins après avortement. Il comprend tous les enseignements ainsi que les matériaux didactiques nécessaires pour permettre aux participants de développer les connaissances et les compétences requises pour pratiquer des soins de qualité optimale.

This situational assessment, conducted by Ipas in collaboration with international and in-country agencies in March-May 2015, looks at comprehensive abortion care (CAC) needs and opportunities in francophone West Africa. It concludes there are clear and promising opportunities to expand CAC services to the women who need them and are entitled to them by law, despite the cultural, religious and political opposition to CAC that remains strong in some settings. It also offers specific recommendations in support of implementing CAC programs in francophone West Africa.

L’analyse situationnelle, effectuée par Ipas en mars et mai 2015 en collaboration avec des agences internationales et des organisations nationales actives dans ce domaine a permis d’étudier les besoins et les opportunités de prise en charge des soins complets d’avortement en Afrique de l’Ouest francophone et a conclu qu’il existait des possibilités manifestes et prometteuses pour étendre les soins complets d’avortement et les rendre disponibles aux femmes qui les nécessitent et qui y ont droit en vertu de la loi malgré la persistance d’une forte opposition culturelle, religieuse et politique à ce type de soins dans certains secteurs.

This fact sheet describes the impact of unsafe abortion in Sierra Leone as evidenced by three studies.

This publication highlights the work in Nepal since legal reform a decade ago and puts a spotlight on the key ingredients for successful scale-up of abortion care, including partnerships with government and NGOs and integration of abortion within the country’s Safe Motherhood program.

This is the first in a series of fact sheets highlighting Zambia operations research study.

This is a fact sheet highlighting women’s perspectives on abortion care as part of operations research in Zambia.

Este juego de herramientas fue creado para proporcionar información y orientación sobre la prestación y accesibilidad de servicios de aborto inducido a mujeres jóvenes (entre 10 y 24 años de edad), según corresponda. Ofrece a capacitadores con experiencia antecedentes, materiales, instrucciones y consejos necesarios para facilitar las sesiones de capacitación de manera eficaz. Dado que los estudios de investigación realizados muestran pocas diferencias en las necesidades clínicas de las mujeres jóvenes en comparación con adultas, el juego de herramientas contiene más información sobre promoción y defensa (advocacy), alianzas y prestación de servicios que sobre temas clínicos. Es un recurso mundial para prestadores de servicios de salud, capacitadores, gerentes y asesores técnicos de programas de servicios de aborto, pero algunos materiales también se pueden utilizar para promover la participación de jóvenes, formuladores de políticas grupos comunitarios, donantes, promotores y otras partes interesadas.

From 2011-2012, Ipas and our partners implemented a series of classes on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)—including information on safe abortion—for women who work at factories across Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley. This report explains how our project increased women workers’ knowledge of SRHR topics so they can better manage their own health and relationships and serve as resources for their families and communities. The report includes background information on Ipas’s work with youth, the context of sexual and reproductive health services for women workers in the Kathmandu Valley, details on the project’s various components, and explanation of key outcomes.

This report looks at initiatives in four countries—Nigeria, Nepal, Ghana and Zambia—where Ipas is working with governments, communities and other partners to provide clinical and programmatic support to providers and health-care facilities.