MEASUREMENT THAT MATCHES OUR VALUES: PERSON-CENTERED MEASUREMENT OF A PERSON-CENTERED CONTRACEPTIVE INITIATIVE

Objectives

We conducted a process evaluation of Family Planning Elevated (FPE), a multi-year initiative to improve contraceptive access across Utah by supporting 28 healthcare clinics to deliver person-centered, no-cost contraception. The goal of the process evaluation was to understand not only if FPE was successful, but also how and why it was successful.

Methods

Our mixed- methods study combined traditional evaluation metrics (client exit surveys, focus groups with participants, service delivery data) with innovative methods designed to measure shifts towards person-centered care (simulated patient visits with clinic sites, regular reflections with FPE staff, and comparisons of providers’ language over time). Qualitative findings were analyzed using a longitudinal analysis approach and mapped onto the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation.

Results

Our process evaluation detected a shift in healthcare providers’ perspectives about the goal of contraceptive visits: from a focus on matching patients to the “most effective method” to an understanding of how to support patients in finding their individual “best fit method.” Our data show the primary cause of this shift was the many in-person, tailored trainings and proctoring opportunities offered by FPE. Another important component of FPE’s success was the ability to adapt the intervention to meet the specific needs of each clinic partner.

Conclusions

FPE was most successful when the intervention adapted to meet the unique needs of healthcare teams and their clients. We learned that supporting clinics in delivering truly person-centered contraceptive care means we must provide clinic staff with programmatic support that is itself person-centered.