Researchers conducted this study to audit the effectiveness of a female sterilization counseling clinic.
The present study was a prospective, observational study of a female sterilization counseling clinic over six months to determine the proportions of attendees keeping their appointment, proceeding to sterilization, and attending the surgery.
The study setting was a hospital-based, city center family planning clinic run by permanent, family planning-trained staff.
A total of 226 women had appointments for female sterilization counseling, and most confirmed attendance. Only 153 (68%) women attended; of those, 101 (66%) chose to be sterilized, the remainder choosing reversible contraception. Ninety-three (92%) women went ahead with the sterilization procedure. Thus only 61% of the original attenders were sterilized; this was only 41% of those referred.
The study concluded that many women referred for sterilization counseling fail to attend. This finding needs to be further explored. For those women who do attend, accurate information and informed counseling are essential. Many women are still unaware of highly effective long-term reversible contraception, and the following discussion decides against female sterilization. Services offering to counsel for female sterilization should also provide easy access to a full range of contraceptive methods.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/29/3/136
