Community Based Family Planning
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FP Glossary
Abstinence:     Refraining from sexual intercourse.

Access to Services:     Conditions that either inhibit or enhance access to services such as geographic distance to health facilities, competency of the health staff, operating hours, availability of drugs, equipment, supplies and staff and affordability of health services (both opportunity costs and economic).

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS):    A progressive, usually fatal condition that reduces the body's ability to fight certain infections. It is caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Adolescents:    The World Health Organization defines adolescents as individuals between 10 and 19 years of age. The broader term "youth" encompasses the 15- to 24-year-old age group.
Advocacy:    Persuasive communication and targeted actions in support of a cause or issue that seek to change policies, positions, and programs.
Amenorrhea:    Absence of menstrual periods.
Anemia:    Low levels of the oxygen-carrying material in the blood, resulting in decreased oxygen to body tissues.
BEHAVE Framework:    A strategic planning tool to develop behavior communication messages and materials.
Behavior Change Communication (BCC):    Behavior change communication (BCC) is part of an integrated, multilevel, interactive process with communities aimed at developing tailored messages and approaches using a variety of communication channels. BCC aims to foster positive behavior; promote and sustain individual, community, and societal behavior change; and maintain appropriate behavior.

Birth Spacing:    The time between pregnancies. Studies have found that (perinatal) mortality rates are lower if there is at least three years between pregnancies.
Breastfeeding:    Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. Breastmilk is the natural first food for babies, it provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one-third during the second year of life. (see Exclusive Breastfeeding)

Capacity Building:    Capacity building is a continuing process that enables the sustainability of an organization that works to fulfill its stated mission while increasing its effectiveness in a changing social, economic and political environment. It is not just training but rather a combination of factors/activities focused on the improvement of an organization's performance in relation to its mission, working environment and practical resources. To varying degrees, it includes the investment in property and equipment, training, information and communication strategies, personnel, and private and public sector relationships.

Cervix:     The uterine cervix is the lowest portion of a woman's uterus (womb). Most of the uterus lies in the pelvis, but part of the cervix is located in the vagina, where it connects the uterus with the vagina.

Child Survival:     Child survival helps countries meet one of the most basic aspirations of their people—the expectation that their children will live and thrive. Child survival interventions include: 1) preventive care such as immunizations, promotion of breastfeeding, good nutrition and immunizations; 2) curative efforts such as ORS and treatment of ALRI; and 3) other interventions such family planning, good maternal care and nutrition.

Client Provider Interaction (CPI)::    The term “client-provider interaction” refers to all encounters, both verbal and nonverbal, that clients have with health care workers. This includes interactions with counselors, clinical providers, and other staff members, including receptionists and staff who schedule return appointments and manage payments.

Client-Oriented Performance Efficient (COPE):    A self-assessment tool that focuses on team building to improve quality of care within health facilities as well as enhance the performance and behavior of health staff. There are 4 main COPE tools: self-asses
Community Mobilization:    Community mobilization includes those activities that involve communities in design, implementation, and monitoring as essential for reaching individuals with prevention and care services. These activities can include technical assistance, training, technology exchange, and institutional support to help deliver services.

Community-based Distribution (CBD):    The distribution of FP/health services and supplies through stores, special depots, or community-based agents other than clinics, physicians, or medical personnel.
Competency-based Training:    Training based on participants' ability to demonstrate mastery of clinical skills performed under certain conditions to specific standards.
Conception:    Union of an ovum (egg) and a sperm. Also known as fertilization.
Condom (Female):     The FC is a pre-lubricated barrier method that provides dual protection against pregnancy and STIs, including HIV/AIDS. The FC is made of the plastic polyurethane (a thin, soft, odorless material that is stronger than latex, which is used to make most male condoms) that protects the vagina, cervix and external genitalia. The FC is 17 centimeters long (about 6.5 inches) and has a flexible ring at each end of the sheath. The inner ring at the closed end is used to insert FC and to hold it in place inside the vagina. The inner ring slides into place behind the pubic bone. The outer ring at the open end is soft and remains on the outside of the vagina during intercourse. It covers the area around the opening of the vagina (the vulva) and can be pleasurable for men as well as for women.

Condom (Male):     A male condom is a thin sheath made of latex or other materials. Latex condoms protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV infection. Condoms that are made of other materials may not protect against HIV infection and other STIs. Condoms are effective if they are used consistently and correctly every time you have sexual intercourse.

Contraception:     Contraception or birth control is a deliberate prevention of the conception of offspring using any of various means, including barrier, hormonal, intrauterine and natural family planning methods. Each method has good points as well as side effects. More than one method may be used at the same time. For instance, a barrier method may be used with any other method.

Contraceptive Prevelance Rate:     The percentage of all women of reproductive age (WRA) or married women of reproductive age (MWRA), typically aged 15-49, who are using a method of contraception. Contraceptive prevelence usually refers to the use of all methods, but may be given separately for modern methods. It is calculated by dividing the number of WRA or MWRA who are using a method (numerator) by the total number of WRA or MWRA (denominator).
Contraceptive Technology:    Contraceptive technology includes supplies or approaches that help a couple prevent a pregnancy. These include both natural and modern family planning methods.

Counseling:    Counseling is a process of communication by which a person is helped to identify her or his sexual and reproductive health needs and to make the most appropriate decisions about how to meet them. Counseling is characterized by an exhange of information and ideas, discussion and deliberation.

Couple-years of protection (CYP):     Number of contraceptives distributed within a program year, by type, multiplied by the average length of time they are effective. Each FP method has a specific CYP calculation. Common calculations include:
13 cycles of oral contraceptives (pills) provided =1 CYP;
150 free condoms provided=1 CYP;
100 condoms sold=1CYP;
4 shots of Depo-Provera provided =1 CYP;
6 shots of Nortistrat provided =1 CYP;
1 IUD =4.75 CYPs;
1 female sterilization =XCYP;
1 Norplant= X CYP

Doer-Non-Doer Analysis:    This formative research method used to identify the factors most influential in bringing about adoption of a particular behavior. Analysis focuses on the ways in which "doers" of the behavior are different from "non-doers," in order to identify the key factors associated with its adoption.

Dual protection:    The use of condoms with another FP method to prevent transmission of STIs/HIV while preventing unintended pregnancy.
Ejaculation:    The release of semen from the penis.
Emergency Contraception (EC):    FP methods that can be used to prevent pregnancy immediately after unprotected sex or FP method failure. Two types of EC are available—combined oral contraceptive pills and copper IUDs.
Estrogen:     Estrogen is the name of a group of hormones. There are three principle forms of estrogen found in the human body estrone (E1), estradiol (E2) and estriol (E3). There is also a group of compounds called phytoestrogens, generally found in food, which can have "estrogen like" effects in the body. Estradiol (E2) is the primary estrogen produced by the ovaries. Estrone (E1) is formed from estradiol. It is a weak estrogen and is the most abundant estrogen found in the body after menopause. Estriol (E3) is produced in large amounts during pregnancy and is a breakdown product of estradiol. Estriol is also a weak estrogen and may have anti-cancer effects. Before menopause estradiol is the predominant estrogen. After menopause estradiol levels drop more than estrone so that now estrone is the predominant estrogen.

Exclusive Breastfeeding:    Exclusive breastfeeding is when the infant only receives breastmilk without any additional food or drink, not even water, for the first 6 months. To enable mothers to establish and sustain exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, initiation of breastfeeding should begin within the first hour of life; and breastfeeding should be provided on demand – that is as often as the child wants, day and night; with no use of bottles, teats or pacifiers. Thereafter infants should receive complementary foods with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond.

Facilitative supervision:    An approach to supervision that emphasizes mentoring, joint problem solving, and two-way communication between the supervisor and those being supervised.
Family Planning:     The conscious effort of couples or individuals to plan for and attain their desired number of children and to regulate the spacing and timing of their births. Family planning is achieved through contraception and through the treatment of involuntary infertility.

Forecasting:    Estimating the quantity of each FP and/or other products that will be dispensed to clients during some future period.
Fully breastfeeding:    Giving a baby no food or liquid other than breast milk. To nearly fully breastfeed signifies that the baby is given some additional food or liquid, but at least 85 percent of the baby's feedings are breast milk.
Gender:     Culturally defined roles and responsibilities for females and males that are learned, may change over time, and vary among societies. These include economic, social and cultural attributes and opportunities at a certain point in time.

Gender Equity:    A process of being fair to women and men. To ensure fairness, measures must often be available to compensate for historic and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from otherwise operating on a level playing field. (CIDA, 1996)
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus):     An AIDS-causing virus that attacks the body's immune system, making the body unable to fight infection. The virus may be transmitted by sexual contact, through blood, and from mother to child (either before or during birth, or through breast feeding).

Hormone:    A chemical substance formed in one organ or part of the body and carried in the blood to another organ or part. Affects the activity of other organs or parts of the body through chemical action.
Hypertension::     Higher blood pressure than normal.Mild high BP is a reading of 140 to159 mm HG/90 to 99 mm HG. Moderate High BP is a reading of 160-170/100–109, Severe high BP is a reading of 180 or more/110 or greater
Indicators:    Quantifiable measures of program performance and impact.
Infection Prevention::    Infection prevention practices reduce the spread of infections in health care settings and create a climate of safety so that health workers feel they can provide care, and clients are willing to seek care without risking their health. Infection prevention includes: handwashing; gloving; aseptic technique; surgical scrub and surgical attire; use and disposal of needles and other sharps; instrument processing (including decontamination, cleaning, sterilization and high-level disinfection, and storage); and waste disposal

Infertility:    Inability of a couple to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse.
Information, Education and Communication (IEC):     A program to ensure that clients or potential clients of sexual and reproductive health services are given the means to make responsible decisions about childbearing and about their sexual and reproductive health. Information involves generating and disseminating general and technical information, facts and issues, in order to create awareness and knowledge. Education, whether formal or non-formal, is a process of facilitated learning to enable those learning to make rational and informed decisions. Communication is a planned process aimed at motivating people to adopt new attitudes or behavior.

Informed choice:    The client's ability to freely choose a FP method from a range of options based on accurate, useful information and an understanding of her/his own needs.
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD):     UN conference held in Cairo in 1994. ICPD was noted as the first population conference to move away from setting demographic targets towards emphasizing people's needs for, and rights to sexual and reproductive health. It also emphasized the importance of women's interests as components of development.

Intrauterine (Contraceptive) Device (IUD):     A long-term, reversible method of contraception, involving the insertion into the uterus of a small flexible device of metal/plastic/hormonal materials. IUDs are effective for at least four years, and many for much longer.

Labia majora and minora:    The folds of tissue lying on either side of the vaginal opening and forming the borders of the vulva. The labia minora (smaller, inside folds) protect the clitoris.
Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM):    A modern FP method based on natural infertility resulting from full or nearly full breastfeeding in the absence of menses in the first 6 months postpartum. LAM can be (98%) effective when used correctly and it usually
Laparoscopy:    Examination of the pelvic region with a fiber-optic telescope to diagnose and treat fertility problems, including endometriosis and adhesions.
Laparotomy:    Major abdominal surgery to correct abnormalities of the reproductive organs.
Logistics System:    The total flow of products from the acquisition of raw materials to the delivery of finished goods to users, including the related flow of information that controls and records the movement of those products.
Male Sterilization/Vastecomy:     See Voluntary Surgical Contraception

Management Information Systems (MIS):    The total flow of products from the acquisition of raw materials to the delivery of finished goods to users, including the related flow of information that controls and records the movement of those products.
Medical Barriers:     Practices and policies based on a medical rationale that impede or deny contraceptive use, but which cannot be scientifically justified.

Medical Eligibility Criteria:    Standards by which the safety of contraceptive methods are judged for individual clients, depending on their age, health status, and behavior.
Menses:    Monthly flow of bloody fluid from the uterus through the vagina in adult women between puberty and menopause.
Menstrual Cycle:    A repeating series of changes in the ovaries and endometrium that includes ovulation and about two weeks later the beginning of menstrual bleeding. In most women the cycle averages 28 days, but it may be shorter or longer.
NORPLANT Implants:    Norplant implants are a long-acting contraceptive method. They consist of six matchstick-sized plastic capsules. A trained health care provider places Norplant implants under the skin of your upper arm by making a very small cut. The capsules may remain in your arm for up to five years. They have to be removed at the end of five years, but they can be taken out at any given time before five years. Norplant implants releases a progestin called levonorgestrel, which keeps the ovaries from releasing eggs. It also prevents pregnancy by thickening the cervical mucus, making it difficult for sperm to enter the uterus.

Oral Contraceptive Pills:     A hormonal method of contraception based on either a progestagen combined with an estrogen or a progestagen alone.

Ovulation:    The release of an ovum (egg cell) from an ovary.
P Process:    A step-by-step approach to bring about behavior change with a measurable impact. This approach provides tools to conduct a situational analysis, undertake formative research, segment target audience(s), develop behavior change objectives, formulate messages and identify the most effective communication channels.
Pap Smear:    A test in which a smear of vaginal or cervical secretion is examined for exfoliated cells to detect cancer in an early stage, or to evaluate hormonal condition.
Partnership Defined Quality (PDQ):    A methodology to improve quality and accessibility of health services with community involvement. Key steps are helping the community, in collaboration with health workers to define, implement, monitoring a quality improvement process—linking quality of care assessments and improvements with community mobilization.
Peer Educators (PE):    Peer education typically involves training and supporting members of a given group to effect change among members of the same group. Peer education is often used to effect changes in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors at the individual level. However, peer education may also create change at the group or societal level by modifying norms and stimulating collective action that contributes to changes in policies and programs. In family planning programs, peer educators receive special training in making decisions, providing client referrals, or providing commodities or services. They usually work one-on-one or in small groups.

Peer Pressure:    Emotional or mental force from people belonging to the same social group (such as same age, grade, or status) to act or behave in a manner similar to themselves. Peer pressure has a great influence on adolescent behavior and reflects young people's desire to fit in and be accepted by others.
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID):    Infection in the uterine lining, uterine wall, fallopian tube, ovary, uterine membrane, broad ligaments of the uterus, or membranes lining the pelvic wall. May be caused by a variety of infectious organisms including gonorrhea and chlamydia.
Performance Improvement (PI):    A systematic process to identify the gaps in workers' performance, analyze the root causes, design and implement cost-efficient interventions, and evaluate the impact of the interventions on the performance gaps.
Policy:    Statements, plans, practices, and regulations adopted by a government or other organization that are designed to guide or control institutional and community behavior.
Post-Abortion Care (PAC):     Postabortion care [PAC] reduces maternal mortality and morbidity, and helps prevent repeat abortion by delivering reproductive health and family planning services, including: 1. Emergency treatment of potentially life threatening complications, including a thorough history, physical examination, pelvic examination, and management of complications (which may include treatment of hemorrhage, infection and other problems, pain management, and vaccination to prevent tetanus). 2. Family planning and other counseling and selected services. 3. Community awareness and other support to help women get emergency treatment, recover and prevent future unplanned pregnancies.

Post-Abortion FP:     After an abortion procedure a woman is fertile and can become pregnant quickly. Thus, It is essential to promote the use of a FP method right after the procedure to avoid a repeat pregnancy. If the woman has no abortion complications she can use any of the FP methods. If the woman has had an infection or hemorrhage they will need special counseling, in addition to provision of family planning methods.

Post-Partum FP:    This refers to the FP methods that are available to women during the post-partum period. One FP method to be continued is LAM, meaning that they are exclusivly breastfeeding their infants (See LAM). Other FP methods if a woman is breastfeeding include 1) progestin only pills (POPs) beginning at 6 weeks; 2) Depo-Provera at 6 weeks; 3) condoms; 4) VSC; and 5) IUDs within the first 48hrs or after 4 weeks. If a woman is breastfeeding she can use 1) progestin only pills (POPs) beginning at 21 days; 2) Depo-Provera at 21 days weeks; 3) condoms; 4) VSC; 5) IUDs within the first 48hrs; and 6) condoms.

Post-Partum Period (The Puerperum):    The period immediately after childbirth. Biologically, the postpartum period rests upon the return of menses, which ranges widely among women and across societies; it is very dependent upon the length and intensity of breastfeeding. No single definition can be satisfactory for all programs.

Private Sector:    The private sector consist of organizations that are not governmental bodies, this includes both non-profit (NGOs) and for-profit sectors. However, this section focuses more on the for-profit sector.

Progesterone:     A hormone secreted chiefly by the corpus luteum, which develops in a ruptured ovarian follicle (small round structure in the ovary that contains an ovum) during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (after ovulation).

Progesterone Only Pills (POPs):     Progesterone is the hormone which is released in the period of time after ovulation and before menstruation, and also during the early stages of pregnancy. The progestagen-only pill (POP)is made of a synthetic substance which has the same pharmacological properties as progesterone.
Prostate:    A gland surrounding the neck of the bladder and urethra in the male that contributes a secretion to semen.
Quality of Care (QOC)/Quality Improvement (QI):    A systematic, team-based, problem-solving process to continually improve the level of care offered.
Reproductive Tract Infection (RTI):    RTI is a general term including sexually transmitted infections, infections caused by an overgrowth of organisms normally present in the genital tract, and iatrogenic infections acquired during improperly performed medical procedures.
Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI):     Disease resulting from bacteria or viruses and often acquired through sexual contact. Some STIs can also be acquired in other ways (i.e. blood transfusions, intravenous drug use, mother-to-child transmission0. The term 'STI' is slowly replacing 'STD' (sexually transmitted disease) in order to include HIV infection.

Situation Analysis (SA):     A methodology that staff can use to pinpoint problems in FP service delivery. SA integrates a number of approaches, including: 1) identifying crucial sub-system components of health services; 2) visiting a large sample of providers; 3) using a client-oriented perspective; 4) interviewing managers, providers, and clients; 5) recording data on clinic facilities, equipment, and commodities; and 6) observing client-provider interactions.

Social Franchising:    Social franchising draws on the tools and techniques of commercial franchising (where a company offers a blueprint of how to sell its product, and a local business buys the right to use the blueprint, usually in a particular geographical area under certain rules). Social franchising programs have been expanded to include clinical family planning services beyond public health hospitals and clinics to private-sector doctors, pharmacies, and private outreach efforts.

Social Marketing:    Use of marketing techniques to improve social well-being by changing attitudes and behavior in regard to a specific product or concept.
Social Mobilization:    A dynamic, long-term process in which stakeholders use techniques (e.g., advocacy, behavior change communication, and social marketing) to make sustainable changes in society.
Standard Days Method™ (SDM):     A new natural method of FP that is highly effective (95%) when used correctly. To use the method, couples avoid unprotected sex on days 8 through 19 of the woman’s menstrual cycle. Many women who use the SDM also use a string of color-coded beads, called CycleBeads™, to track their fertile days

Stockout:    No supplies left of a given product or products. Supportive supervision is an approach to supervision that emphasizes joint problem-solving, mentoring, and two-way communication between supervisors and those being supervised.
Testes:    The paired, egg-shaped glands where sperm (spermatozoa) develop.
Total Fertility Rate:     The average number of children that a woman has within her reproductive lifetime.
Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA):    A non-medically trained community person who is called to help during childbirth.
Universal Precautions:    Infection control measures that prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, including HIV between patients and health workers. They include hand washing; use of gloves and protective clothing; safe handling of sharp objects; disposal of waste materials; cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing medical instruments; proper handling of corpses; and treating injuries at work.
Unmet Need for Family Planning:    Percentage of married, fertile women who desire to have a space, 2-5 years, between their children or limit their births (no more children) but are not using a FP method.
Urethra:    The canal for discharging urine from the bladder to the outside. In a female, it lies between the vagina and the clitoris. In a male it opens at the tip of the penis.
Vagina:     The female organ for the discharge of menstrual flow, for copulation, and the passageway through which the fetus is delivered. It is a muscular canal lined with mucous membranes that extends from the outside of the body (between the vulva and anus) to the cervix of the uterus.

Vaginal discharge:     Discharge of a substance from the vagina. It may vary in consistency (thick, pasty, thin), color (clear, cloudy, colored), and smell (normal, odorless, malodorous). Also known vaginitis, some vaginal discharge is quite common and normal for women of childbearing age. Normally, cervical glands produce a clear mucus secretion that drains downward, mixing with bacteria, discarded vaginal cells, and Bartholin's gland secretions. Disease may be indicated if vaginal discharge is abnormal in color, odor, or consistency, or significantly increased or decreased in amount. Very often, when the abnormal discharge is caused by a sexually transmitted disease (STD), or transmitted through sexual intercourse, the sexual partner(s) may require treatment as well.

Vas deferens:    The excretory duct of the testis that joins the excretory duct of the seminal vesicle to form the ejaculatory duct.
Voluntary Surgical Contraception (VSC):    Female and Male sterilization (also known as tubectomy, tubal occlusion or tubal ligation and vasectomy) are among the most effective contraceptive methods available for men and women who desire no more children and are associated with low mortality and complication rates. The sterilization procedure blocks either the sperm ducts (the vasa deferentia) or the oviducts (fallopian or uterine tubes) to prevent the sperm and ovum from uniting.

Vulva:    The outside portion of the female genitalia, including the labia, clitoris, and vaginal opening.
Youth:     Young people, usually men and women ages 15 to 24 years old.

Youth-friendly:     Characteristics of, for example, policies, programmes, resources, services or activities that attract young people, meet their sexual and reproductive health needs and are acceptable and accessible to a diversity of young people.