Challenge
The Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Office of Population Affairs (OPA) is considered to be at the forefront of family planning and reproductive health services, training, and research. Responsible for directing Title X, the only federal program, dedicated solely to providing family planning and reproductive health, OPA provides a broad range of effective family planning methods and services to those who might need them the most but to whom they might not be readily available. The Title X program provides guidelines for the standard of care for the delivery of family planning services based on the most current evidence. In 2008, HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced recommendations to improve the Quality of Family Planning (QFP) services.
Solution
To help support OPA as they begin the process of updating the QFP recommendations, Atlas Research will conduct six systematic reviews. Two of the systematic reviews will focus on new topics determined by OPA, for example, the family planning needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) patients. The other four systematic reviews (Adolescents, Community Engagement and Education, Quality Improvement, and Counseling and Education) are existing but require updates based on new information.
Result
Systematic reviews are a central link between evidence and health-related decision making. By conducting these crucial reviews, Atlas is helping provide to Title X grantees and providers, and the broader reproductive health community, the best available evidence to inform patient care, performance measures, research agendas, and public policy.