Health services at the clinic level and implantable contraceptives for women

The quality of implant service provision, particularly counseling, has been associated with successful use and with fewer discontinuations for side-effects. Requirements necessary for quality service provision include cadres of health care workers who can provide implants, training curriculum. duration of training, and training techniques; knowledge of the facilities, surgical equipment, and other supplies necessary: infection prevention steps to safely provide implants, techniques for managing side-effects; methods for managing difficult implant removals, the importance of maintaining close relationships with implant clients, and establishing communication and notification systems for removal (and sometimes replacement) when the effective life-span of the implants has been reached. In this article we review the components and training necessary for the establishment and maintenance of quality implant service delivery systems, discuss the implications of providing more than one type of implant, and describe trends in use. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.