Carolina Salmeron

Background Since 2009, the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) has served as an opportunity for the global reproductive health community to share FP advances and practice lessons in the areas of research, programming, and advocacy. The purpose of this paper was to synthesize the key results and findings presented by members of the FP community at the 2018 ICFP Conference. Methods More than 700 abstracts from all 15 conference tracks were reviewed and 64 abstracts total were selected for this paper based on the novelty and urgency of the findings. The content analysis of conference abstracts were grouped into six final thematic areas. Results 1) Investing in family planning for a lifetime of returns. FP continues to face a shortage of funding. Domestically based and locally owned funding models provide alternative financing solutions. 2) Addressing inequities in family planning for key populations. Various populations still face challenges in accessing FP. Youth-inclusive and user-centered programming show promise in addressing such challenges. 3) Reproductive justice, Unsafe abortions tend to be more common among younger, poor, uneducated and rural women. Legislation is still needed to facilitate a culture of safe abortions. 4) Couple dynamics and decision-making. Couples who share equitable responsibility in decision-making processes are more likely to use contraceptives; couple disagreement influences women’s decisions to covertly use FP. 5) Male involvement in programming. Male champions can successfully promote uptake of FP. Gender-transformative programming promotes gender equity and impacts behavior change. 6) Breakthroughs in novel contraceptives and systems improvement in family planning. Recent advances include user-centered contraceptive technologies that allow for self-administration and information systems which optimize supply chain management. Conclusion The research, advocacy, and programmatic abstracts at ICFP 2018 highlighted research advances, showcased implementation science wins, and provided evidence of critical knowledge gaps in global FP access and use

Since 2009, the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) has served as an opportunity for the global reproductive health community to share FP advances and practice lessons in the areas of research, programming, and advocacy. The key takeaways from all 15 tracks were grouped into six thematic areas: 1) Investing in family planning for a lifetime of returns. FP may yield different health and monetary benefits but continues to face a shortage of funding, although locally owned models provide alternative financing solutions. 2) Addressing inequities in family planning for adolescents, youth, and key populations. Marginalized populations and youth still face challenges in accessing FP. Youth-inclusive and user-centered programming show promise in addressing such challenges. 3) Reproductive justice: Abortion care, family planning, and women’s wellbeing. Unsafe abortions tend to be more common among younger, poor, uneducated and rural women. Promising evidence show that providers may effectively shift from unsafe practices of dilation and curettage to safer manual vacuum aspiration or misoprostol. 4) Couple dynamics and family planning decision-making. Couples who share everyday life decision-making are more likely to use contraceptives; couple discordance on childbearing and fertility decisions directly influence women’s decisions to covertly use FP. 5) Male involvement in FP programming. Male champions and advocates can successfully promote couple uptake of FP. Gender-transformative programming promotes gender equity and can directly impact behavior change. 6) Breakthroughs in novel contraceptives and systems improvement in family planning. User-centered contraceptive technologies and information systems present an opportunity to facilitate self-care and optimal supply chain management. ICFP 2018 highlighted research advances, implementation science wins, and critical knowledge gaps in global FP access and use. More research is needed to determine the scalability of novel technologies, more effective programming and service delivery models to ensure multisectoral knowledge translation and utilization by policymakers.