Acre, Valerie N.
Dijkerman, Sally
Calhoun, Lisa M.
Speizer, Ilene S.
Poss, Cheri
Nyamato, Ernest
Funding for this research was provided by:
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (INV-009814, INV-009814)
Population Research Infrastructure Program (P2C HD050924, P2C HD050924)
Article History
Received: 25 March 2022
Accepted: 17 November 2022
First Online: 13 December 2022
Declarations
:
: All the data analyzed and presented in this paper were collected for routine monitoring and evaluation of Ipas programming in each country to understand the profile of clients receiving services and guide programmatic improvements, and not for research purposes. Our analysis is a secondary use of these de-identified datasets, meaning there is no possibility of identifying any participants, to test our hypotheses. Use of this de-identified monitoring and evaluation data for the analysis and results presented in this paper was reviewed and approved by the Allendale Institutional Review Board in the US (IRB Protocol No. Ipas-CEIAnalysis-2022).
: The data collection of the monitoring and evaluation data presented in this paper was submitted and approved by local ethics committees in Argentina, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Nigeria; and was submitted and approved by a US-based ethics committee for Argentina, Bolivia, and Mexico. For Bolivia and Mexico, a US-based ethics committee was used due to the researchers’ inability to identify an appropriate local ethic review board to review this study. Ethical approval was obtained from 1) the Allendale Institutional Review Board in the US for client exit interviews in Argentina, Mexico and Bolivia (IRB No.: Ipas_LAC_CEI_10Dec2018); 2) the Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Health of the City of Buenos Aires (IRB ID: “Entrevistas de Salida con usuarias de servicios de aborto legal y posaborto en instituciones de la red publica de salud en Argentina, Version 1, 25-abril 2019”) and facility level committees of bioethics from participating health facilities in Argentina; 3) the Amhara Public Health Institution (IRB No.: H/RTTD/1/473) and Oromia Health Bureau (IRB No.: BEFO/HBTFU/116/120) in Ethiopia; 4) the National Health Research Ethics Committee in Nigeria (IRB No.: NHREC/01/01/2007-29/04/2019); and 5) Nepal Health Research Council in Nepal (IRB No.: 1726, Reg. No. 8/2018). In Kenya and Uganda, Ipas and sub-regional ministries of health partners in each country did not seek review from a local ethical review committee because the purpose of the data collected was for routine monitoring and evaluation data of Ipas and MOH programming, and not for research.
: Written informed consent was obtained for all participants in Ethiopia, Nepal, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Verbal informed consent was obtained in Argentina, Bolivia, and Mexico. Verbal consent was documented by the interviewer through the mobile application for comfort and ease of respondents rather than using electronic signatures on mobile devices. Verbal consent procedures were approved by the Allendale Institutional Review Board in the US, the local Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Health of the City of Buenos Aires and facility level committees of bioethics from participating health facilities in Argentina.
: According to Law 27337 Article 21 of Bolivia’s “Code for Children and Adolescent” and the “Technical and Procedural Guidelines for Safe Abortion Services in Ethiopia, Second Edition” from the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Health, women under the age of 18 in Ethiopia and Bolivia may request and receive abortion services without the consent of a parent or guardian. We received a waiver from the Allendale Institutional Review Board in the US for the interviews in Bolivia, and from the Amhara Public Health Institution and Oromia Health Bureau for the interviews in Ethiopia to allow minors in these countries to decide to participate in an SRH-related study without parental or guardian consent.
: Not applicable.
: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.