Special Projects

Bedsider Pilot

NFPRHA has received two grants from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy to explore how its Bedsider.org birth control support network can improve the operation of publicly funded family planning health centers and improve the overall contraceptive use of patients.

The first pilot took place in the spring of 2012 and was designed to provide a short-term exploration of the viability using Bedsider in publicly-funded health centers. The project activities included using iPads displaying Bedsider in waiting rooms, using the site’s Method Explorer during consultation sessions, and using text message-based appointment reminders and birth control reminders. The following seven sites were selected for the first Bedsider pilot based on demographic factors:

  • Butte Family Planning Clinic (Butte, MT)
  • Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department (Cheyenne, WY)
  • Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Counties, Inc. (Laconia, NH)
  • People's Family Health Services, Inc. (North Platte, NE)
  • Wabash County Health Department (Mt. Carmel, IL)
  • Westside Family Health Center (Santa Monica, CA)
  • Women's Health Center of West Virginia (Charleston, WV)

The second pilot took place between October 2012 and March 2013 and sought to measure the effect of using Bedsider in publicly-funded health centers on clinical factors including: contraceptive uptake, transition to a more effective method, improving contraceptive continuation, and increasing the quality of contraceptive counseling. The following NFPRHA members were selected through a competitive process to participate in the six-month pilot:

  • Cincinnati Health Department Reproductive Health and Wellness Program (Cincinnati, OH)
  • CAP of San Louis Obispo County’s Center for Health and Prevention (San Luis Obispo, CA)
  • Flathead Community Health Center/Family Planning Services (Kalispell, MT)
  • HCCMS Family Health Services (Harlan, IA)
  • Health Imperatives (Brockton, MA)
  • Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah)
  • Planned Parenthood of Southern New England

The patient and administrator experience of having Bedsider in the health center was positive, and patients frequently signed up to use the text-message reminders and asked about contraception options displayed in the Method Explorer. However, the six-month time period of the project was not long enough to demonstrate conclusive quantitative evidence of Bedsider’s effect on the clinical factors.

National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association

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Phone: 202-293-3114  |  info@nfprha.org

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