Table 1.

Family planning process variables: Questions used for constructing indicators on quality of counseling

Method	How to usea	Side effectsb	When to returnb	Protection from STIsa
Pills or injectables	When to take	Initial side effects that may occur (such as nausea, weight gain, and breast tenderness)	Return to clinic if side effect appears	Method does not protect against STIs, including HIV
	What to do if forget
Condoms	Each can be only used once			Dual protection
Intrauterine device (IUD)	Good for up to 5–12 years	Common side effects that may occur	Return to clinic 3–6 weeks post-insertion or after first menses	Method does not protect against STIs, including HIV
	Users should regularly check strings after each menstruation		Return to clinic if side effects continue
Implants	Good for 3–5 years	Initial side effects that may occur (such as nausea, weight gain, breast tenderness)	Return to clinic if side effects continue	Method does not protect against STIs, including HIV
Periodic abstinence or standard days method (SDM)	How to identify a woman’s fertile period			Method does not protect against STIs, including HIV
	No intercourse during woman’s fertile period without alternative method (condom)
Lactational amenorrhea method (LAM)	Must be exclusively (or near-exclusively) breastfeeding			Method does not protect against STIs, including HIV
	Not effective after menstruation begins again
	Infant must be less than age 6 months

Only methods provided or prescribed to observe clients were included

^aApply to users of all methods reported

^bApply to only users of pills, injectables, IUDs, and implants