Reality Check: A Planning and Advocacy Tool for Strengthening Family Planning Programs Version 3 User’s Guide

"The tool enables users (a) to quickly test future goal scenarios, including changes in the method mix, and (b) to compare those future scenarios with past performance to determine whether current goals are feasible."

Reality Check Version 3 is an updated planning tool that can generate data for evidence-based advocacy and strategic planning. According to the publishers, user-generated data can be helpful in setting realistic family planning goals, planning for service expansion to meet programme objectives, and evaluating alternative methods for achieving specific goals. It also can help managers better understand the costs of changing the mix of methodologies in a country or region. It was developed by the ACQUIRE Project and updated by RESPOND and EngenderHealth with funding from United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

This programmatic and technical model/tool is designed to enable examination of the relationship of contraceptive prevalence to contraceptive users, adopters, and commodities. Its purpose is to enable reproductive health (RH) programmes to forecast overall contraceptive prevalence rates (CPR) at national or local levels and to analyse past CPR trends.

"Sample Questions That Reality Check Can Help Answer:

• If past contraceptive prevalence trends continue, what CPR would we achieve in 2020?

• The Ministry of Health has set a goal of 30% modern method prevalence by 2020. Is this achievable? What human and material resources will be required to meet this goal?

• If unmet need for FP is high, what will be required to meet that need?"

According to the tool briefing, Reality Check can provide data for planning including: CPR, number of contraceptive users, number of adopters, number of implant removals, and information on commodities, costs, and service provision.  For advocacy purposes, it can provide data on: couple-years of protection (CYP) , unintended pregnancies averted, abortions averted, unsafe abortions averted, live births averted, and maternal deaths averted.