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Digital Health Compendium: Showcasing Digital Solutions for Family Planning and Reproductive Health


Although investments in digital health solutions for voluntary family planning have expanded exponentially, information on what works (and what does not) has always kept pace. The Digital Health Compendium curates the latest results from projects using digital technology to inform the adoption and scale-up of successful family planning approaches, as well as encouraging learning and adaptation from approaches that were less successful.

In October 2020, the PACE Project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), launched the Digital Health Compendium, an interactive site enabling users to explore case studies across a range of digital health solutions to enhance voluntary family planning programs in low and middle-income countries.

As countries transition from paper to digital systems, voluntary family planning programs can benefit from unprecedented opportunities to improve services. Investments in digital health solutions have expanded exponentially, but information on what works—and what does not—remains limited and scattered. This compendium aims to consolidate emerging information on applying digital technology in voluntary family planning programs to inform the adoption and scale-up of successful approaches, as well as encourage learning and adaptation from approaches that were less successful.

The WHO Family Planning Reference App built on OpenSRP
WHO's Accelerator Kits and reference modules aim to give countries the tools and means to more easily and efficiently adapt their guidelines.

The compendium lets a user easily search for case studies based on several factors:

  • Target user for each digital health intervention
  • Building block for the digital health enabling environment
  • Family planning program classification
  • Country location

Case studies are submitted by implementing organizations and designed to provide insights into real-world applications of digital health to inform current and future programs.

DHC Interactive Map
An interactive map allows users to see where case studies have been conducted.

The compendium will be updated regularly with new case studies. Sign up to receive notifications when new case studies are added, or contact PACE to submit your own. PACE will share a simple template to frame your submission, including the following core components:

  • Partner information
  • Geographic scope
  • Digital health intervention and enabling environment classifications
  • Digital health solution overview
  • Program/project context
  • Evaluation and results data
  • Lessons learned
  • Conclusions
  • References
  • Photos

To accelerate the adoption of digital technology in family planning programs, we need more data and information on the challenges, opportunities, scalability, and results. Submitting information into the Compendium on your project’s use of  digital health for family planning is an opportunity to share your learnings with a broad audience of development partners and country stakeholders, and generate insights that support decision-making about current and future programs based on promising practices and real-life lessons.

Toshiko Kaneda, PhD

Senior Research Associate, International Programs, Population Reference Bureau (PRB)

Toshiko Kaneda is a senior research associate in International Programs at the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). She joined PRB in 2004. Kaneda has 20 years’ experience conducting research and demographic analysis. She has written numerous policy publications and peer-reviewed articles on topics such as reproductive health and family planning, noncommunicable diseases, population aging, and health care access. Kaneda directs data analysis for the World Population Data Sheet and provides technical guidance on demographic and statistical methods within PRB, as well as to external partners. She also directs the policy communications training program at PRB, supported by the National Institutes of Health. Prior to joining PRB, Kaneda was a Bernard Berelson Fellow at the Population Council. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was also a predoctoral trainee at the Carolina Population Center.

Krissy Celentano

Owner, Koralaide Consulting

Krissy Celentano, owner of Koralaide Consulting, is a results-driven digital health project manager and technical expert with over ten years working on policy, governance, coordination, technical assistance, and strategic planning in high, low, and middle-income countries. She previously served as a Senior Health Information Systems Advisor to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Office of HIV/AIDS. She chaired the Agency’s Health Informatics Work Group, led internal capacity-building efforts, managed the digital health field champions community of practice, provided country technical assistance, as well as supported the development of a digital health strategy. Krissy also oversaw a data system supporting interagency HIV/AIDS data collection and analysis to inform policy and funding decisions. Prior to joining USAID, Krissy served in several capacities at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Krissy is currently an Adjunct Professor of Health Informatics at George Washington University and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Services, as well as, an emeritus Advisory Board member of the Global Digital Health Network.