Does it work?
In March 2021, the West Africa Breakthrough ACTION (WABA) team tested a reduced, tailored version of the card deck with 15 young people and 15 providers. This smaller deck allowed the team to use Empathways in two- to three-hour standalone discussions (linked to the youth-centered reproductive health and family planning Merci Mon Héros campaign), rather than as a half- or full-day exercise integrated into a larger provider training as originally designed.
Overall, the results were extremely encouraging. Nearly all participants noted the themes addressed in the deck were relevant to improving youth FP service quality, and said the tool increasingly generated empathy for young people with each successive round. All participants said the tool was unique, and that they would use the tool again. Multiple providers asked for a copy of the deck to take back to their own health centers. The tool is a useful resource that can increase understanding among providers of the unique needs of adolescents and young people, and can improve provider training on adolescent responsive services.
Now what?
Based on the Côte d’Ivoire pre-tests, Breakthrough ACTION updated Empathways with simpler language and a new scenario focused on responding to young men’s family planning needs. Breakthrough ACTION also added guidance to the facilitator’s manual to ensure effective, fruitful sessions and to encourage collaborating with youth or community organizations when using the tool. WABA plans to continue using Empathways with providers, and has further adapted the tool for use with community members, highlighting the role that parents, teachers, religious leaders, and other opinion leaders play in increasing youth access to family planning information and services.
A web-based version of Empathways, complete with downloadable decks for in-country printing, is available on Breakthrough ACTION’s website and will soon be translated into French. The project also plans to pilot the tool in two countries in the coming months.
For more information on the Empathways tool, or to discuss piloting the tool in your own work, please contact Erin Portillo, Senior Program Officer on Breakthrough ACTION, at erin.portillo@jhu.edu.