The presence of medical conditions that might affect the use of depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) as a contraceptive method was assessed in a rural district in Nepal. A general health survey was conducted in nonpregnant and noncontracepting women aged 15-44 years to determine the presence of any health problems. The survey included a general assessment interview by nonphysicians, followed by formal medical histories and physical exams by female gynecologists. Possible pregnancy (nine cases) and abnormal uterine bleeding (one case) were the only conditions identified in which DMPA should not be used, based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use. Five additional cases of cardiovascular problems, in which DMPA initiation is not usually recommended, were also detected. Recently developed checklists based on the WHO criteria for DMPA use would have identified all of these health conditions. This checklist would allow the safe delivery of DMPA at the community health worker level, and increase the availability and accessibility of DMPA in rural Nepal.
PIP: A general health survey was conducted in nonpregnant and noncontracepting women aged 15-44 years to determine the presence of any health problems that might affect the use of depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) as a contraceptive method in rural district in Nepal. The survey included a general assessment interview by nonphysicians, followed by formal medical histories and physical exams by female gynecologists. Findings revealed that a possible pregnancy (9 cases) and abnormal uterine bleeding (1 case) were the only conditions identified in which DMPA should not be used based on the WHO Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use. 5 additional cases of cardiovascular problems, in which DMPA initiation was not usually recommended, were also detected. The reports included heart disease (2 cases), past history of hypertension (1 case), current hypertension (1 case), and headache and hypertension (1 case).