An Overview of Spatial Data Protocols for Family Planning Activities

Data must be accurate and conform to standards to be of maximum utility. Data users must be thoughtful about their use of data, making sure to use only appropriate data and to consider fully the limitations of each data set they use. High-quality, relevant, and complete data can help lead to a better understanding of health interventions and human activity. Including the geographic perspective in data will not only make it possible to produce maps that can serve as effective decision-support tools, but will also enable a common link across multiple data sets that can make it easier to join data sets and synthesize information. The use of geospatial technologies in the family planning context has been hampered by limitations that often exist with the data. This document seeks to address some of these limitations by presenting key concepts involved in the collection and use of spatially referenced family planning data. The role of geographic data in the decision-making process is crucial. Geographic data can be used to understand where things are happening and why they are happening. It can also be used to facilitate linkages among data and to support monitoring and evaluation (M&E) efforts and evidence-based decision making within family planning activities. The use of geographic information systems (GIS) technology has been ongoing for the past two decades in the field of family planning. Initially, the use of GIS and spatial analysis was rather limited, focusing on measurements of distance between potential family planning users and the nearest source of a method, and calculations and presentations of program reach and coverage. However, as the potential utility of GIS for public health programs has become better known, the scope and reach of GIS analyses for family planning has become more sophisticated. Mapping has become more rich and complex, incorporating information on transportation and social networks, the movement of commodities, and spatial heterogeneity in demand for and supply of contraceptives. The increase in sophistication has also increased the power of spatial analysis and GIS technology to assist program planners and policy-makers with decision making and resource allocation. Family planning is a remarkably complex supply-and-demand problem that continually shifts due to changing social norms and reflecting past and present disparities in class, gender, and socioeconomics. The complexity of family planning programs also arises because such programs have many stakeholders and include many types of providers (public and private, facility- and community-based) working together and separately to address different segments of family planning supply and demand in overlapping service areas. The ability to visualize these complex service networks gives program planners a unique opportunity to understand what is happening with family planning services on the ground and to immediately identify gaps, trends, and outputs in a given area. However, family planning services are not exclusively available from clinics. Many methods are available in the community through shops and pharmacies, through community-based distribution programs, and through other channels. The challenges to using spatial data for family planning programs include the need to consider the geographic context of data collection, the importance of hierarchy in administrative divisions, and the need to address privacy issues concerning point location data. Additionally, the use of existing spatial data requires careful consideration of accuracy, currency, source, coordinate system, and datum. The availability of metadata is also crucial for effective data use. The document presents several key concepts, including the role of geographic data in the decision-making process, the value of using data wisely, the importance of data quality and standards, the significance of standard data schemas and identification of data schema best practices, and the value of maps as decision support tools. The guide is not intended to provide technical guidance on the use of spatial software such as GIS, but rather to present material in terms of the geographic context, which can be applied to non-geographic contexts as well.