Resources for Fistula Services

Provider Job Aids

Informed Consent in Fistula Care (English, PDF, 630 KB; French, PDF, 617 KB)
Informed consent is a critical component of quality fistula care services. This booklet for service administrators, staff and supervisors provides guidance on counseling patients before fistula surgery. Clients may find the provided information helpful in making an informed decision on care.

Informed Consent Form (English, PDF, 35 KB; French, PDF; 36 KB)
This form is a template for service providers that can be used or adapted for providers to counsel fistula patients before surgery.

Client-Centered Reproductive Health Counseling Following Fistula Repair (English, PDF, 164 KB; French, PDF, 169 KB; Bangla, PDF, 203 KB)
This poster provides service providers with basic guidance on counseling women and couples following fistula surgery.

Quick Reference Chart for Contraceptive Methods (English, PDF, 162 KB; French, PDF, 167 KB; Bangla, PDF, 372 KB)
This poster lists basic information about family planning methods for service provider’s reference.

Fistula Diagnosis Job Aid (English, PDF, 261 KB; French, PDF, 232 KB; Bangla, PDF, 225 KB)
This brochure assists health care providers to diagnose obstetric fistula in women who present with urine leakage. It contains a list of questions aimed to accurately diagnose whether the woman has obstetric fistula, whether she requires surgical repair, and the complexity of the repair. It also provides advice for preparing for obstetric fistula repairs.

Fistula Diagnosis Poster (English, PDF, 767 KB; French, PDF, 831 KB )
This poster presents the diagnosis job aid in a chart format.

Prevention Poster for Providers (English, PDF, 737 KB)

Digital Stories Facilitator’s Guide (English, PDF, 2.89 MB; French, PDF, 2.76 MB)
This guide serves as a companion to the “Learn From My Story” series. In order to help people to listen to and use the stories, a facilitator’s guide was created and includes: the text of each woman’s story, discussion questions tailored to each woman’s story, and key messages for facilitators to convey. The intended use of the guide is with three main audiences: health care providers, women with fistula, and community members.

Service Delivery

Guidelines on Urethral Catheterization for Prevention and Management of Obstetric Fistula (English PDF, French PDF) March 2016. This national guideline offers simple and clear guidance for service providers at every service delivery level to actively participate in the prevention and conservative treatment of obstetric fistula in Nigeria.

Counseling the Obstetric Fistula Client: A Training Curriculum (English, PDF, 2.5 MB; French, PDF, 2.8 MB)
Counseling is an integral part of comprehensive fistula care services. The curriculum guides nurses, midwives, and physicians to help their clients to make informed and voluntary decisions about their care. The curriculum addresses counseling needs related to fistula prevention, treatment, and social reintegration. Health care providers can also find information about how to engage with the client’s family and how to link the client to supportive organizations in the community.

Counseling the Traumatic Fistula Client: A Supplement to the Obstetric Fistula Counseling Curriculum (English, PDF, 3.4 MB, French, PDF, 3.2 MB)
Clients seeking care for traumatic fistula–fistula caused by sexual assault–need access to counseling that addresses the complex effects of their condition. This supplement complements the counseling curriculum to address the physical, social, and psychological impacts specific to traumatic fistula. The supplement also provides information on how health care providers working with traumatic fistula clients can seek support for themselves.

Data for Decision Making in Fistula Treatment Services: A Supplemental Module for Facilitative Supervision (English, PDF, 2.8 MB; French, PDF, 2.6 MB)
In keeping with its commitment to quality improvement, Fistula Care promotes the use of data for decision making. This series of training modules provides clinical supervisors, health care providers, and national-level stakeholders with skills to review and interpret data in order to strengthen health systems and services. The document includes guides for discussion and interactive activities, as well as handouts and other tools to teach lessons about data gathering, analysis, and application. The modules supplement EngenderHealth’s facilitative supervision tools, which emphasize team problem-solving and communication.

Service Delivery Supervision and Monitoring Checklist (English, PDF, 114 KB; French, PDF, 145 KB)
This checklist facilitates the supervision and monitoring of fistula repair service delivery. Forms include: Facility Information; Fistula Service Delivery at Facility; Monitoring of Counseling Services; Notes from Client Interviews; and Summary Notes and Recommendations from the Supervision and Monitoring Visit.

Recommendations for Equipment and Supplies (English, PDF, 41 KB)

Site Assessment

Site Assessment Tool (English, PDF, 1055 KB; French, PDF, 1230 KB)
This is a set of 284 questions to assess the availability and quality of services for fistula prevention and treatment sites. It also includes a list of standard fistula facility equipment and supplies.

Site Assessment Preparation and Report Guidelines (English, PDF, 296 KB; French, PDF, 777 KB)
This package of materials provides instruction for how to carry out a site assessment. Forms include: Proposal guidelines; Tip Sheet for Planning the Assessment; Site Assessment Tool; and Presentation of Findings: An Outline for the Assessment Report.

Medical Waste Management (English, PDF, 206 KB; French, PDF, 213 KB)

Site Surveys

FC+ Supported Facility Survey 2015: Fistula backlog and prolapse integration (English, PDF, 883 KB)                                 This survey collected information from health facilities that conduct surgical fistula repairs with support from the FC+ project. The survey asks questions about fistula backlog and current demand and capacity for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) services.