Validation and Predictive Utility of a Person‐Centered Quality of Contraceptive Counseling (QCC‐10) Scale in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Multicountry Study of Family Planning Clients and a New Indicator for Measuring High‐Quality, Rights‐Based Care. Issue 1 (14th February 2023) - Karp, Celia
Abstract: The lack of validated, cross‐cultural measures for examining quality of contraceptive counseling compromises progress toward improved services. We tested the validity and reliability of the 10‐item Quality of Contraceptive Counseling scale (QCC‐10) and its association with continued protection from unintended pregnancy and person‐centered outcomes using longitudinal data from women aged 15–49 in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Nigeria. Psychometric analysis showed moderate‐to‐strong reliability (alphas: 0.73–0.91) and high convergent validity with greatest service satisfaction. At follow‐up, QCC‐10 scores were not associated with continued pregnancy protection but were linked to contraceptive informational needs being met among Burkinabe and Kenyan women; the reverse was true in Kano. Higher QCC‐10 scores were also associated with care‐seeking among Kenyan women experiencing side effects. The QCC‐10 is a validated scale for assessing quality of contraceptive counseling across diverse contexts. Future work is needed to improve understanding of how the QCC‐10 relates to person‐centered measures of reproductive health.