SHINE Dissemination Series Concludes
- Access Group
- Jul 31
- 3 min read
The Research on Scale-up of the Hormonal IUD in New and Emerging Markets (SHINE) study, a four-year implementation science research project on the introduction of the hormonal IUD led by FHI 360, reached a milestone this month as its dissemination series concluded in Kenya, following earlier national meetings in Malawi and Nigeria.
The meetings brought together Ministries of Health, implementing partners, researchers, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical firms, and professional associations to review findings from four years of implementation research and discuss their implications for hormonal IUD programming.
The results were clear. Women who adopted the hormonal IUD through routine family planning services in all three countries reported highly favorable experiences with it. Providers and national governments were keen to offer a method with a positive impact on bleeding, and evaluation of DHIS2 data showed favorable insertion trends, particularly in Nigeria.
The results also highlighted key areas for action and intervention. Quality of care came up repeatedly: providers stressed that training alone is not enough, and that they need ongoing mentorship, supportive supervision, and strengthened counseling, particularly around bleeding changes.
The clinical questions raised, especially in Malawi, also pointed to a need for clearer, more accessible technical guidance. Community perspectives were another focus, with considerable interest in male attitudes in both Nigeria and Malawi and stakeholders encouraging programs to engage men and community leaders to address misconceptions. On data and systems, Malawian participants pressed for results tailored to local performance, Kenyan participants raised discrepancies between facility-level stock-outs and national stock data, and Nigerian stakeholders emphasized translating findings into practical program tools.
Voices from the meetings
The meetings were opened and framed by senior figures from each country's Ministry of Health and its partners. In Kenya, Dr. Edward Serem, Head of the Division of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, opened the meeting by drawing attention to a gap the study had made visible: that many providers trained to offer the hormonal IUD are not yet doing so, and proposed a further study to understand and address it. Dr. Albert Ndwiga, National Family Planning Manager, spoke to the method's benefits for users and underlined both the value of the SHINE evidence and the importance of updating the national rollout and scale-up plan.
In Nigeria, Dr. Olusegun Samuel Oyeniyi, Director and Head of the Reproductive Health Division at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, framed the findings as a basis for strengthening the country's family planning program and argued for targeted, evidence-driven approaches to expanding access. Society for Family Health Group Chief Executive Dr. Omokhudu Idogho, whose organization implemented SHINE in partnership with FHI 360, stressed that sustainable family planning depends on more than the supply of commodities, resting equally on provider competence, supportive policies, and community engagement, and urged partners to translate the evidence into policy now that the project has concluded.
What comes next
By the close of the series, stakeholders across all three countries had asked for fact sheets, job aids, and communication materials to help translate the findings into practice. A central recommendation emerging from the study is to extend implementation beyond the areas where SHINE worked to ensure more women can benefit. Above all, participants valued the chance to receive the findings directly. Research is often carried out in their communities and facilities, several noted, yet the results rarely return to the people who make the work possible, and doing so here, at the local as well as national level, was, for many, one of the most valuable parts of the process.
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