Beyond Bias: Improving empathy and choice for young people seeking contraception

Young people often feel unwelcome when they try to access contraception. we're finding out why and designing new ways to improve their experience of accessing sexual and reproductive health services. 

Young people accessing sexual and reproductive health services are often faced with stigma, judgment and provider bias. We're working in partnership in Pakistan, Burkina Faso and Tanzania to design, build and scale solutions that improve the quality of care, information and choice for youth. Our partners are Pathfinder International, Camber Collective, the Behavioral Economics in Reproductive Health Initiative, Aga Khan Health Services Tanzania, and Greenstar Social Marketing.

In Beyond Bias we are starting with empathy for both youth and providers. We bring them together through co-design workshops, in focus groups and roleplays to deeply understand the challenges both youth and providers experience in the clinic. Our human-centered design approach is combined with rigorous segmentation analysis to inform innovative solutions that are grounded in both youth and provider needs and preferences.  Through testing and refining these solutions in clinics and communities, we hope to develop and evaluate transformative ways to improve young people's experience of healthcare and opportunity for the future. 

Beyond Bias increases contraceptive access and method choice for youth in the developing world. By bringing together providers and the young people they serve, Beyond Bias identifies scalable solutions that address provider bias and improve contraceptive counseling and services. Led by Pathfinder International, in collaboration with Camber Collective, YLabs, and CEGA, this three-year project is active in Pakistan, Tanzania, and Burkina Faso, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.