Knowledge Creation

MSS espouses Evidence-to-Action philosophy and has over the years developed strong capacity for implementation and behavioural research. The basic premise of this function is to ensure findings and best practices are incorporated into the reproductive health service delivery program in order to improve its effective and cost-effectiveness.

Moreover, its aims to provide evidence-based research solutions to sexual and reproductive health issues and lead to innovations in best practices and scale up. To augment its commitment to evidence-based programmes, MSS established a separate department in 2008 which comprise of a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in public health, behavioural sciences, epidemiology, statistics, implementation research, and ethnography.

The Research and Evaluation (R&E) team also receives technical support from Marie Stopes International, UK-based team. The Research and Evaluation team at MSS uses various advance level research methodologies to monitor client insights, conduct program evaluations for informing program strategies and contribute to the existing global knowledge.

Over the past decade RME team published more than 27 research publications in various international peer-reviewed journals and disseminated best practices at numerous international and national conferences/forums which resulted in expanding knowledge and providing guidance in development of strategies for effective programmatic decision making.

Understanding Perceptions and Behaviours around Family Planning

Pakistan Journal Of Public Health

2018 - Volume 8 | Issue Number 2

What influences family planning in rural Pakistan: Franchised service provider and community health worker perspective

Waqas Hameed , Junaid-ur-Rehman Siddiqui , Muhammad Ishaque , Sharmeen Hussain , Xaher Gul, Hina Najmi , Shehla Noorani , Ghulam Mustafa, Asma Balal

Culture, Health, and Sexuality

2017 - Volume 19 | Issue Number 11 | Pages 1225-1238

Men’s perceptions of child-bearing and fertility control in Pakistan: insights from a PEER project

Eleanor Brown, Xaher Gul, Aamir Abbas, Asim Nasar & Asma Balal

Plos ONE

2016 - Volume 11 | Issue Number 9

Comparing Effectiveness of Active and Passive Client Follow-Up Approaches in Sustaining the Continued Use of Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC) in Rural Punjab: A Multicentre, Non-Inferiority Trial

Waqas Hameed , Syed Khurram Azmat, Moazzam Ali , Muhammad Ishaque, Ghazunfer Abbas, Erik Munroe, Rebecca Harrison, Wajahat Hussain Shamsi, Ghulam Mustafa, Omar Farooq Khan, Safdar Ali, Aftab Ahmed

International Journal Of Reproductive Medicine

Volume 2015

Determinants of Method Switching among Social Franchise Clients Who Discontinued the Use of Intrauterine Contraceptive Device

Waqas Hameed, Syed Khurram Azmat, Moazzam Ali, Wajahat Hussain, Ghulam Mustafa, Muhammad Ishaque, Safdar Ali, Aftab Ahmed and Marleen Temmerman

Health Research Policy And Systems

2015 - Volume 13 (Supplement 1)

Continuation rates and reasons for discontinuation of intra-uterine device in three provinces of Pakistan: results of a 24-month prospective client follow-up.

Waqas Hameed, Syed Khurram Azmat, Muhammad Ishaque, Wajahat Hussain, Erik Munroe, Ghulam Mustafa, Omar Farooq Khan, Ghazunfer Abbas, Safdar Ali, Qaiser Jamshaid Asghar, Sajid Ali, Aftab Ahmed and Hasan Bin Hamza

Reproductive Health

2015 - Volume 12 | Issue Number 9

Comparing effectiveness of two client follow-up approaches in sustaining the use of Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC) among the underserved in rural Punjab, Pakistan: a study protocol and participants’ profile.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Moazzam Ali, Muhammad Ishaque, Ghulam Mustafa, Omar Farooq Khan, Ghazunfer Abbas and Erik Munroe

Reproductive Health

2015 - Volume 12 | Issue Number 25

Assessing predictors of contraceptive use and demand for family planning services in underserved areas of Punjab province in Pakistan: results of a cross-sectional baseline survey.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Moazzam Ali, Muhammad Ishaque, GhulamMustafa, Waqas Hameed, Omar Farooq Khan, Ghazunfer Abbas, Marleen Temmerman and Erik Munroe

International Journal Of Reproductive Medicine

Volume 2015

Family Planning Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Married Men and Women in Rural Areas of Pakistan: Findings from a Qualitative Need Assessment Study

Ghulam Mustafa, Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Safdar Ali, Muhammad Ishaque, Wajahat Hussain, Aftab Ahmed and ErikMunroe

Plos ONE

2014 - Volume 9 | Issue Number 8

Women’s Empowerment and Contraceptive Use: The Role of Independent versus Couples’ Decision-Making, from a Lower Middle Income Country Perspective

Waqas Hameed, Syed Khurram Azmat, Moazzam Ali, Muhammad Ishaque Sheikh, Ghazunfer Abbas, Marleen Temmerman, Bilal Iqbal Avan

International Journal Of Women’s Health

Volume 2013 | Issue Number 5 | Pages 19 - 27

IUD discontinuation rates, switching behavior, and user satisfaction: findings from a retrospective analysis of a mobile outreach service program in Pakistan.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Ghulam Mustafa, Wajahat Hussain, Aftab Ahmed, and Mohsina Bilgrami

BMC Women’s Health

2012 - Volume 12 | Issue Number 8

Rates of IUCD discontinuation and its associated factors among the clients of a social franchising network in Pakistan

Syed Khurram Azmat, Babar Tasneem Shaikh, Waqas Hameed, Mohsina Bilgrami, Ghulam Mustafa, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Ishaque, Wajahat Hussain and Aftab Ahmed

Pakistan Journal Of Public Health

2012 - Volume 2 | Issue Number 1

Barriers and perceptions regarding different contraceptives and family planning practices amongst men and women of reproductive age in rural Pakistan: a qualitative study.

Syed Khurram Azmat , Ghulam Mustafa , Waqas Hameed , Muhammad Ali , Aftab Ahmed , Mohsina Bilgrami

Pakistan Journal Of Public Health

2012 - Volume 2 | Issue Number 2 | Pages 4-9

Post-abortion care family planning use in Pakistan.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Muhammad Ishaque, Ghulam Mustafa, Aftab Ahmed

The European Journal Of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care

2011 - Volume 17 | Issue Number 2 | Pages 155-163

Perceptions, interpretations and implications of abortions: A qualitative enquiry among the legal community of Pakistan.

Syed Khurram Azmat , Mohsina Bilgrami , Babar T. Shaikh , Ghulam Mustafa & Waqas Hameed

Pakistan Journal Of Public Health

2011 - Volume 1 | Issue Number 1 | Pages 21-27

Determining the factors associated with Unmet need for family planning: a cross-sectional survey in 49 districts of Pakistan.

Waqas Hameed, Syed Khurram Azmat, Mohsina Bilgrami, Muhammad Ishaqe

Increasing Access to Family Planning Services in Pakistan

Social Franchising

Plos ONE

2013 - Volume 8 | Issue 9

Impact of Social Franchising on Contraceptive Use When Complemented by Vouchers: A Quasi-Experimental Study in Rural Pakistan.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Babar Tasneem Shaikh, Waqas Hameed, Ghulam Mustafa, Wajahat Hussain, Jamshaid Asghar, Muhammad Ishaque, Aftab Ahmed, Mohsina Bilgrami

Demand Side Financing

Frontiers in Public Health

2017 - Volume 5

Cost-effectiveness of a Family Planning Voucher Program in Rural Pakistan

Edward Ivor Broughton, Waqas Hameed, Xaher Gul, Shabnum Sarfraz, Imam Yar Baig and Monica Villanueva

Global Health: Science And Practice

2016 - Volume 4 (Supplement 2) | Pages S94-S108

Vouchers in Fragile States: Reducing Barriers to Long-Acting Reversible Contraception in Yemen & Pakistan.

Luke Boddam-Whetham, Xaher Gul, Eman Al-Kobati, Anna C Gorter

Reproductive Health

2014 - Volume 11 | Issue Number 39

A study protocol: using demand-side financing to meet the birth spacing needs of the underserved in Punjab Province in Pakistan.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Moazzam Ali, Waqas Hameed, Ghulam Mustafa, Ghazanfer Abbas, Muhammad Ishaque, Mohsina Bilgrami and Marleen Temmerman

Journal Of Pakistan Medical Association

2013 - Volume 63 | Issue Number 4 (supplement 3) | Pages S46 - S53

Social Franchising and Vouchers to Promote Long-Term Methods of Family Planning in Rural Pakistan:A Qualitative Stocktaking with Stakeholders.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Ghulam Mustafa, Waqas Hameed, Jamshaid Asghar, Aftab Ahmed, Babar T. Shaikh

Community-based Approches

Reproductive Health

2016 - Volume 13 | Number 25

Engaging with community-based public and private mid-level providers for promoting the use of modern contraceptive methods in rural Pakistan: results from two innovative birth spacing interventions.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Hasan Bin Hamza, Ghulam Mustafa, Muhammad Ishaque, Ghazunfer Abbas, Omar Farooq Khan, Jamshaid Asghar, Erik Munroe, Safdar Ali, Wajahat Hussain, Sajid Ali, Aftab Ahmed, Moazzam Ali and Marleen Temmerman

Journal Of Pakistan Medical Association

2013 - Volume 63 | Issue Number 4 (supplement 3) | Pages S40 - S45

Performance and Measurement of a Community-Based Distribution Model of Family Planning Services in Pakistan.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Shirin Ahmed, Waqas Hameed, Mohsina Bilgrami, Ayesha Khan, Adnan Ahmad Khan, Ghulam Mustafa

Journal Of Biosocial Science

2012 - Volume 44 | Issue Number 6 | Pages 719-731

Delivering Post-Abortion Care Through a Community-Based Research Health Volunteer Programme in Pakistan.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Babar T Shaikh, Ghulam Mustafa, Waqas Hameed and Mohsina Bilgrami

Contraceptive Method Effectiveness

International Journal Of Women’s Health

Volume 2014 | Issue Number 6 | Pages 573 – 583

Rationale, design, and cohort enrolment of a prospective observational study of the clinical performance of the new contraceptive implant (Femplant) in Pakistan.

Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Anja Lendvay, Babar Tasneem Shaikh, Ghulam Mustafa, Muhammad Ahmed Siddiqui, Sajid Brohi, Asif Karim, Muhammad Ishaque, Wajahat Hussain, Mohsina Bilgrami, and Paul J Feldblum

Contraception

2014 - Volume 89 | Issue Number 3 | Pages 197-203

Effectiveness, safety and acceptability of Sino-implant (II) during the first year of use: results from Kenya and Pakistan.

Anja Lendvay, Rose Otieno-Masaba, Syed Khurram Azmat, Angie Wheeless, Waqas Hameed, Babar Tasneem Shaikh, Shiphrah Kuria, Markus J. Steiner, Mario Chen, Paul J. Feldblum

Quality of Care

Open Access Journal of Contraception

2018 - Volume 9 | Pages 33 - 43

Does courtesy bias affect how clients report on objective and subjective measures of family planning service quality? A comparison between facility- and home-based interviews.

Waqas Hameed, Muhammad Ishaque, Xaher Gul, Junaid-ur-Rehman Siddiqui, Sharmeen Hussain, Wajahat Hussain, Aftab Ahmed, Asma Balal

Quality Measurement in Family Planning (Book)

2016 - Pages 61-70

Social franchising of family planning services for improving clinical quality of family planning services and increasing client volumes at privately owned clinics: Evidence from the Suraj social franchise network, Pakistan, 2013-2014.

Xaher Gul, Junaid-ur-Rehman Siddiqui, Asim Nasar, Faiza Shaikh, Laila Gardezi & Asma Balal