“…The Way We Welcome Them Is How We Will Lead Them to Love Family Planning.”: Family Planning Providers in Rwanda Foster Compassionate Relationships With Clients Despite Workplace Challenges

Background: Rwanda has markedly increased the nation’s contraceptive use in a short period of time, tripling contraceptive prevalence in just five years between 2005 and 2010. An integral aspect of family planning programs is the interactions between family planning providers and clients. Methods: This study aims to understand the client-provider relationship in the Rwandan family planning program and to also examine barriers to those relationships. The data used for this study come from eight focus group discussions with family planning providers and 32 in-depth interviews with family planning users. Results: Data analysis revealed that, despite workplace related challenges – including inadequate staffing, training, and resources, relationships between providers and clients are strong – and that providers work hard to understand, learn from, and support clients in their initiation and sustained use of contraceptives. Conclusion: Via continued and strengthened government support of family planning providers in health facilities and communities, Rwanda will likely sustain many current users of contraception and engage even more Rwandans in contraceptive services in the future.