Protocol for a process evaluation of Family Planning Elevated: a statewide initiative to improve contraceptive access in Utah (USA)

INTRODUCTION: Many individuals in the USA do not have access to the contraceptive methods they desire. Contraceptive initiatives have emerged at the state and national levels to remove barriers to access, and many initiatives have reported success. Other initiatives may want to build on or replicate that success, but data are scarce on the details of how and why certain interventions work. This paper describes the protocol for the planned process evaluation of Family Planning Elevated (FPE), a statewide contraceptive initiative in Utah. METHODS: FPE will conduct a process evaluation during the planning and implementation phases of the programme. The process evaluation will document (1) the community, state and national contexts in which the programme is implemented, (2) how FPE is implemented and (3) the mechanism by which FPE creates impact. We will collect qualitative data via interviews with FPE staff, providers and staff participating in the programme, and key stakeholders and policy-makers throughout the state. The team process evaluator will record FPE decision making and implementation activities by taking field notes during weekly FPE meetings. Quantitatively, we will collect monthly data reports from FPE-participating clinics, analytics reports from the media campaign and survey results from patients in FPE-participating clinics. The findings of the process evaluation will allow other contraceptive initiatives to learn from FPE’s efforts and replicate successful components of the programme. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study received approval from the University of Utah’s Institutional Review Board. Findings from the process evaluation and outcome evaluation will be published, shared with other contraceptive initiatives and presented at conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03877757.