Planned and regulated task shifting and task sharing can have a range of benefits. It can ensure a rational optimization of the available health workforce, address health system shortages of specialized health-care professionals, improve equity in access to health care and increase the acceptability of health services for those receiving them. This guideline provides a range of options for expanding of health worker roles in the provision of safe abortion care, the management of complications of abortion (also known as post-abortion care in some settings and provided as part of emergency obstetric care) and for post-abortion contraception provision.
Acknowledgements:: The guideline was developed by the Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization.
We acknowledge the many staff and consultants to the Department who contributed towards this effort. We thank the staff of the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services, Oslo, Norway, for their work in evidence synthesis and assessment, and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation for supporting the staff's time to work on this project.
We are also deeply grateful to the members of the Guideline Development Group and the external peer reviewers.
A complete list of contributors and their specific roles can be found in Annex A: Contributors to the guideline.
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