Center for
Global Health

Scholar

Languages: English

BIO STATEMENT

Dr. Sonalkar is an Associate Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania, and Complex Family Planning specialist, devoted to using clinical research and implementation science to promote sexual and reproductive health evidence-based practices and reduce health disparities domestically and internationally. During her collaborations with the World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Reproductive Health and Research, Dr. Sonalkar has developed patient-facing decision-support tools in family planning, an Implementation Guide and Toolkit for the WHO Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, and has collaborated with WHO staff on policy, practice, and programs related to international postpartum family planning. Along with WHO and a team of researchers at the University of Ghana School of Public Health, Dr. Sonalkar led a multi-site stepped-wedge randomized trial in Accra, Ghana to evaluate postpartum family planning implementation and effectiveness outcomes of a hospital-based multifaceted implementation strategy. Dr. Sonalkar mentors trainees at all levels of the clinical and research pipeline, and has strong, ongoing relationships with international researchers.

Recent Global Health Projects

I was the Principal Investigator for a study of its acceptability, and conducted postpartum family planning trainings for providers in Ghana. This research spurred the creation of the WHO Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use mobile application. These projects informed novel implementation strategy development, which I have studied as a Principal Investigator for a multi-year, multi-site stepped-wedge randomized trial in Accra, Ghana, in collaboration with researchers at the WHO, and University of Ghana School of Public Health. The results of this trial, which enrolled over 2000 participants, showed significant impact of individualized family planning counseling immediately after childbirth, and the benefit of a mobile family planning job aid for providers.

Over the past three years, I have mentored trainees to work with the WHO on development of a guideline to expand contraceptive options, evaluating the safety, efficacy, and acceptability of contraceptive methods that are used and registered in countries, but not included in WHO’s contraceptive guidance. For example, ormeloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, is used widely in India as a weekly oral contraceptive pill, but it is not listed in the WHO’s Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use. From 2023-2024, I mentored a Complex Family Planning Fellow through a project in which we conducted 17 scoping reviews of methods including ormeloxifene, to preliminarily assess for safety, efficacy, and acceptability of their use. Along with my fellow, I presented the evidence from these reviews at an international Guideline Development Group (GDG) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in June of 2024. Results of three of our scoping reviews have since been published. As a follow-on from this work, I mentored another fellow to complete a systematic review of the extension of timing of use of the contraceptive implant, currently labeled for 3 years. We evaluated the safety, efficacy, and acceptability of extending the use of the implant to 5 years.

Select Publications

1. Mokkarala S, Kamuyango A, Kiarie J, Kidula N, Jiang L, Sonalkar S. Expanding contraceptive options: A scoping review of medically approved contraceptive methods that are not in the WHO Medical Eligibility Criteria. Contraception. 2025 Sep;149:110983
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40544986/

2 .Sonalkar S, Maya E, Guure C, McAllister A, Puplampu DA, Doe RD, Gaffield ME, Kiarie J. Providers' perceptions of implementing standardized postpartum family planning: a qualitative study of midwives and nurses in Ghana. AJOG Glob Rep. 2025 May;5(2):100506. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12173112.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40529187/

3. Sonalkar S, Maya E, Adanu R, Samba A, Mumuni K, McAllister A, Fishman J, Schurr D, Schreiber CA, Kolev S, Doe R, Eluned Gaffield M. Pilot monitoring and evaluation of the WHO postpartum family planning compendium mobile application: An in-depth, qualitative study. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2021 Jun;153(3):508-513. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8122049.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33513267/

Last Updated: 27 April 2026