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West Bank And Gaza: Stress The Importance And Cost-Effectiveness Of Postpartum Care, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

West Bank And Gaza: Stress The Importance And Cost-Effectiveness Of Postpartum Care, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

To assess maternal health care in the West Bank and Gaza, the Health, Development, Information, and Policy Institute conducted a study from May to August 2000. This study served as a baseline for the Pilot Health Project (PHP), which seeks to improve antenatal and postpartum services in three areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Seven local and international agencies are implementing PHP in collaboration with the Palestinian Ministry of Health and with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Data sources for the baseline study consisted of service statistics, interviews with health-care providers, and exit interviews with antenatal, …


Cisjordania Y Gaza: Subraye La Importancia De La Atención Postparto Y Su Cost-Efectividad, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Cisjordania Y Gaza: Subraye La Importancia De La Atención Postparto Y Su Cost-Efectividad, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

El Instituto de Salud, Desarrollo, Información y Políticas realizó un estudio de mayo a agosto de 2000 para evaluar la atención a la salud materna en Cisjordania y Gaza. Dicho estudio sirvió de línea basal para el Proyecto Piloto de Salud (PHP, por sus siglas en inglés), cuyo objetivo es mejorar los servicios prenatales y postparto en tres áreas de esa región. Siete agencias locales e internacionales implementan el PHP con la colaboración del Ministerio de Salud palestino y el patrocinio de la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional. Las fuentes de la información para el estudio …


Benin: Diríjase A Los Hombres Para Aumentar El Uso De Los Servicios De Salud, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Benin: Diríjase A Los Hombres Para Aumentar El Uso De Los Servicios De Salud, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Después del inicio de las reformas del sector salud en 1994, el gobierno de Benin creó el Proyecto de Salud Familiar Integral, conocido localmente como PROSAF. Este proyecto opera en la región de Borgou, bajo el patrocinio de la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional. Dicha región es en su mayoría rural y en ella se observan los problemas de salud más severos del país. Los gerentes de PROSAF deseaban entender por qué la gente no estaba utilizando los servicios a pesar de tener una salud deficiente, por lo que solicitaron al Centro Africano de Investigación en …


Prevention Of Trafficking And The Care And Support Of Trafficked Persons In The Context Of An Emerging Hiv/Aids Epidemic In Nepal, Celine Daly Jan 2001

Prevention Of Trafficking And The Care And Support Of Trafficked Persons In The Context Of An Emerging Hiv/Aids Epidemic In Nepal, Celine Daly

HIV and AIDS

This study is a collaborative effort between the Asia Foundation (Kathmandu) and the Horizons project of the Population Council (New Delhi) to document the current intervention models and community-based study of human trafficking in the context of an emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nepal. To address the human rights component of trafficking, the three components of this study focus on the rights and needs of trafficked persons as well as those who are vulnerable to trafficking. An analysis and assessment of the effectiveness of laws, policies, and interventions in the apprehension, prosecution, and conviction of alleged traffickers is not included in …


Increasing Coverage Of Reproductive Health Issues In The Indonesian Print Media, Wanda Firmansyah, Sahar Hegazi, Siti Rokhmawati Darwisyah, Lila Amaliah Jan 2001

Increasing Coverage Of Reproductive Health Issues In The Indonesian Print Media, Wanda Firmansyah, Sahar Hegazi, Siti Rokhmawati Darwisyah, Lila Amaliah

Reproductive Health

With the reform movement in Indonesia, the FRONTIERS project recognized the new opportunities for influencing public debate and informing public opinion on reproductive health issues and undertook a project for disseminating the results of contemporary research on reproductive health. The project had three main objectives: 1) to increase print media coverage of critical reproductive health issues by enhancing journalists’ role as responsible communication agents; 2) to contribute to public debate on emerging reproductive health issues in order to influence policy development and guide program management; and 3) to increase public awareness of key health issues, with a particular focus on …


Poverty And Public Services In Developing-Country Cities, Paul C. Hewett, Mark R. Montgomery Jan 2001

Poverty And Public Services In Developing-Country Cities, Paul C. Hewett, Mark R. Montgomery

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This paper examines the availability of basic public services such as water supply and sanitation in the cities and towns of developing countries, using data drawn from the Demographic and Health Surveys. Inadequate provision of public services can compromise health, hinder economic growth, and stymie efforts to reduce poverty. We find that wide rural-urban gaps remain in service delivery, and that smaller cities-where about half of urban residents live-are notably under-served by comparison with larger cities.


Household Size And Composition In The Developing World, John Bongaarts Jan 2001

Household Size And Composition In The Developing World, John Bongaarts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This study uses data from recent household surveys in 43 developing countries to describe the main dimensions of household size and composition in the developing world. Average household size varies only modestly among regions, ranging from 5.6 in the Near East/North Africa to 4.8 in Latin America. These averages are similar to levels observed in the second half of the nineteenth century in Europe and North America. About four out of five members of the household are part of the nuclear family of the head of the household. Household size is found to be positively associated with the level of …


Immunization Status And Child Survival In Rural Ghana, Philomena Nyarko, Brian Wells Pence, Cornelius Debpuur Jan 2001

Immunization Status And Child Survival In Rural Ghana, Philomena Nyarko, Brian Wells Pence, Cornelius Debpuur

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

For three decades, the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) has been promoted as one of the key child health interventions in developing countries. Vaccines for six childhood diseases (diphtheria, measles, pertussis, poliomyelitis, tetanus, and tuberculosis) have been shown to be efficacious in preventing disease-specific morbidity and mortality, yet not all commentators are convinced that the EPI reduces all-cause child mortality. Numerous studies have found that measles vaccination programs substantially reduce all-cause child mortality, but recent findings from Guinea-Bissau suggest that diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT) vaccine may increase all-cause child mortality. The present study uses five years of data from …


Household Size And Composition In The Developing World [Arabic], John Bongaarts Jan 2001

Household Size And Composition In The Developing World [Arabic], John Bongaarts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This study uses data from recent household surveys in 43 developing countries to describe the main dimensions of household size and composition in the developing world. Average household size varies only modestly among regions, ranging from 5.6 in the Near East/North Africa to 4.8 in Latin America. These averages are similar to levels observed in the second half of the nineteenth century in Europe and North America. About four out of five members of the household are part of the nuclear family of the head of the household. Household size is found to be positively associated with the level of …


The Reporting Of Sensitive Behavior Among Adolescents: A Methodological Experiment In Kenya, Barbara Mensch, Paul C. Hewett, Annabel Erulkar Jan 2001

The Reporting Of Sensitive Behavior Among Adolescents: A Methodological Experiment In Kenya, Barbara Mensch, Paul C. Hewett, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This paper assesses whether audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (audio-CASI), a technique designed in the United States to collect data on sensitive behaviors, is a feasible method of survey data collection in a developing-country setting and whether it produces more valid reporting of sexual activity and related behaviors than traditional survey methods. The analysis is based on interviews with nearly 4,400 unmarried adolescents aged 15-21 in Nyeri, a rural district of Kenya that was selected because previous research had indicated a wide discrepancy in the reporting of premarital sexual behavior between boys and girls. The study was based on a quasi-experimental design …


Ghana: Community Workers Can Communicate Sti And Hiv/Aids Messages Effectively, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Ghana: Community Workers Can Communicate Sti And Hiv/Aids Messages Effectively, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

To support the Government of Ghana’s plan to expand community-based distribution (CBD) programs, the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) and the Population Council conducted a study in 1999 of the CBD programs of 13 nongovernmental agencies. The study also assessed in depth PPAG’s CBD program, which is the country’s largest and oldest. Data sources included interviews with 301 CBD agents, 27 supervisors, and 20 clinicians in rural and urban areas in 16 districts; observations of 51 PPAG agents interacting with 6 clients each; and 15 focus group discussions with community members, former CBD agents, and CBD clients. CBD programs …


Honduras: Postpartum And Postabortion Patients Want Family Planning, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Honduras: Postpartum And Postabortion Patients Want Family Planning, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Approximately half of deliveries in Honduras take place in hospitals, however hospitals rarely offer family planning (FP) services to postpartum or postabortion patients. In 1999, the Honduran Ministry of Health and the Population Council began a two-year project to expand access to FP counseling and methods following childbirth or treatment for incomplete abortion. The intervention built upon a previous Population Council project that showed that 30 percent of women hospitalized for a delivery or an abortion-related complication were interested in adopting an FP method prior to discharge. In all five hospitals participating in the study, delivery was the principal reason …


Ecuador: Utilice La Mercadotecnia Comercial Para Aumentar La Sustentabilidad, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Ecuador: Utilice La Mercadotecnia Comercial Para Aumentar La Sustentabilidad, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Muchas organizaciones no gubernamentales venden anticonceptivos a través de detallistas con el fin de generar ingresos y mejorar el acceso a estos productos. En 1998, el Centro Médico de Orientación y Planificación Familiar (CEMOPLAF) empleó a 25 agentes de ventas en 14 ciudades ecuatorianas; estos agentes vendieron productos, incluyendo métodos anticonceptivos y pruebas de embarazo de uso doméstico. Esos productos se vendieron a farmacias, médicos, otros distribuidores y a puntos de venta no tradicionales. La venta de anticonceptivos fue la principal fuente de ingresos de CEMOPLAF en 1997. Las ventas habían crecido rápidamente en el periodo 1996–97, pero los gerentes …


Honduras: Marketing New Reproductive Health Services Is Cost-Effective, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Honduras: Marketing New Reproductive Health Services Is Cost-Effective, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

In 1999, the Honduran Ministry of Health (MOH) revised national guidelines on women’s health services delivery to allow nurse auxiliaries to insert IUDs, give DMPA injections, and take Pap smears. This policy change addresses low contraceptive use among rural women and reflects findings from a 1998 Population Council study that showed that nurse auxiliaries can safely and successfully provide these services. Under the previous guidelines, rural women had limited access to long-term family planning methods. In 2000, the Population Council and the MOH assessed the effectiveness and cost of using a simple leaflet, distributed by nurse auxiliaries, to market the …


Honduras: Promover Nuevos Servicios De Salud Reproductiva Es Costo-Efectivo, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Honduras: Promover Nuevos Servicios De Salud Reproductiva Es Costo-Efectivo, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

En 1999, la Secretaría de Salud de Honduras (SSH) modificó las Normas de Atención Integral a la Mujer a fin de autorizar a las auxiliares de enfermería a prestar los servicios de inserción de DIU, aplicación del inyectable DMPA y toma de Papanicolaou. Este cambio en las normas aborda el problema de la baja prevalencia en el uso de anticonceptivos en áreas rurales. El cambio también refleja los hallazgos de un estudio anterior, realizado por el Population Council, que mostró que las auxiliares de enfermería pueden proporcionar estos servicios de manera segura y con buena calidad. Anteriormente, las mujeres en …


Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Dale Huntington, Mary Philip Sebastian, Nirmala Sevlam, Barbara Mensch, Sahar Hegazi Jan 2001

Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Dale Huntington, Mary Philip Sebastian, Nirmala Sevlam, Barbara Mensch, Sahar Hegazi

Reproductive Health

The Population Council's Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program and the Policy and Research Division are collaborating with CARE India to conduct an operations research study to examine the feasibility and impact of adding livelihood counseling and training, savings activities, and follow-up support to the ongoing reproductive health program for adolescents. The short-term objective is to foster the development of alternative socialization processes for adolescent girls that encourage positive sexual and reproductive health behaviors. As noted in this project update, the study will produce a replicable model for CARE India and other agencies to use in adding livelihood activities to adolescent …


Kenya: On-Site Antenatal Syphilis Services Are Cost-Effective, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Kenya: On-Site Antenatal Syphilis Services Are Cost-Effective, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

The World Health Organization has determined that screening and treating all pregnant women for syphilis is cost-effective if at least 0.1 percent of pregnant women have syphilis. To address the high rate of syphilis among pregnant women (6.5–7.3 percent), the Nairobi City Council (NCC) introduced maternal syphilis screening and management in its antenatal clinics in 1989. However, its centralized approach—taking collected blood samples to a central laboratory for testing—was inefficient. Therefore, in 1992 the NCC tested a decentralized approach in 9 of its 54 antenatal clinics, which featured on-site rapid testing of women by clinic staff and same-day treatment of …


Kenya Update: Frontiers Adolescent Reproductive Health Project, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Kenya Update: Frontiers Adolescent Reproductive Health Project, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

The Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Project (KARHP) was launched in October 1999 in Busia and Vihiga districts as a three-year operations research study to determine the feasibility, cost, and effectiveness of implementing systematic interventions that address the reproductive health (RH) needs of adolescents aged 10–19 years. This USAID-funded project is part of the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program’s global operations research. PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) is implementing the project, in collaboration with the Ministries of Health, Education, and Home Affairs, Heritage, and Sports. The objective of the study is to establish the effectiveness of interventions …


Zambia: Peer Educators Can Promote Safer Sex Behaviors, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Zambia: Peer Educators Can Promote Safer Sex Behaviors, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Zambian adolescents are at high risk of unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV infection due to early sexual initiation, low use of contraceptives and condoms, and other high-risk sexual behaviors. During 1996–1998, CARE Zambia and the Population Council conducted a study to test community-based approaches to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health. CARE Zambia talked to adolescents in four communities outside Lusaka. Using participatory learning and action techniques, researchers identified factors leading to high-risk sexual behaviors, including lack of economic, recreational, and educational opportunities for youth. This information helped to design the study. Two interventions—condom distribution by peer …


Zambia: Los Educadores Juveniles Pueden Promover Comportamientos Sexuales Más Seguros, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2001

Zambia: Los Educadores Juveniles Pueden Promover Comportamientos Sexuales Más Seguros, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Los adolescentes de Zambia corren un alto riesgo de embarazos no deseados, infecciones de transmisión sexual (ITS) e infección por el VIH debido a la iniciación sexual temprana, el bajo uso de anticonceptivos y condones, y otros comportamientos sexuales de alto riesgo. Durante 1996–98, CARE Zambia, con el apoyo del Population Council, realizó un estudio para probar estrategias comunitarias para mejorar la salud sexual y reproductiva de los adolescentes. CARE Zambia habló con los adolescentes de cuatro comunidades ubicadas fuera de Lusaka. Los investigadores identificaron, mediante técnicas de aprendizaje y acción participativos, un gran número de factores que producen comportamientos …


Hiv And Partner Violence: Implications For Hiv Voluntary Counseling And Testing Programs In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Suzanne Maman, Jessie K. Mbwambo, Margaret Hogan, Gad P. Kilonzo, Michael D. Sweat, Ellen Weiss Jan 2001

Hiv And Partner Violence: Implications For Hiv Voluntary Counseling And Testing Programs In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Suzanne Maman, Jessie K. Mbwambo, Margaret Hogan, Gad P. Kilonzo, Michael D. Sweat, Ellen Weiss

HIV and AIDS

This study explored the links between HIV infection, serostatus disclosure, and partner violence among women attending a VCT clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Men and women both perceive HIV testing as a way to plan for the future but are motivated to undergo testing by a number of different individual, relationship, and environmental factors. The women in our study described more barriers to HIV testing than did men, and women who have communicated with their partners about VCT before seeking services are significantly more likely to share their HIV test results than those who have not talked with their …


Influencing Reproductive Health Policy And Programs In The Philippines: Implementing An Advocacy Model For Utilization Of Operations Research, Saniata Masulit, Marilou P. Costello, Sahar Hegazi Jan 2001

Influencing Reproductive Health Policy And Programs In The Philippines: Implementing An Advocacy Model For Utilization Of Operations Research, Saniata Masulit, Marilou P. Costello, Sahar Hegazi

Reproductive Health

This project tested a model of operations research (OR) dissemination and utilization targeting program managers in Mindanao, the second largest island of the Philippines. The model combines capacity-building with the use of innovative advocacy approaches to disseminate OR results, by creating a network of policy champions who will advocate the use of OR findings through a variety of strategies after they have been provided with information on the advocacy issue and their presentation skills enhanced. The project demonstrated that this type of network could lead to significant program changes, but also revealed that there is no single strategy or approach …