Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Medicine and Health Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 121 - 141 of 141

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Women's Lives And Rapid Fertility Decline: Some Lessons From Bangladesh And Egypt, Sajeda Amin, Cynthia B. Lloyd Jan 1998

Women's Lives And Rapid Fertility Decline: Some Lessons From Bangladesh And Egypt, Sajeda Amin, Cynthia B. Lloyd

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In some of the more traditional parts of the world, fertility is falling steadily, sometimes rapidly, in environments where women’s lives remain severely constrained. The recent experiences of Bangladesh and Egypt, both predominantly Muslim countries, are illustrative in this regard. Since the late 1970s, rural and urban areas in both countries have experienced steady declines in fertility, with recent declines in rural Bangladesh similar to those in rural Egypt, despite lower levels of development and higher rates of poverty. This paper provides an in-depth exploration of the demographic transition in these two societies as seen through the dual lens of …


The Impact Of An Integrated Micro-Credit Programme On Women's Empowerment And Fertility Behavior In Rural Bangladesh, Fiona Steele, Sajeda Amin, Ruchira Tabassum Naved Jan 1998

The Impact Of An Integrated Micro-Credit Programme On Women's Empowerment And Fertility Behavior In Rural Bangladesh, Fiona Steele, Sajeda Amin, Ruchira Tabassum Naved

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This paper examines the impact of participation in women’s savings and credit groups organized by Save the Children USA on women’s empowerment, contraceptive use, and fertility in a rural area of Bangladesh. The data are drawn from a panel survey conducted in 1993, shortly before the groups were formed, and in 1995 after interventions began. This quasi-experimental design enables us to identify the characteristics of women who chose to join savings groups. The findings show that those who joined tend to more educated and more socially independent than are women who did not. Thus, to control for selection bias, preintervention …


The Impact Of Family Planning Household Service Delivery On Women's Status In Bangladesh, James F. Phillips, Mian Bazle Hossain Jan 1998

The Impact Of Family Planning Household Service Delivery On Women's Status In Bangladesh, James F. Phillips, Mian Bazle Hossain

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Since 1982, the Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning Extension Project has compiled longitudinal panel data on rural women’s contact with household service providers who visit homes to discuss family planning and offer services to women on request. This study tests the hypothesis that home-based services reinforce customs of purdah (female seclusion) by sustaining the dependency and isolation of the women served by the program. Results show that household services improve women’s status. This effect is largely attributable to the impact of outreach on effective fertility regulation. Findings do not support the hypothesis that household service delivery is detrimental …


Incentive Schemes For School Attendance In Rural Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin, Gilda Sedgh Jan 1998

Incentive Schemes For School Attendance In Rural Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin, Gilda Sedgh

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This paper examines the impact of two incentive schemes on school attendance in rural Bangladesh: a food-for-education program for poor primary school children and a female secondary school scholarship scheme. The data come from an in-depth village study, before and after the programs went into effect. Both programs provide direct financial incentives to families to send their children to and keep them in school. The data also allow for an assessment of an informal school program sponsored by BRAC, a national non-governmental institution, at the study sites. School enrollment in the target population increased more rapidly than would have been …


Ensuring Community Participation In Mch/Fp Activities: Lessons Learned From A Pilot Project, Abbas Bhuiya, Ubaidur Rob, Maruf Rabban Quaderi Jan 1998

Ensuring Community Participation In Mch/Fp Activities: Lessons Learned From A Pilot Project, Abbas Bhuiya, Ubaidur Rob, Maruf Rabban Quaderi

Reproductive Health

Family planning (FP) and maternal and child health (MCH) in Bangladesh have achieved commendable success in the recent past, mostly through a large-scale government service-delivery system supported by donors and nongovernmental organizations. Although encouraged by this success, there was concern about programmatic, financial, and social sustainability of the program, including quality of services. It is now believed that most of these concerns will be taken care of if effective community participation can be ensured. A pilot project was initiated in 1997 in Anowara, a low-FP-performing area in rural Chittagong, with assistance from the Population Council. The main objective of the …


Strengthening Rti/Std Services: Lessons Learned From A Pilot Project, Ismat Bhuiya, Ubaidur Rob Jan 1998

Strengthening Rti/Std Services: Lessons Learned From A Pilot Project, Ismat Bhuiya, Ubaidur Rob

Reproductive Health

The national family planning and maternal child health (FP-MCH) program in Bangladesh has raised FP acceptance among couples of reproductive age significantly. A major challenge still facing the program, however, is strengthening its reproductive health (RH) component. The Population Council launched a pilot project to examine the feasibility of strengthening comprehensive reproductive tract infection (RTI) and sexually transmitted disease (STD) services at the Health and Family Welfare Center level. The project had three phases. First, a needs assessment was conducted. Then the components of the intervention were identified, designed, and implemented. And at the third phase, an evaluation was carried …


Observations From A Study Tour Of Bangladesh And Indonesia On Their Family Welfare Programme, M.E. Khan, Jayanti Tuladhar, R.B. Gupta, Ubaidur Rob, Meiwita B. Iskandar Jan 1998

Observations From A Study Tour Of Bangladesh And Indonesia On Their Family Welfare Programme, M.E. Khan, Jayanti Tuladhar, R.B. Gupta, Ubaidur Rob, Meiwita B. Iskandar

Reproductive Health

Bangladesh has a successful family planning (FP) program and has succeeded in bringing about a demographic transition at a much faster rate than many of its neighboring countries. The contraceptive prevalence rate in Bangladesh increased from 3 percent in 1971 to 45 percent in 1993, and the fertility rate decreased from 7.0 to 3.4 births per woman during the same period. This reflects the effort that the Government of Bangladesh, with the help of international agencies, has made to educate couples about FP and increase access and choice of contraceptive methods, even in remote areas. Another predominantly Muslim country that …


Study Of Adolescents: Dynamics Of Perception, Attitude, Knowledge And Use Of Reproductive Health Care, Syed Jahangeer Haider, Shamsun Nehar Saleh, Nahid Kamal, Alan Gray Jan 1997

Study Of Adolescents: Dynamics Of Perception, Attitude, Knowledge And Use Of Reproductive Health Care, Syed Jahangeer Haider, Shamsun Nehar Saleh, Nahid Kamal, Alan Gray

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Knowledge, perceptions, and behavior related to reproductive health (RH) and sexual matters underlie all the conditions that family planning/maternal and child health (FP/MCH) programs address, thus these are important issues for FP researchers, population policymakers, and service providers. To achieve significant levels of fertility or mortality declines, participation of adolescents in reproductive health programs, including FP/MCH, is essential. Studies focusing on sexuality and attitudes of adolescents on RH, and the interacting influences of family, community, and the social sector developmental programs (health, FP/MCH, education, women’s development) would give useful revelations. This report presents findings from a study that was designed …


Transition To Adulthood Of Female Factory Workers: Some Evidence From Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin, Ian Diamond, Ruchira Tabassum Naved, Margaret Newby Jan 1997

Transition To Adulthood Of Female Factory Workers: Some Evidence From Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin, Ian Diamond, Ruchira Tabassum Naved, Margaret Newby

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The rapidly expanding sector of garment manufacturing for export is unusual for Bangladesh in that it employs young, unmarried women in large numbers. This paper examines data from a study on garment workers in Bangladesh to explore the implications of work for the early socialization of young women. For the first time young women are given an alternative to lives where they move directly from childhood into adulthood through early marriage and childbearing. Work creates a period of transition as contrasted with the abrupt assumption of adult roles at very young ages that marriage and childbearing mandate. It is argued …


Men And Family Planning In Bangladesh: A Review Of The Literature, Debbie Donahoe Jan 1996

Men And Family Planning In Bangladesh: A Review Of The Literature, Debbie Donahoe

Reproductive Health

This report reviews the literature on men and family planning (FP) in Bangladesh. A variety of topics are covered: male fertility preferences, opinions about male methods of contraception, family planning (FP) decision-making, and recent efforts to involve Bangladeshi men in FP programs. Men’s desired family size in Bangladesh is small; only one-third of respondents in the most recent DHS survey wanted more than two children. The same survey revealed that knowledge of at least one modern method of FP is practically universal and that attitudes toward contraception are overwhelmingly favorable. Only superficial information on the frequency and quality of communication …


Community Participation In Health, Family Planning And Development Activities: A Review Of International Experiences, Abbas Bhuiya, Fatima Yasmin, Farida Begum, Ubaidur Rob Jan 1996

Community Participation In Health, Family Planning And Development Activities: A Review Of International Experiences, Abbas Bhuiya, Fatima Yasmin, Farida Begum, Ubaidur Rob

Reproductive Health

The family planning (FP)/maternal and child health (MCH) program in Bangladesh has achieved success in the recent past, mostly through a large-scale government service-delivery system with support and cooperation from donors and nongovernmental organizations. There is concern about the financial and social sustainability of the program. Other issues include achievement of replacement-level fertility within a stipulated period and improvement of MCH-FP service quality. It is widely believed that most of the concerns will be taken care of with effective community participation. Before activating community initiatives, it is worth carrying out action research. A literature review was completed from July to …


Adolescent Family Life Education: Review Of Curriculum, Ladly Faiz, Hasina Banu, Devi Sharma Jan 1996

Adolescent Family Life Education: Review Of Curriculum, Ladly Faiz, Hasina Banu, Devi Sharma

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Adolescents, who are about 23 percent of the total population of Bangladesh, are entitled to grow up as healthy and responsible members of society. The Adolescent Life Education (ALE) program ensures the rights of this large section of the population and helps them develop as healthy and responsible members of their family and society. ALE is internationally known as Family Life Education, and its incorporation in Bangladesh’s education sphere is a recent phenomenon. Due to rapid social change worldwide, the young generation is presently facing an enormous problem coping with the erosion of traditional family, social life, and values. Adolescent …


Male Involvement In Family Planning: A Challenge For The National Programme Workshop, National Institute Of Population Research And Training, Deutsche Gesellschaft Fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (Gtz), Population Council, Avsc International Jan 1996

Male Involvement In Family Planning: A Challenge For The National Programme Workshop, National Institute Of Population Research And Training, Deutsche Gesellschaft Fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (Gtz), Population Council, Avsc International

Reproductive Health

The Bangladesh family planning (FP) program has achieved success in reducing fertility during the past decades, but male involvement is lagging behind. A two-day seminar on "Male Involvement in Family Planning: A Challenge for the National Programme" was held in Dhaka June 25–26, 1996. The objectives were to review research findings on methods currently used, determine male involvement policy and strategy, and formulate an action plan including IEC, counseling, and programmatic interventions. Speakers emphasized the need for more male involvement in FP and the prevailing misconceptions about male contraception that should be addressed with IEC programs. Participants felt that to …


Women's Status And Family Planning In Bangladesh: An Analysis Of Focus Group Data, Ruth Simmons, Rezina Mita Jan 1995

Women's Status And Family Planning In Bangladesh: An Analysis Of Focus Group Data, Ruth Simmons, Rezina Mita

Reproductive Health

This study involved secondary analysis of a substantial set of 1987–88 focus group data from Bangladesh’s Matlab Thana, where the Family Planning and Health Services Project was underway since 1977. The project was highly successful in increasing family planning (FP) acceptance and provided a rich research base for studying the diffusion of FP and its effects. The study involved 36 focus groups with fieldworkers, community women, husbands, educated women, and community leaders. The intent of the present study is to examine the effect of FP on women's status in Bangladesh, and to prepare papers on that topic. Following leads in …


Improving Community Based Family Planning Services And The Potential For Increasing Contraceptive Prevalence In Bangladesh, Amy Gale Dunston, Peter C. Miller Jan 1995

Improving Community Based Family Planning Services And The Potential For Increasing Contraceptive Prevalence In Bangladesh, Amy Gale Dunston, Peter C. Miller

Reproductive Health

This report contains descriptions of 13 family planning (FP) projects recently implemented in Bangladesh. The results in terms of the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) are analyzed to investigate the degree to which improved FP service delivery in Bangladesh can increase contraceptive use in the present status of demand, investigate the programmatic factors most associated with increased prevalence, and make these projects more widely known. Criteria for inclusion included coverage of a geographic area where household distribution of contraceptive supplies was available, and where at least one measurement of CPR has been made through credible survey efforts since July 1988. The …


Support For Research, Dissemination, Utilization, And Policy In Bangladesh, Ubaidur Rob, Donna Nager Jan 1995

Support For Research, Dissemination, Utilization, And Policy In Bangladesh, Ubaidur Rob, Donna Nager

Reproductive Health

Through the initiative of the Family Planning Fortnight: Meeting the Future Challenges, held in December 1993, the Government of Bangladesh made a policy statement about the critical importance of dealing with the nation's population problem. The Fortnight provided the strategic framework for developing actions to strengthen the National Family Planning Program that would meet the country's population challenges. To initiate rapid action, the Family Planning Fortnight Steering Committee, under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, formed a working group to prepare a report that would capitalize on all earlier efforts and lay out a plan …


An Investigation Of Alternative Approaches To Contraceptive Logistics Management At The Peripheral Level, Abu Yusuf Choudhury, Iqbal Ahammed, Amy Gale Dunston Jan 1995

An Investigation Of Alternative Approaches To Contraceptive Logistics Management At The Peripheral Level, Abu Yusuf Choudhury, Iqbal Ahammed, Amy Gale Dunston

Reproductive Health

In Bangladesh, contraceptive commodities are received at the peripheral level (thana and below) from thana stores on a monthly basis by using the “pull” system. It is expected that at any point in time a worker or a center at the peripheral level will have a two-to-three-month stock of contraceptives. Many surveys/studies have indicated, however, that stockouts of contraceptives are quite frequent. To investigate an improved system of contraceptive distribution, a three-cell experimental study was undertaken. In the first two cells, contraceptives were delivered following two methods of the “push” system, while in the third cell contraceptives were distributed following …


Population Policy In Bangladesh: A Review Of Ten Priority Areas, Barkat-E- Khuda, Abul Barkat, Javed Helali, Peter C. Miller, John G. Haaga Jan 1994

Population Policy In Bangladesh: A Review Of Ten Priority Areas, Barkat-E- Khuda, Abul Barkat, Javed Helali, Peter C. Miller, John G. Haaga

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

One of the most important factors contributing to the success of Bangladesh’s FP-MCH Program in recent years has been the strong support provided at the policy level by all the governments of Bangladesh since independence. This has given the government confidence and supported the development of a coherent set of policies at the implementation level. However, the success of policies at one stage in the development of a family planning (FP) program carries with it the need for changes in policy to support the program at the next stage. In Bangladesh, if the nation is to attain the demographic goals …


The Bangladesh Women's Health Coalition, Bonnie J. Kay, Adrienne Germain, Maggie Bangser Jan 1991

The Bangladesh Women's Health Coalition, Bonnie J. Kay, Adrienne Germain, Maggie Bangser

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Bangladesh Women's Health Coalition (BWHC) represents an important initiative in the movement toward more responsive modes of family planning delivery. In the context of a society where there are strict limits on the social role and physical mobility of most girls and women, BWHC has set itself the ambitious goal of enabling women—no matter what their income or education—to learn how to manage their own reproductive health and the health of their children in a way that enhances their sense of strength and competence. One of the real strengths of BWHC has been its willingness to learn from experience …


Developing Non-Craft Employment For Women In Bangladesh, Marty Chen Jan 1984

Developing Non-Craft Employment For Women In Bangladesh, Marty Chen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Too often when development planners or practitioners plan income-generating schemes for women they consider only handicrafts. While in some situations craft production may provide a secure source of income for women, in many cases it results in poor returns and proves more complicated an undertaking than expected. The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) is one agency that has developed a successful program of non-craft employment opportunities for women. Some 10,000 poor women have been engaged by BRAC in viable economic schemes: 9,000 in non-craft production. This issue of SEEDS reviews BRAC's experience in developing non-craft employment opportunities and participatory associations …


Creación De Empleos Distintos De Las Artesanías Para Las Mujeres De Bangladesh, Marty Chen Jan 1984

Creación De Empleos Distintos De Las Artesanías Para Las Mujeres De Bangladesh, Marty Chen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Con demasiada frecuencia los planificadores profesionales del desarrollo que diseñan proyectos destinados a producir ingresos para las mujeres, lo único que consideran son las artesanías. Si bien es cierto que en determinadas circunstancias éstas pueden proporcionarles una renta segura, en muchos otros casos las artesanías dan poco rendimiento y resultan ser una empresa mas complicada de lo que se esperaba. El Comité de Adelanto Rural de Bangladesh (BRAC—sigla de su nombre en inglés, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), es una organización que ha logrado desarrollar con éxito un programa de oportunidades de empleo femenino, distinto de las artesanías. De las 10.000 …