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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Training Service Providers On Emergency Contraception: Lessons Learned From An Or Study, M.E. Khan, Sharif M.I. Hossain Jan 2002

Training Service Providers On Emergency Contraception: Lessons Learned From An Or Study, M.E. Khan, Sharif M.I. Hossain

Reproductive Health

The Bangladesh Directorate of Family Planning in collaboration with the Population Council, Pathfinder International, and John Snow, Inc. is conducting an operations research project to test the feasibility of introducing emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) in the national family planning (FP) program and to answer operational questions on implementing the use of ECP efficiently. In Bangladesh, 1.2 million births are unplanned and the number of menstrual regulation/abortions is increasing. ECP could be a good reproductive health intervention for women since it gives them a chance to avoid unwanted pregnancy. ECP does not induce abortion. In fact, it helps in reducing the …


Hiv/Aids Prevention Guidance For Reproductive Health Professionals In Developing-Country Settings, Helen Epstein, Daniel Whelan, Janneke Van De Wijgert, Purnima Mane, Suman Mehta Jan 2002

Hiv/Aids Prevention Guidance For Reproductive Health Professionals In Developing-Country Settings, Helen Epstein, Daniel Whelan, Janneke Van De Wijgert, Purnima Mane, Suman Mehta

HIV and AIDS

While the integration of information, technologies, and services to respond to HIV/AIDS may seem closely related, there are a variety of issues that continue to create obstacles to integration. Among these are the stigmatizing nature of HIV infection and AIDS and discrimination faced by those who are infected or perceived to be infected; sexual practices and identities that remain socially unacceptable; gender roles and relations that make it difficult for women and men to access information, services, and technologies on HIV prevention; reluctance to recognize the special needs of young people; and barriers to service delivery created by broader economic, …


Best Practices In Cbd Programs In Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons Learned From Research And Evaluation, Frontiers In Reproductive Health, Family Health International, Advance Africa Jan 2002

Best Practices In Cbd Programs In Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons Learned From Research And Evaluation, Frontiers In Reproductive Health, Family Health International, Advance Africa

Reproductive Health

Community-based distribution (CBD) is the use of nonprofessional local distributors or agents to provide family planning (FP) methods—typically condoms, pills, and spermicides—and referral for other services. FP programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have implemented CBD programs for the past 30 years. There is a large body of evidence on the effectiveness, cost, and sustainability of CBD models. Most evidence supports using CBD where appropriate conditions exist. However, major changes have taken place in the context in which programs operate, including the onset of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, enhanced access to FP services, and increased demand for related reproductive health …


Zimbabwe: Cbd Roles Modified To Address Zimbabwe's Hiv/Aids Crisis, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2002

Zimbabwe: Cbd Roles Modified To Address Zimbabwe's Hiv/Aids Crisis, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

In September 1999, the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) and the Population Council initiated a one-year study to assess the performance of ZNFPC’s community-based distribution (CBD) program. A continual decline in the program’s productivity, combined with the expanding HIV/AIDS epidemic, indicated a need to reconsider ZNFPC’s objectives and revise the roles and responsibilities of its full-time, salaried CBD agents. The study examined the productivity, costs, and potential sustainability of the CBD program. Researchers gathered information by reviewing program documents through 1999. They also interviewed program managers, district and community nurses, and community leaders and CBD agents from eight regions. …


Baseline Survey Results: Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Mary Philip Sebastian, Dale Huntington, Wesley H. Clark, Barbara Mensch, Bela Patel Uttekar Jan 2002

Baseline Survey Results: Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Mary Philip Sebastian, Dale Huntington, Wesley H. Clark, Barbara Mensch, Bela Patel Uttekar

Reproductive Health

The Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program and Policy Research Division, in collaboration with CARE India, is conducting an operations research study of an intervention designed to improve the lives and prospects of young women in several urban slum areas of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. The project aims to take a preexisting reproductive health program for adolescents and test the feasibility and impact of adding four additional components to it: 1) counseling about savings formation and livelihoods, 2) training in vocational skills, 3) assistance in opening savings accounts, and 4) follow-up support. CARE India is managing the larger adolescent reproductive …


Philippines And Senegal: Services Improve Quality Of Care But Fail To Increase Fp Continuation, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2002

Philippines And Senegal: Services Improve Quality Of Care But Fail To Increase Fp Continuation, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

In 1999, Frontiers in Reproductive Health collaborated on studies on the impact of interventions to improve quality of care in the Philippines and Senegal. The two interventions were part of a multicountry Population Council study (also undertaken in Pakistan and Zambia) to test whether improving quality affects women’s contraceptive continuation. The Philippines study focused on training in family planning (FP), supportive supervision, and refresher courses to improve client-provider interaction. The Senegal study compared the impact of improved quality of care at five newly established “reference centers” with five clinics that served as controls. Data were gathered through analyses of quality …


Social Organization And Reproductive Behavior In Southern Ghana, Dominic K. Agyeman, John B. Casterline Jan 2002

Social Organization And Reproductive Behavior In Southern Ghana, Dominic K. Agyeman, John B. Casterline

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The objective of this research is to examine the association between social organization and reproductive behavior in one setting in sub-Saharan Africa. The particular focus is on the effects of social organization on the diffusion of innovative reproductive ideas and behaviors. Social diffusion is assumed to be strongly affected by patterns of informal social interaction, and these in turn are assumed to be determined in part by the social organization of local communities (gender relations, employment activity, voluntary organizations). The research draws on data collected in six communities in southern Ghana. The analysis reveals a weaker than expected association between …


Strategic Assessment Of Reproductive Health In The Dominican Republic, Suellen Miller, Argelia Tejada, Patricio Murgueytio Jan 2002

Strategic Assessment Of Reproductive Health In The Dominican Republic, Suellen Miller, Argelia Tejada, Patricio Murgueytio

Reproductive Health

This report documents the findings of a strategic assessment of reproductive health in the Dominican Republic (DR), carried out by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (SESPAS) and the Dominican Social Security Institute with support from the Population Council’s Expanding Contraceptive Choice (ECC) program and its Latin American and Caribbean regional offices, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The USAID/DR has been working closely with SESPAS to understand the major reproductive health problems in the DR. To better assist SESPAS and to plan the country’s Reproductive Health Strategy for 2002–2007, USAID asked the Population Council’s ECC …


Responding To Cairo: Case Studies Of Changing Practice In Reproductive Health And Family Planning, Nicole Haberland, Diana Measham Jan 2002

Responding To Cairo: Case Studies Of Changing Practice In Reproductive Health And Family Planning, Nicole Haberland, Diana Measham

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo codified views long advocated by women’s health activists the world over. The conference marked a turning point in the history of the population field—one that brought reproductive health and women’s rights to the forefront of the international population agenda. The 22 case studies in this book document changes in practice in reproductive health and family planning programs within 18 countries. The case studies demonstrate the important strides that were made in the years following the conference and point to many challenges that remain. The abolition or modification of population policies …


Frontiers Capacity Building: An Overview, James R. Foreit Jan 2002

Frontiers Capacity Building: An Overview, James R. Foreit

Reproductive Health

The Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program is a cooperative agreement with USAID to improve family planning and reproductive health service delivery through operations research (OR). Frontiers builds on more than 20 years of research to improve family planning service delivery programs. A major goal of Frontiers is to transfer skills in OR so that public and private agencies in developing countries can conduct OR and apply research findings to reproductive health programs and policies. OR addresses problems in operational effectiveness, access, quality, and efficiency by investigating facets of programs that managers can control and change. As concluded in …


Midline Survey Results: Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Mary Philip Sebastian, Dale Huntington, Barbara Mensch, Wesley H. Clark, Shahina Begum, Bela Patel Uttekar, Sohini Roychowdhury Jan 2002

Midline Survey Results: Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Mary Philip Sebastian, Dale Huntington, Barbara Mensch, Wesley H. Clark, Shahina Begum, Bela Patel Uttekar, Sohini Roychowdhury

Reproductive Health

The Population Council in collaboration with CARE India has been conducting an operations research (OR) study to investigate the impact of adding a livelihoods component to the Action for Slum Dwellers' Reproductive Health, Allahabad (ASRHA) Project in Uttar Pradesh run by CARE India. The ASRHA Project selected peer educators from the slums and trained them in providing reproductive health (RH) information, communication skills, and group formation techniques. After the peer educators completed training, they conducted group sessions about livelihoods and savings. RH sessions were held alongside vocational counseling sessions. Population Council staff provided vocational training courses, both in the slums …