Public Health Education and Promotion Commons^™

Decreasing Barriers For Teens: Evaluation Of A New Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Strategy In School-Based Clinics, Abbey C. Sidebottom, Amanda Birnbaum, Sarah S. Nafstad

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Sidebottom et al seek to evaluate the effects of the change in distribution systems on students' receipt of requested contraceptives and demand for contraceptive school-based clinics (SBC). The result of the study reveals that the average number of requests per student was higher under the voucher system, possibly as a consequence of expires vouchers resulting in repeated requests. The findings also suggest that SBCs could go a step further in reducing adolescents' barriers to accessing contraceptives by adopting an on-site direct delivery system..

School Functioning And Violent Behavior Among Young Adolescents: A Contextual Analysis, Amanda Birnbaum, Leslie A. Lytle, Peter J. Hannan, David M. Murray, Cheryl L. Perry, Jean L. Foster

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper examines associations between overall school functioning and the frequency of violent behaviors among young adolescents (ages 10–14). The sample included 16 middle schools participating in an unrelated intervention study (on nutrition) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A School Functioning Index developed to characterize schools’ overall stability, performance, and demographics was constructed using data from public archives and school administrator surveys. Data on violent behaviors and other variables were collected in student surveys in fall 1998 and spring 1999. We used multilevel modeling to assess the effect of school functioning on violent behavior after adjusting for known individual-level covariates of violent …

Availability And Acceptability Of Iuds In Guatemala, Carlos Brambila, Berta Taracena

Reproductive Health

The purpose of this study was to identify the reasons for the low use of the IUD in Guatemala and to explore the reasons why other reversible methods are selected more frequently than IUDs. The study aimed to determine the availability and acceptability of IUDs as a contraceptive option within the Ministry of Health, the Guatemalan Social Security Institute, and APROFAM. Results indicated that service providers do not take into consideration women’s reproductive needs or intentions when they provide family planning counseling. There are several demand-side factors that affect the use of the IUD, including lack of knowledge about the …

Associations Between Perceived Family Meal Environment And Parent Intake Of Fruit,Vegetables, And Fat, Kerri N. Boutelle, Amanda Birnbaum, Leslie Lytle, David M. Murray, Mary T. Story

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective

To describe the family mealtime environment and assess associations with adult fruit, vegetable, and fat intake.

Design

Telephone survey.

Participants

A convenience sample of 277 adults in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area were recruited through 4 schools. The sample was 85% female and 70% married. The mean number of children in the household was 2.6 (range 1 to 9).

Variables Measured

Adult fruit and vegetable intake, fat intake, and perceptions of the mealtime environment.

Analysis

Descriptive and mixed-model linear regression.

Results

Participants reported that the television was frequently on during dinner meals and almost one third felt that their family …

Renforcement Des Capacites Villageoises: Comment 23 Villages S'Initient Aux Droits Humains Et Abandonnent La Pratique De L'Excision Au Burkina Faso, Nafissatou J. Diop, Edmond Bagde, Djingri Ouoba, Molly Melching

Reproductive Health

This document is a summary of the process followed in implementing a community-based education program in Burkina Faso. The Population Council initiated a collaboration between two NGOs, Tostan in Senegal and Mwangaza Action in Burkina Faso, to replicate the program for improving women’s reproductive health and contributing to the end of female genital cutting (FGC). In Burkina Faso, the participants (men and women) held discussions to analyze the problems faced by their communities and to find appropriate solutions. Many positive changes occurred in the participating villages: the communities now promote reproductive health and human rights and work to improve public …

Policy And Program Implications Of The Matching Grants Program In The Philippines, Marilou Palabrica-Costello, Nimfa Ogena, Alejandro N. Herrin

Reproductive Health

In 1999, the Philippines Department of Health, with support from USAID and technical assistance from Management Sciences for Health (MSH), implemented the matching grants program (MGP) as a component of the local government performance program. The MGP aims to improve the capability of municipalities and component cities to expand service delivery, and to achieve significant increases in rates of fully immunized children, vitamin A supplementation, tetanus toxoid immunization for women, as well as in the use of family planning methods, especially modern methods. Upon the request of the USAID Mission, the Frontiers in Reproductive Health program worked closely with MSH …

Improving Quality Of Care For Family Planning Services In Uganda, Joel Okullo, Quinto Okello, Harriet Birungi, Ian Askew, Barbara Janowitz, Carmen Cuthbertson, Florence Ebanyat

Reproductive Health

The Regional Centre for Quality of Health Care at Makerere University, Uganda in collaboration with the Delivery of Improved Services for Health II Project, the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Population Council’s FRONTIERS Program, conducted an operations research project to help the MOH improve the quality of family planning services with the aim of helping couples better attain their reproductive goals. The study developed a package of interventions (the Yellow Star Programme—YSP) that sought to increase the readiness of clinics to offer basic family planning services, to improve provider motivation, and to empower clients to request quality services. The …

Replication Of The Tostan Programme In Burkina Faso: How 23 Villages Participated In A Human Rights-Based Education Programme And Abandoned The Practice Of Female Genital Cutting In Burkina Faso, Nafissatou J. Diop, Edmond Bagde, Djingri Ouoba, Molly Melching

Reproductive Health

This document is a summary of the process followed in implementing a community-based education program in Burkina Faso. The Population Council initiated a collaboration between two NGOs, Tostan in Senegal and Mwangaza Action in Burkina Faso, to replicate the program for improving women’s reproductive health and contributing to the end of female genital cutting (FGC). In Burkina Faso, the participants (men and women) held discussions to analyze the problems faced by their communities and to find appropriate solutions. Many positive changes occurred in the participating villages: the communities now promote reproductive health and human rights and work to improve public …

Taking Postabortion Care Services Where They Are Needed: An Operations Research Project Testing Pac Expansion In Rural Senegal, Engenderhealth

Reproductive Health

EngenderHealth, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, conducted an operations research project to examine the feasibility of introducing an integrated three-element model of postabortion care (PAC) services in secondary- and primary-level sites in two predominantly rural regions in Senegal. The intervention provided health personnel with: 1) training to improve clinical competence, counseling, infection prevention, and general care; 2) technical assistance, materials, and support to aid in overcoming challenges; and 3) ongoing monitoring and supervision. The project findings attest to the benefits of expanding existing PAC programs in rural settings and suggest that the advantages of such an expansion outweigh …

One-Year Client Impacts Of Quality Of Care Improvements Achieved In Peru, Federico R. Leon, Santiago Roca, Alex Rios, Adriana Zumaran, Ana Rosa Feijoo

Reproductive Health

This report presents a one-year assessment of quality-of-care improvements in Peru, following provider training on the job aids–assisted Balanced Counseling Strategy. Results showed significant enhancement of quality of care, an increase in session length, and improved client knowledge of the method chosen when this was an IUD or hormonal method. Correlational findings suggested that better impacts can be achieved in provincial primary health facilities than in larger settings like clinics or hospitals in capital cities. The results are important because: 1) other studies have failed to show significant impacts of controlled quality-of-care improvements on the use of contraception; and 2) …

Postabortion Family Planning Operations Research Study In Perm, Russia, Irina Savelieva, John M. Pile, Inna Sacci, Ratha Loganathan

Reproductive Health

EngenderHealth, the Population Council’s FRONTIERS program, and the Research Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Perinatology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, with support from the Perm Health Departments, undertook an operations research study to test models for increasing contraceptive use and reducing the repeat abortion rate among abortion clients in Perm, Russia. The study also assessed the direct and indirect costs of abortion and contraceptive use incurred by women in the year following their index abortion (the abortion which took place the day of entry into the study). The findings of the study were significant for the training interventions …

« Mon Père Pensait Autrement » : Des Garçons Nigérians Réfléchissent À L'Égalité Entre Les Sexes, Françoise Girard

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

L’une des leçons émergeant des programmes pour adolescents dans le monde entier concerne la nécessité de créer des cadres où les jeunes hommes peuvent remettre en question ce qui est souvent considéré comme incontestable, par exemple ce que signifie « être un homme ». Ce numéro décrit le programme nigérian « Conscientiser les adolescents de sexe masculin » (CMA, Conscientizing Male Adolescents). Contrairement à beaucoup de programmes visant les adolescents de sexe masculin, qui mettent l’accent sur des activités à court terme destinées à prévenir la maladie et les grossesses non désirées, le modèle proposé par CMA est un programme …

My Father Didn't Think This Way': Nigerian Boys Contemplate Gender Equality, Françoise Girard

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

One of the lessons emerging from adolescent programs around the world is the need to create settings where young men can question things that are often seen as unquestionable, such as what it means to be a man. This issue explores the Conscientizing Male Adolescents (CMA) program in Nigeria which, unlike many programs targeting adolescent boys that emphasize short-term activities aimed at preventing disease and unwanted pregnancy, is a long-term program focusing on sexism and critical-thinking skills. An initial evaluation indicates that such programs affirm that we do know how to engage young men, and that historically reinforced gender attitudes …

Reproductive Health Services In Kwazulu Natal, South Africa: A Situation Analysis Study Focusing On Hiv/Aids Services, Lewis Ndhlovu, Catherine Searle, Robert A. Miller, Andrew A. Fisher, Ester Snyman, Nancy L. Sloan

HIV and AIDS

This Horizons report examines the readiness of reproductive health services in South Africa, which are primarily geared to women, to deliver HIV and AIDS treatment, care, and prevention services. The goal of the study was to obtain information from a representative sample of provincial health care facilities offering reproductive health services in KwaZulu Natal to meet the growing demand for HIV/AIDS-related services. Ninety-eight hospitals, community health centers, and clinics participated in the situation analysis that identified gaps in service delivery and determined priorities for service integration. Results of the study were presented to a large audience of Department of Health, …

Microfinance And Households Coping With Hiv/Aids In Zimbabwe: An Exploratory Study, Carolyn Barnes, Erica Keogh, Nontokozo Nemarundwe, Loveness Nyikahadzoi, Ellen Weiss

HIV and AIDS

This study, conducted in Zimbabwe, sought to better understand the relationship between a microfinance program, Zambuko Trust, and how microentrepreneurs’ households cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS. The study examined how HIV/AIDS is affecting Zambuko’s operations and what microfinance institutions (MFIs) can do to lessen the impact of HIV/AIDS on their clients and operations. The findings indicate several small yet important ways that MFI programs help microentrepreneurs and their families respond to these impacts through access to credit and business management training. Participation in a microfinance program led to income smoothing and better financial management, which can help households mitigate …

Empowering Communities To Respond To Hiv/Aids: Ndola Demonstration Project On Maternal And Child Health: Operations Research Final Report, Hope Humana, Linkages, National Food And Nutrition Commission, Ndola District Health Management Team, Horizons Program, Zambia Integrated Health Project

HIV and AIDS

A pre–post intervention study conducted in Zambia by Horizons and local NGOs and governmental organizations demonstrated that HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) and infant feeding counseling (IFC) to mothers attending maternal and child health (MCH) clinics are vital components of any mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) reduction strategy, whether or not antiretrovirals (ARVs) are available. These interventions enable mothers to make informed and healthy decisions. Data from the Ndola Demonstration Project yielded encouraging results from efforts to improve the capacity of mothers to make informed decisions about their own health and the health of their infant. The interventions succeeded in raising …