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Full-Text Articles in Women's Health

Family Planning Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Among Married Men And Women In Rural Areas Of Pakistan: Findings From A Qualitative Need Assessment Study, Ghulam Mustafa, Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Safdar Ali, Muhammad Ishaque, Wajahat Hussain, Aftab Ahmed, Erik Munroe Sep 2015

Family Planning Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Among Married Men And Women In Rural Areas Of Pakistan: Findings From A Qualitative Need Assessment Study, Ghulam Mustafa, Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Safdar Ali, Muhammad Ishaque, Wajahat Hussain, Aftab Ahmed, Erik Munroe

Community Health Sciences

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative assessment aimed at exploring knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding family planning and factors that influence the need for and use of modern contraceptives. A descriptive exploratory study was conducted with married women and men aged between 15 and 40. Overall, 24 focus group discussions were conducted with male and female participants in three provinces of Pakistan. The findings reveal that the majority knew about some modern contraceptive methods, but the overall contraceptive use was very low. Knowledge and use of any contraceptive method were particularly low. Reasons for not using family planning …


Assessing Predictors Of Contraceptive Use And Demand For Family Planning Services In Underserved Areas Of Punjab Province In Pakistan: Results Of A Cross-Sectional Baseline Survey, Syed Khurram Azmat, Moazzam Ali, Muhammad Ishaque, Ghulam Mustafa, Waqas Hameed, Omar Farooq Khan, Ghazunfer Abbas, Marleen Temmerman, Erik Munroe May 2015

Assessing Predictors Of Contraceptive Use And Demand For Family Planning Services In Underserved Areas Of Punjab Province In Pakistan: Results Of A Cross-Sectional Baseline Survey, Syed Khurram Azmat, Moazzam Ali, Muhammad Ishaque, Ghulam Mustafa, Waqas Hameed, Omar Farooq Khan, Ghazunfer Abbas, Marleen Temmerman, Erik Munroe

Community Health Sciences

Background: Although Pakistan was one of the first countries in Asia to launch national family planning programs, current modern contraceptive use stands at only 26% with a method mix skewed toward short-acting and permanent methods. As part of a multiyear operational research study, a baseline survey was conducted to understand the predictors of contraceptive use and demand for family planning services in underserved areas of Punjab province in Pakistan. This paper presents the baseline survey results; the outcomes of the intervention will be presented in a separate paper after the study has been completed.
Method: A cross-sectional baseline household survey …


Comparing Effectiveness Of Two Client Follow-Up Approaches In Sustaining The Use Of Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (Larc) Among The Underserved In Rural Punjab, Pakistan: A Study Protocol And Participants' Profile, Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Moazzam Ali, Muhammad Ishaque, Ghulam Mustafa, Omar Farooq Khan, Ghazunfer Abbas, Erik Munroe Mar 2015

Comparing Effectiveness Of Two Client Follow-Up Approaches In Sustaining The Use Of Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (Larc) Among The Underserved In Rural Punjab, Pakistan: A Study Protocol And Participants' Profile, Syed Khurram Azmat, Waqas Hameed, Moazzam Ali, Muhammad Ishaque, Ghulam Mustafa, Omar Farooq Khan, Ghazunfer Abbas, Erik Munroe

Community Health Sciences

Background: Pakistan observes a very high i.e. 37 percent modern contraceptive method related discontinuation rates within 12 months of their initiation. And almost 10 percent of these episodes of discontinuation happened due to the side effects or health concerns experienced by the women. Most importantly, it was noted that more than 12,000 first-level care facilities are located in the rural areas, including rural health centers, basic health units, and family welfare centers, but more than 30% of these facilities are nonfunctional. This paper presents a study protocol and participants' profiling of a prospective cohort follow-up to compare the effectiveness of …


Reducing Maternal And Child Mortality In Balochistan: The Untapped Potential Of Family Planning, Zeba Sathar, Maqsood Sadiq, Seemin Ashfaq Jan 2015

Reducing Maternal And Child Mortality In Balochistan: The Untapped Potential Of Family Planning, Zeba Sathar, Maqsood Sadiq, Seemin Ashfaq

Reproductive Health

Family planning (FP) is recognized as a necessary tool for faster fertility decline leading to accelerated economic development. However, its unique and potent role in preserving mother and child health is less well understood. This brief explains why FP must be prioritized in Balochistan, Pakistan’s health strategy as a key intervention for reducing maternal, infant, and under-five mortality in the province. By fulfilling the existing unmet need for birth spacing and limiting, it is possible to prevent 41 percent of maternal deaths, 35 percent of infant deaths, and 74 percent of young child deaths. FP’s wider health benefits include reduced …


Low Use And High Discontinuation Of Modern Contraceptives In Pakistan: Reasons And Policy Recommendations, Population Council Jan 2015

Low Use And High Discontinuation Of Modern Contraceptives In Pakistan: Reasons And Policy Recommendations, Population Council

Reproductive Health

According to the latest Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, 20 percent of married women of reproductive age have unmet need for contraception. Moreover, the country’s contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR), for modern and traditional methods combined, is only 35 percent—one of the lowest CPRs in the region. In addition to the problem of nonuse, the country is finding it difficult to keep current contraceptive users onboard: compared to other developing countries, Pakistan has the highest rate of discontinuation of contraceptive use. Thus, while there has been an overall increase in the use of contraceptives—modern and traditional—there is a large difference between …


Using The Community Informant Based (Made-In And Made-For) Methodology For Estimating Mmr In Punjab, Ali M. Mir, Saleem Shaikh, Mumraiz Khan, Irfan Masood Jan 2015

Using The Community Informant Based (Made-In And Made-For) Methodology For Estimating Mmr In Punjab, Ali M. Mir, Saleem Shaikh, Mumraiz Khan, Irfan Masood

Reproductive Health

Pakistan is one of the six countries that account for more than 50 percent of the world’s maternal deaths. Each year, there are nearly 14,000 pregnancy-related deaths. Although maternal mortality has fallen from 533 per 100,000 live births in 1990–91 to 276 in 2006–07, Pakistan has not been able to achieve its Millennium Development Goal target of reducing maternal mortality to 140 per 100,000 live births by 2015. Planners require a method that can provide reliable subnational estimates easily, cost effectively. and with greater regularity. The Research and Advocacy Fund offered support to the Government of Pakistan to assess the …


Gender-Biased Sex Selection In South Asia: The Situation And Promising Approaches To Restore Balance, Population Council Jan 2015

Gender-Biased Sex Selection In South Asia: The Situation And Promising Approaches To Restore Balance, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This project summary indicates that sex ratios at birth in South Asia vary considerably. While the sex ratios at birth in Bangladesh and Pakistan have been normal at the country level (103 and 102.5 males per 100 females, respectively), Nepal is showing signs of disturbed sex ratios at birth, with a sex ratio of 106 males per 100 females, and the situation in India is particularly adverse, with a sex ratio at birth of 110 males per 100 females. In all of these countries, preconditions for a deterioration of the sex ratio at birth are evident. Preferences are expressed for …


The Availability And Quality Of Family Planning Services Across Eight Districts In Pakistan: The Potential And The Constraints, Gul Rashida, Iram Kamran, Khan Muhammad, Rehan M. Niazi, Tahira Parveen Jan 2015

The Availability And Quality Of Family Planning Services Across Eight Districts In Pakistan: The Potential And The Constraints, Gul Rashida, Iram Kamran, Khan Muhammad, Rehan M. Niazi, Tahira Parveen

Reproductive Health

This report forms part of a multipronged investigation to determine why, despite evident unmet need for family planning, contraceptive prevalence especially for modern methods remains so low in Pakistan. The research, conducted by the Population Council with the support of the Research and Advocacy Fund, consists of four component studies: 1) review of relevant academic, program, and policy literature; 2) a qualitative study of perspectives of men, women, and service providers in the country on family planning; 3) a situation analysis of contraceptive quality, supply, and access factors at health facilities; and 4) an examination of supply issues affecting the …


Reducing Maternal And Child Mortality In Punjab: The Untapped Potential Of Family Planning, Zeba Sathar, Maqsood Sadiq, Seemin Ashfaq Jan 2015

Reducing Maternal And Child Mortality In Punjab: The Untapped Potential Of Family Planning, Zeba Sathar, Maqsood Sadiq, Seemin Ashfaq

Reproductive Health

Family planning (FP) is recognized as a necessary tool for faster fertility decline leading to accelerated economic development. However, its unique and potent role in preserving mother and child health is less well understood. This Population Council/Evidence Project policy brief explains why FP must be prioritized in Punjab’s health strategy as a key intervention for reducing maternal, infant, and under-five mortality in the province. By fulfilling the existing unmet need for birth spacing and limiting, it is possible to prevent 45 percent of maternal deaths, 26 percent of infant deaths, and 76 percent of young child deaths. FP’s wider health …


Reducing Maternal And Child Mortality In Sindh: The Untapped Potential Of Family Planning, Zeba Sathar, Maqsood Sadiq, Seemin Ashfaq Jan 2015

Reducing Maternal And Child Mortality In Sindh: The Untapped Potential Of Family Planning, Zeba Sathar, Maqsood Sadiq, Seemin Ashfaq

Reproductive Health

Family planning (FP) is recognized as a necessary tool for faster fertility decline leading to accelerated economic development. However, its unique and potent role in preserving mother and child health is less well understood. This Population Council/Evidence Project policy brief explains why FP must be prioritized in Sindh, Pakistan’s health strategy as a key intervention for reducing maternal, infant, and under-five mortality in the province. Evidence shows that FP is one of the most powerful tools at the government’s disposal for a rapid reduction in maternal, infant, and child mortality. FP’s wider health benefits include reduced anemia among women; lower …


Investigating The Low Patterns Of Modern Contraceptive Use In Pakistan, Iram Kamran, Zeba Tasneem, Tahira Parveen, Yasmin Zehra Zaidi Jan 2015

Investigating The Low Patterns Of Modern Contraceptive Use In Pakistan, Iram Kamran, Zeba Tasneem, Tahira Parveen, Yasmin Zehra Zaidi

Reproductive Health

This report documents the study “Investigating the Low Patterns of Modern Contraceptive Use in Pakistan” conducted by the Population Council Pakistan in 2014 as part of an extensive research project to determine why use of modern contraceptives in the country remains so low despite large unmet need. The family planning (FP) scenario in Pakistan has changed significantly in recent years, and it is now recognized that the reasons most often cited for unmet need require reappraisal, with qualitative research required for a deeper understanding of the attributes, experiences, reservations, and preferences that women, men, and service providers associate with specific …


Reducing Maternal And Child Mortality In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: The Untapped Potential Of Family Planning, Zeba Sathar, Maqsood Sadiq, Seemin Ashfaq Jan 2015

Reducing Maternal And Child Mortality In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: The Untapped Potential Of Family Planning, Zeba Sathar, Maqsood Sadiq, Seemin Ashfaq

Reproductive Health

Family Planning (FP) is recognized as a necessary tool for faster fertility decline leading to accelerated economic development. However, its unique and potent role in preserving mother and child health is less well understood. This Population Council/Evidence Project policy brief explains why family planning must be prioritized in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan’s health strategy as a key intervention for reducing maternal, infant, and under-five mortality in the province. By fulfilling the existing unmet need for birth spacing and limiting, it is possible to prevent 37 percent of maternal deaths and 57 percent of infant deaths. FP’s wider health benefits include reduced …


Reasons For Low Modern Contraceptive Use—Insights From Pakistan And Neighboring Countries, Batool Zaidi, Sabahat Hussain Jan 2015

Reasons For Low Modern Contraceptive Use—Insights From Pakistan And Neighboring Countries, Batool Zaidi, Sabahat Hussain

Reproductive Health

This literature review forms part of an extensive research project to determine why, despite evident demand, contraceptive prevalence remains so low in Pakistan, especially for modern methods. The research has been conducted by the Population Council with the support of the Research and Advocacy Fund (RAF) and comprises four component studies: review of relevant academic, program, and policy literature; qualitative study of perspectives of men, women, and service providers in the country on family planning; situation analysis of contraceptive quality, supply, and access factors at health facilities; and examination of supply-chain issues affecting the availability of contraceptives. This review presents …


Bridging Evidence, Policy, And Practice To Strengthen Health Systems For Improved Maternal And Newborn Health In Pakistan, Atsumi Hirose, Sarah Hall, Zahid Memon, Julia Hussein Jan 2015

Bridging Evidence, Policy, And Practice To Strengthen Health Systems For Improved Maternal And Newborn Health In Pakistan, Atsumi Hirose, Sarah Hall, Zahid Memon, Julia Hussein

Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

Policy and decision making should be based on evidence, but translating evidence into policy and practice is often sporadic and slow. It is recognised that the relationship between research and policy uptake is complex and that dissemination of research findings is necessary, but insufficient, for policy uptake. Political, social, and economic context, use of (credible) data and dialogues between and across networks of researchers and policymakers play important roles in evidence uptake. Advocacy is the process of mobilising political and public opinions to achieve specific aims and its role is crucial in mobilising key actors to push for policy uptake. …