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Full-Text Articles in Sociology

Clinic-Based Family Planning And Reproductive Health Services In Africa: Findings From Situation Analysis Studies, Kate Miller, Robert A. Miller, Ian Askew, Marjorie C. Horn, Lewis Ndhlovu Jan 1998

Clinic-Based Family Planning And Reproductive Health Services In Africa: Findings From Situation Analysis Studies, Kate Miller, Robert A. Miller, Ian Askew, Marjorie C. Horn, Lewis Ndhlovu

Reproductive Health

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported publication of “Clinic-Based Family Planning and Reproductive Health Services in Africa: Findings from Situation Analysis Studies.” The book reflects USAID's commitment to improving quality of reproductive health (RH) care and expanding access for underserved groups. Nowhere are these efforts more important than in Africa, where use of family planning (FP) and other measures of RH status are lowest among the world’s regions. Providing high-quality health services that meet couples' reproductive needs is a socially just and humane goal in itself. Moreover, higher-quality services can be expected to result in better outcomes …


Integrating Rti Service With Primary Health Care, Population Council Jan 1998

Integrating Rti Service With Primary Health Care, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The reproductive health (RH) movement worldwide has brought reproductive tract infections (RTIs) under sharp focus as an urgent health need of women. While RTIs are preventable or treatable, they are often the cause of infertility, ectopic pregnancy, cervical cancer, fetal loss, low birth-weight infants, infant blindness, and neonatal pneumonia. The adverse health effects of RTIs, particularly STIs, is much higher for women than men. Recent research has demonstrated that RTIs are closely linked to other areas of health care like family planning (FP), safe motherhood, child survival, and HIV prevention. Hence, each could significantly contribute to the reduction and control …


Comparing Quality Of Reproductive Health Services Before And After Clinic-Strengthening Activities: A Case Study In Rural Burkina Faso, Direction De La Santé Et De La Famille (Dsf), University Of Ouagadougou Demographic Research Unit (Uerd), Mwangaza, Population Council Jan 1998

Comparing Quality Of Reproductive Health Services Before And After Clinic-Strengthening Activities: A Case Study In Rural Burkina Faso, Direction De La Santé Et De La Famille (Dsf), University Of Ouagadougou Demographic Research Unit (Uerd), Mwangaza, Population Council

Reproductive Health

Much literature has been written about improving the quality of reproductive health (RH) care at service delivery points (SDPs) because women deserve quality services, and as a means of increasing use of family planning (FP) and other RH services. There are six fundamental dimensions of quality of care: choice of methods, information given to clients, technical competence, interpersonal relations, mechanisms to encourage continuity, and an appropriate constellation of services. Improving these elements is thought to increase client satisfaction, resulting in an increase in contraceptive use and eventually fertility decline. Existing research has not convincingly demonstrated this link between quality of …


Strengthening The Utilization Of Family Planning Operations Research: Findings From Case Studies In Africa, Julie Solo, Annamaria Cerulli, Robert A. Miller, Ian Askew, Elizabeth Pearlman Jan 1998

Strengthening The Utilization Of Family Planning Operations Research: Findings From Case Studies In Africa, Julie Solo, Annamaria Cerulli, Robert A. Miller, Ian Askew, Elizabeth Pearlman

Reproductive Health

The goal of undertaking operations research (OR) on family planning (FP) and reproductive health (RH) services is to strengthen the ability of programs and policies to maximize access to and quality of these services. This report addresses the need for a greater understanding of how information from OR studies is utilized. The Africa OR/TA Project II undertook a study to assess the extent to which information from OR studies conducted under the Africa OR/TA Project I (1988–1993) was utilized. The study also examined the factors influencing how study results were utilized. Case studies of several OR projects were undertaken to …


Increasing Demand For Reproductive Health Services In A Peruvian Clinic, Federico R. Leon, Anibal Velasquez, Lissette Jimenez, Alicia Calderon Jan 1998

Increasing Demand For Reproductive Health Services In A Peruvian Clinic, Federico R. Leon, Anibal Velasquez, Lissette Jimenez, Alicia Calderon

Reproductive Health

Over the past few years, well-established family planning (FP) organizations in developing countries, such as INPPARES, the IPPF affiliate in Peru, have strived to implement the Cairo Agenda. In the process of including reproductive health (RH) in FP care, they have dedicated human resources and infrastructure to provide RH services seldom offered in the past. The problem these organizations now face is to increase use of the newly available RH care. Currently, clients seeking FP services may leave clinics unaware of the other RH care provided. At a time when international donors are phasing out financial assistance, the partially idle …


Dual Protection In An Integrated Community-Based Program: A Case Study Of Tanzania Family Health/Ministry Of Health Project In Mbeya, Grace Mbekem, Jane Chege Jan 1998

Dual Protection In An Integrated Community-Based Program: A Case Study Of Tanzania Family Health/Ministry Of Health Project In Mbeya, Grace Mbekem, Jane Chege

Reproductive Health

One of the most pressing challenges for health programs in most sub-Saharan African countries is effectively addressing the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Recent evidence suggests that controlling sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) through undertaking preventive measures, early diagnosis, and treatment significantly slows the spread of HIV/AIDS. In regard to STI/HIV, Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and Family Planning (FP) clients are described as “low risk” groups. However, in a number of sub-Saharan African countries, the reported levels of STDs are significantly high enough to justify use of limited resources to target this group for STD services. MCH/FP programs have begun to …


Continuing The Strengthening Of Situation Analysis Methodology: An Africa-Focused Approach, Robert A. Miller Jan 1998

Continuing The Strengthening Of Situation Analysis Methodology: An Africa-Focused Approach, Robert A. Miller

Reproductive Health

In 1995, the Population Council’s Africa OR/TA Project II proposed a three-year subproject to organize and strengthen the Situation Analysis methodology that had been developed by the first Africa OR/TA Project in 1989. This subproject proposed to concentrate on three areas of continuing importance in the African context: wider use of the established database to explore program issues in reproductive health (RH); synthesis of the knowledge that has been collected about African family planning (FP) programs into a monograph analyzing program issues, patterns of services, and their implications; and continued assistance in training and data processing on field studies. These …


Factors Affecting The Outputs And Costs Of Community-Based Distribution Of Family Planning Services In Tanzania, Jane Chege, Naomi Rutenberg, Barbara Janowitz, Andrew Thompson Jan 1998

Factors Affecting The Outputs And Costs Of Community-Based Distribution Of Family Planning Services In Tanzania, Jane Chege, Naomi Rutenberg, Barbara Janowitz, Andrew Thompson

Reproductive Health

This study assesses the cost-effectiveness of reimbursement schemes for community-based distribution (CBD) programs in Tanzania, and answers whether agents who receive monetary incentives perform better and are more cost-effective than those that receive nonmonetary incentives. Fieldwork was undertaken in April and May 1997, and data forming the basis of the analysis was collected from four CBD programs. These programs vary in their remuneration schemes and status of their CBD agents, size, and geographical coverage; the range of activities undertaken by the agents; and supervision and management structures. As noted in this report, CBD agents who receive monetary remuneration see more …


Follow-Up Household Survey In Agra District, Jayanti Tuladhar, R.B. Gupta, V.S. Sridhar, Tilak Mukherjee Jan 1998

Follow-Up Household Survey In Agra District, Jayanti Tuladhar, R.B. Gupta, V.S. Sridhar, Tilak Mukherjee

Reproductive Health

This follow-up household survey in Agra District, India, was conducted with funding from USAID under the Population Council’s Asia and Near East Operations Research and Technical Assistance (ANE OR/TA) Project. The main objective of this study, as noted in this report, is to assess changes in the program indicators of family welfare activities, including some of the selected reproductive health indicators, from 1995 (before method-specific targets were withdrawn) and 1997 (30 months after targets were withdrawn). The study’s objectives are to detect changes in FP knowledge and use among currently married women in rural areas; detect changes in level of …


Follow-Up Household Survey In Sitapur District, Jayanti Tuladhar, R.B. Gupta, B.P. Thiagrajan, Tausif Alam Khan, Hemlata Sadhwani Jan 1998

Follow-Up Household Survey In Sitapur District, Jayanti Tuladhar, R.B. Gupta, B.P. Thiagrajan, Tausif Alam Khan, Hemlata Sadhwani

Reproductive Health

This follow-up household survey in Sitapur, India, was conducted with funding from USAID under the Population Council's Asia and Near East Operations Research and Technical Assistance (ANE OR/TA) Project. The main objective of the study, as noted in this report, is to assess changes in the program indicators of family welfare activities, including some of the selected reproductive health indicators, from 1994–95 (before the method-specific targets were withdrawn) and 1997 (30 months after the targets were withdrawn). The study has the following immediate objectives: detect changes in family planning (FP) knowledge and use among currently married women in rural areas; …


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 …


Technical Assistance To Enhance The Institutionalization Of Operations Research Within The Philippines Family Planning Program, Population Council Jan 1998

Technical Assistance To Enhance The Institutionalization Of Operations Research Within The Philippines Family Planning Program, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This technical assistance project supports the goal of the Asia Near East Operations Research and Technical Assistance (ANE OR/TA) project of helping strengthen family planning (FP)/reproductive health (RH) operations research (OR) capabilities in the Philippines. During the extension period of the ANE OR/TA project, four OR studies were implemented in the Philippines dealing with cross-cutting issues, including a study to assess the feasibility of integrating RTI management within FP/MCH programs; an intervention study dealing with improving quality of care via expanded FP counseling; an intervention to address high unmet need in Pangasinan Province; and an intervention study to increase male …


Using Cope To Improve Quality Of Care: The Experience Of The Family Planning Association Of Kenya, Janet Bradley, Judith Bruce, Soledad Diaz, Carlos Huezo, Kalimi Mworia Jan 1998

Using Cope To Improve Quality Of Care: The Experience Of The Family Planning Association Of Kenya, Janet Bradley, Judith Bruce, Soledad Diaz, Carlos Huezo, Kalimi Mworia

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This is the first of several editions of Quality/Calidad/Qualité that describe methodologies designed to assist family planning program managers and staff to self-assess the quality of services they are providing. These tools give program sponsors an opportunity to identify shortfalls in their service environment and propose solutions. This issue focuses on AVSC International's COPE (client-oriented, provider-efficient) methodology, a self-assessment tool that has now been used in 35 countries around the world. The report examines the experience of the National Family Planning Association of Kenya, provides some lessons learned, and demonstrates that these self-assessment exercises are, in fact, resulting in system-wide …


Fertility And Reproductive Preferences In Post-Transitional Societies, John Bongaarts Jan 1998

Fertility And Reproductive Preferences In Post-Transitional Societies, John Bongaarts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Conventional theories have little to say about the level at which fertility will stabilize at the end of the transition although it is often assumed that replacement fertility of about 2.1 births per woman will prevail in the long run. However, fertility has dropped below the replacement level in virtually every population that has moved through the demographic transition. If future fertility remains at these low levels populations will decline in size and age rapidly.This paper attempts to contribute to the understanding of levels and trends of post-transitional fertility by examining the causes of discrepancies between reproductive preferences and observed …