Digital Commons Network^™

Effects And Cost Of Implementing A Gender-Sensitive Reproductive Health Program In Bolivia, Erica Palenque, Lizzy Montano, Ricardo Vernon, Fernando Gonzales Salguero, Patricia Riveros, John H. Bratt

Reproductive Health

The Integral Health Coordination Program (Programa de Coordinación en Salud Integral or PROCOSI), a network of 24 Bolivian NGOs, and the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) program evaluated the effects of interventions on clinic clients and their partners, and estimated the costs of incorporating a gender perspective into service delivery. Results show that sexual and reproductive health service organizations can implement action plans to change organizational policies and service delivery practices and to improve their infrastructure and equipment to make them more convenient for clients. The results further show that the intervention made modest but important changes in …

Awareness Of Heart Health Promotion And Heart Disease Prevention Programs Among African, African-American, And Caucasian American Women, Leenghoi Lower

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The aim of this study was to assess awareness of African, African-American, and Caucasian American women regarding heart health promotion and heart disease prevention programs. A survey consisting of 10 questions was given to 150 women from the Minnesota cities of Mankato, Minneapolis, and Saint Paul. Data was collected from 60 women. Results from this study indicated that 32.45% of women were aware of heart health promotion and heart disease prevention programs while 67.55% were not aware. An investigation was also carried out to determine knowledge of women regarding heart disease as the leading cause of morbidity in women. Results …

A Comparison Of Perceptions Of Students, Parents And School Personnel Regarding Bullying Behavior, Joan Buchar

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A COMPARISON OF PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS, PARENTS AND SCHOOL PERSONNEL REGARDING BULLYING BEHAVIOR Joan Buchar July 2, 2004 52 Pages Directed by: Richard W. Wilson, J. David Dunn, Lisa L. Lindley Department of Public Health Western Kentucky University Bullying in America's schools is a problem that is, at best, a nuisance and at worst, the suspected cause of school shootings. Bullying is a persistent, physical or psychological abuse of power. It takes many forms from physical assault and name calling to shunning, ridicule or exclusion. The victims are usually powerless to change conditions and often bullying is ignored or dismissed …

Attracting Youth To Voluntary Counseling And Testing Services In Uganda, Ann P. Mccauley, Milka Juma, Edward Kirumira, Nelson Kakande, Scott Geibel, C. Hitimana-Lukanika, Daniel Lukenge, Edith Mukisa

HIV and AIDS

Little is known about the use of voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) by youth, a group that comprises more than half of those newly infected with HIV. An exploratory study conducted in Nairobi, Kenya, and Kampala and Masaka in Uganda revealed that young people want information, confidentiality, low-cost HIV testing, and friendly, professional counseling. Two facilities in Kampala, the AIDS Information Center (AIC) and Naguru Teenage Information and Health Center (NTIHC), implemented new youth-oriented strategies to increase VCT utilization and satisfaction with services among young people. In 2001, AIC established a youth corner behind the regular adult clinic with a …

Access To Health, Natalie Huls

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Access to health is an often-overlooked aspect of the right to health. Without practical access, the right to health becomes an empty promise. International human rights conventions and declarations do not directly mention access to health, but the above comment on the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights does address the issue.

Transitions To Adulthood In The Context Of Aids In South Africa: The Impact Of Exposure To Life Skills Education On Adolescent Knowledge, Skills, And Behavior, The Transitions To Adulthood Study Team

HIV and AIDS

This study is a collaborative research project of the University of Natal-Durban, the Horizons program, and Tulane University. One objective of the study was to contribute to understanding the effectiveness of life skills education in changing behavior in South Africa. The findings indicate substantial short-to-medium-term effects of exposure to life skills education on certain areas of sexual and reproductive health-related knowledge, confidence to use condoms, and condom use behavior. Further research is needed to assess whether the observed effects are transitory or long-term in nature, whether the observed behavioral changes have an impact on HIV infection rates among youth, and …

Improving The Reproductive Health Of Youth In Mexico, Ricardo Vernon, Maricela Dura

Reproductive Health

This project assessed the impact of the Mexican Foundation for Family Planning’s Young People Program (YPP) on: a) the attitudes of community stakeholders toward informing youth about reproductive health issues and making reproductive health services available for sexually-active youth; b) the sexual and reproductive health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of adolescents; and c) the way that providers offer reproductive health services to adolescents. In addition, the project determined whether adding a school-based sex education component increased the impact of community interventions on the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of adolescents. Survey results showed that the reproductive health knowledge and attitudes of …

Improving The Reproductive Health Of Adolescents In Senegal, Nafissatou J. Diop, Heli Bathidja, Isseu Diop Toure, Thierno Dieng, Babacar Mane, Saumya Ramarao, Susan E. Adamchak, Emelita Wong, Adama Ndoye, Aboubacry Sy, Babacar Fall

Reproductive Health

In October 1999, the Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) program began a three-year collaboration with the World Health Organization, the Senegal Ministries of Health, Education, and Youth, the Center for Research and Training in Health and Population, and the Population Training Group to test interventions to improve the reproductive health of youth aged 10–19. The community-based intervention included sensitization on adolescent reproductive health for community and religious leaders, reaching parents through women’s groups, and education sessions led by peer educators using a life-skills curriculum. As part of the clinic-based intervention, providers and peer educators were trained to offer youth-friendly services. …

Development Of Dose Coefficients For Radionuclides Produced In Spallation Targets, Phillip W. Patton, Mark Rudin

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

Dose coefficients permit simple determination of radiation dose associated with various exposure scenarios, and ultimately permit radiation safety personnel to assess the health risks to workers in a nuclear facility. Specifically, radiation safety personnel use dose coefficients to determine the radiation dose incurred to a tissue or organ system from a given exposure. These parameters are often expressed in terms of Annual Limits on Intake (ALIs) and Derived Air Concentrations (DACs).

Results from this study will be used to produce ALIs and DACs for these rare radionuclides created by spallation target systems that are not included in Federal Guidance Report …

Using Incentives To Encourage Aids Programs And Policies In The Workplace: A Study Of Feasibility And Impact In Thailand, Simon Baker, Srisuman Sartsara, Patchara Rumakom, Philip Guest, Katie D. Schenk, Anthony Pramualratana, Suparat Suksakulwat, Surachai Panakitsuwan, Sikarat Moonmeung

HIV and AIDS

A recently completed Horizons study in Thailand examined the question of how to encourage the private sector to become actively involved in developing and improving workplace HIV/AIDS programs. The study found that the AIDS-response Standard Organization (ASO) initiative mobilized a moderate proportion of different types of companies to develop and improve HIV/AIDS workplace policies and programs. The data also reveal that companies that were eligible for the insurance discount made the greatest improvements. Thus a financial incentive combined with efforts to tap into managers’ willingness to respond to the epidemic can be important motivators for certain companies to improve their …

Challenges Faced By Households In Caring For Orphans And Vulnerable Children, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

South Africa has seen a rapid increase in HIV prevalence among the general population over the past ten years, from less than 1 percent in 1990 to 20 percent in 2001. As the HIV/AIDS epidemic increases, so do the number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). In 2002, an estimated five million people were living with HIV/AIDS. Because of the average 10-year period between infection and death, even if HIV prevalence declined rapidly, South Africa would still experience an increasing orphan burden for many years to come. By 2010, 16 percent of all children in South Africa will be orphans …

Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Programme For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Mary Philip Sebastian, Monica J. Grant, Barbara Mensch

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This project, whose collaborators included CARE, the Centre for Operations Research and Training, and the Population Council, tested the impact of economic skills training among girls in a slum in Allahabad, India. Recognizing the relative disadvantage of adolescent girls, the study aimed to build an evidence base for adolescent livelihoods programs. Participating girls and their parents welcomed the program, and the baseline survey clearly indicated the appropriateness of an intervention that addresses the capabilities and opportunities available to adolescent girls—including both vocational training and savings schemes. However, few girls turned their new skills into economic gain, in part because of …

Involving Men In Maternity Care In India, Leila Caleb-Varkey, Anurag Mishra, Anjana Das, Emma Ottolenghi, Dale Huntington, Susan E. Adamchak, M.E. Khan, Rick Homan

Reproductive Health

The Men in Maternity study investigated the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of a new, more comprehensive model of maternity care that encouraged husbands’ participation in their wives’ antenatal and postpartum care. The study was conducted in India, in collaboration with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Delhi Directorate at their primary health facilities called dispensaries. The study found that men accompanied their wives to the clinics and participated actively in the intervention. There were significant changes in family planning knowledge and behaviors of both men and women; although there was little acknowledgement of STI risk, knowledge and use of dual …

Opiniones Y Respuestas: Resultados De Una Encuesta De Opinión A Médicos Mexicanos Sobre El Aborto, Diana K. Lara, Lisa Goldman, Michelle Firestone

Reproductive Health

En México es incuestionable el papel crucial que los médicos juegan en la oferta de servicios seguros de aborto legal y en la atención a las mujeres con abortos en evolución, espontáneos o inducidos, y abortos complicados. Sin embargo, ningún estudio dirigido a personal de salud, y específicamente a médicos, se había realizado con una muestra representativa a nivel nacional. Una brecha de ese tipo en la literatura científica justificó la realización, entre julio y agosto de 2002, de una encuesta nacional en la cual se recopiló información sobre los conocimientos y las opiniones de médicos gíneco-obstetras, médicos familiares y …

The Implications Of Early Marriage For Hiv/Aids Policy, Judith Bruce, Shelley Clark

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief is based on a background paper prepared for the WHO/UNFPA/Population Council Technical Consultation on Married Adolescents, held in Geneva, Switzerland, December 9–12, 2003. The final paper is entitled “Including married adolescents in adolescent reproductive health and HIV/AIDS policy.” The consultation brought together experts from the United Nations, donors, and nongovernmental agencies to consider the evidence regarding married adolescent girls’ reproductive health, vulnerability to HIV infection, social and economic disadvantage, and rights. The relationships to major policy initiatives—including safe motherhood, HIV, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and reproductive rights—were explored, and emerging findings from the still relatively rare programs …

Including Married Adolescents In Adolescent Reproductive Health And Hiv/Aids Policy, Judith Bruce, Shelley Clark

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The majority of sexually active girls aged 15–19 in developing countries are married, and married adolescent girls tend to have higher rates of HIV infection than their sexually active, unmarried peers. Married adolescent girls represent a sizable fraction of adolescents at risk and experience some of the highest rates of HIV prevalence of any group. Nonetheless, married adolescents have been marginal in adolescent HIV/AIDS policies and programs and have not been the central subjects for programs aimed at adult married women. This paper offers a partial explanation for why married adolescents have so often been overlooked, the reasons why marriage …

Married Adolescents: An Overview, Nicole Haberland, Erica Chong, Hillary J. Bracken

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The nascent work reviewed in this compendium indicates that married girls experience significant social isolation and limited autonomy. Across the studies examined, on indicators of mobility, exposure to media, and social networks, married girls are consistently disadvantaged compared to their unmarried peers. Similarly, across studies, on most of the domains explored here (mobility, decision-making, control over economic resources, and possibly gender-based violence), married girls tend to be less empowered and more isolated than slightly older married females. There may also be health issues associated with marriage during adolescence. Married girls are frequently at a disadvantage in terms of reproductive health …

Married Adolescents: A Review Of Programmes, Auralice Graft, Nicole Haberland, Rachel E. Goldberg

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Historically, major adolescent and reproductive health initiatives have failed to explicitly consider the needs of married adolescents. This paper provides insight into what is being done—or not being done—to support married adolescent girls and boys, how these populations’ needs are being conceptualized, and the extent to which social context is factored into program design. Some early work with adolescent mothers (married and unmarried) is considered. The degree to which selected adolescent programs have been able to reach married girls with their activities is briefly examined. A few basic parameters of potential interventions for married adolescents are presented, including an inventory …

Sexual Coercion: Young Men's Experiences As Victims And Perpetrators, Deepika Ganju, William Finger, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, Vijaya Nidadavolu, K.G. Santhya, Iqbal Shah, Shyam Thapa, Ina Warriner

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Available evidence suggests that a considerable number of young people experience nonconsensual sex across the world, however research has mainly concentrated on the experiences of young girls and their perspectives of perpetrators of violence. Little is known about coercion among young males as victims or perpetrators. Case studies presented at an international consultative meeting in September 2003 in New Delhi, India, challenged the common assumption that only women are victims of violence, and shed light on the experiences of young males as victims of sexual coercion. These case studies also discussed the perspectives of young males as perpetrators of violence …

A World Apart: The Disadvantage And Social Isolation Of Married Adolescent Girls, Nicole Haberland, Erica Chong, Hillary J. Bracken

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief is based on a paper prepared for the WHO/UNFPA/Population Council Technical Consultation on Married Adolescents, held in Geneva, Switzerland, December 9–12, 2003. The consultation brought together experts from the United Nations, donors, and nongovernmental agencies to consider the evidence regarding married adolescent girls’ reproductive health, vulnerability to HIV infection, social and economic disadvantage, and rights. The relationships to major policy initiatives—including safe motherhood, HIV, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and reproductive rights—were explored, and emerging findings from the still relatively rare programs that are directed at this population were discussed. Despite the program attention and funding that have …

Too Young To Be A Mother: A Description Of The Lives Of Married Adolescent Girls In Egypt, Omaima El-Gibaly, Susan M. Lee

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Improving the status and health of women is high on the agenda of the Ministry of Health and Population in Egypt. Investing in the lives of women who marry in their teens has long-term benefits for these girls and their children. Valid information is needed, however, to address these girls’ special needs. Adolescent health is currently one of the major concerns of the Ministry of Health and Population, as is delaying early marriage and addressing the reproductive and other health needs of married girls. The Ministry was a fieldwork partner with the Population Council, providing data collection from primary health …

Socioeconomic Disadvantage And Unsafe Sexual Behaviors Among Young Women And Men In South Africa, Kelly Hallman

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This study investigates how relative socioeconomic status influences the sexual behaviors of young women and men aged 14–24 years in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa—an environment characterized by high HIV prevalence and high rates of poverty and inequality. Relative economic disadvantage is found to significantly increase the likelihood of a variety of unsafe sexual behaviors and experiences. Poorer young people, especially females, also have significantly lower access to media sources for family planning information. Without sufficient attention in the design and placement of HIV prevention programs to the economic and social conditions in which individuals live, the potential effectiveness of the …

Growing Up In Pakistan: The Separate Experiences Of Males And Females, Cynthia B. Lloyd, Monica J. Grant

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Population Council working paper examines gender differences in transitions to adulthood in Pakistan. The survey covers key aspects of adolescents’ lives, including the timing of several adult transitions and a detailed accounting of time use over the previous 24 hours. The results of the analysis confirm the fundamental importance of schooling to transitions to adulthood. Those without any schooling, which still includes 15 percent of young men and 46 percent of young women, assume the work burdens of adults prematurely and are deprived of the opportunity for learning in an institutional setting outside the family. Those who do attend …

Bridging The Gap Between Evidence-Based Innovation And National Health-Sector Reform In Ghana, John Koku Awoonor-Williams, Ellie S. Feinglass, Rachel Tobey, Maya Vaughan-Smith, Frank K. Nyonator, Tanya C. Jones, James F. Phillips

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Although experimental trials often identify optimal strategies for improving community health, transferring operational innovation from well-funded research programs to resource-constrained settings often languishes. Because research initiatives are based in institutions equipped with unique resources and staff capabilities, results are often dismissed by decisionmakers as irrelevant to large-scale operations and national health policy. This article describes an initiative undertaken in Nkwanta District, Ghana, focusing on this problem. The Nkwanta District initiative is a critical link between the experimental study conducted in Navrongo, Ghana, and a national effort to scale up the innovations developed in that study. A 2002 Nkwanta district-level survey …

The Experience Of Adolescence In Rural Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Tekle-Ab Mekbib, Negussie Simie, Tsehai Gulema

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This study aims to broaden the understanding of young lives in rural Ethiopia, specifically, Amhara Region. It finds that over half of the adolescents in the sample had never been to school. The most common reason for boys and girls not attending school was poverty, followed by early marriage for girls, and too many work responsibilities for boys. It finds that over half of the adolescents interviewed were illiterate. The study offers suggestions to address the programmatic needs of rural youth as well as neglected subgroups of adolescents.

Healing Wounds, Instilling Hope: The Tanzanian Partnership Against Obstetric Fistula, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Erica Chong

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This edition of Quality/Calidad/Qualité describes a partnership formed to combat obstetric fistula in Tanzania. The Bugando Medical Center, the Women’s Dignity Project, the Tanzania Midwives Association, and the government cooperated on an extensive program for surgical repair, prevention, and policy research and activities. Lessons learned: 1) Fistula programs need to address social as well as medical issues. 2) Most repairs are successful, making an enormous difference in women’s lives. 3) Relatively little funding is necessary to start up a fistula program. 4) Fistula programs are vehicles for broader conversations about gender and poverty.

Guérir Les Blessures, Faire Naître L’Espoir: Le Partenariat Tanzanien Contre La Fistule Obstétricale, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Erica Chong

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This edition of Quality/Calidad/Qualité describes a partnership formed to combat obstetric fistula in Tanzania. The Bugando Medical Center, the Women’s Dignity Project, the Tanzania Midwives Association, and the government cooperated on an extensive program for surgical repair, prevention, and policy research and activities. Lessons learned: 1) Fistula programs need to address social as well as medical issues. 2) Most repairs are successful, making an enormous difference in women’s lives. 3) Relatively little funding is necessary to start up a fistula program. 4) Fistula programs are vehicles for broader conversations about gender and poverty.

Linking Reproductive Health To Social Power: Community Health Workers In Belize And Pakistan, Susana Galdos, Lucella Campbell, Patricia Mohammed, Debbie Rogow, Saumya Ramarao, Ali M. Mir, Nicole Haberland

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This issue of Quality/Calidad/Qualité focuses on two traditional family planning programs that undertook projects to help women enlarge their zone of influence in both the private and public spheres. The first case study focuses on the Belize Family Life Association (BFLA), a nongovernmental organization in a small Caribbean country. The second case study recounts the experience of the Pakistani government, which has an enormous, but entrenched, target-oriented family planning program. Both programs began by recognizing that women’s lack of social power is a major obstacle to their being able to protect their own health. Both trained village workers to regard …

Adolescent Life In Low Income And Slum Areas Of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Tekle-Ab Mekbib, Negussie Simie, Tsehai Gulema

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Ethiopian Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has long considered attention to the lives of Ethiopian adolescents as a priority intervention area for research and programs in the country. This study conducted with the Population Council gives critical insight into the lives of adolescent girls and boys in the low income and slum areas of Addis Ababa. Research and programs for young people tend to homogenize the adolescent population into one genderless mass, with little regard to age or social context. Greater segmentation of the adolescent population is needed in the design and content of programs, as well as …

Popular Perceptions Of Emerging Influences On Mortality And Longevity In Bangladesh And West Bengal, Sajeda Amin, Alaka Malwade Basu

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Although new environmental and pathological threats to human survival and longevity have been documented, relatively little is known about how these threats are perceived in the popular imagination. During fieldwork in rural Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, researching the changing costs of and motivations for reproduction, the authors included survey questions on respondents’ perceptions of changing mortality. Child-mortality levels were perceived to have fallen drastically in recent times, but for the middle-aged and the elderly, the past was seen as a better time in terms of health and survival. The decline in adult health is attributed to environmental deterioration and …