Digital Commons Network^™

Priority Setting For Reproductive Health At The District Level In The Context Of Health Sector Reforms In Ghana, Harriet Birungi, Philomena Nyarko, Ian Askew, Ayorinde Ajayi, Gifty Addico, Edward Addai, Caroline Jehu-Appiah

Reproductive Health

This report outlines results of an in-depth assessment carried out in Ghana in order to provide a better understanding of key factors affecting reproductive health (RH) prioritization at the district level; and to make recommendations for policy dialogue, advocacy, resource allocation, and RH program implementation. In particular, the study examined whether or not districts are connecting to the central process of priority setting and reasons for not doing so. The report includes recommendations for bridging the policy implementation gap, including: ensuring that RH advocates participate in national policy dialogue; investing in systems development for procurement and delivery of drugs and …

Acceptability And Feasibility Of Introducing The Who Focused Antenatal Care Package In Ghana, Harriet Birungi, Philomena Nyarko, Margaret Armar-Klemesu, Daniel Arhinful, Sylvia Deganus, Henrietta Odoi-Agyarko, Gladys Brew

Reproductive Health

The main objective of this study, undertaken by Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and FRONTIERS, with USAID funding, was to examine the extent to which adaptation of the WHO focused antenatal care (ANC) package influenced quality of care received by pregnant women and its acceptability to both providers and clients. The results indicate that national-level support for focused ANC is high. The package appears to have been well accepted by both clients and providers because of its comprehensiveness and the individualized care. The process of stimulating changes in focused ANC service delivery …

Acceptability And Sustainability Of The Who Focused Antenatal Care Package In Kenya, Harriet Birungi, Washington Onyango-Ouma

Reproductive Health

The objectives of this study were to assess the Kenyan Ministry of Health’s capacity to adapt focused antenatal care (ANC) at the service delivery level so that it can be sustained, and to examine the extent to which adaptation of the package has increased coverage and quality of key ANC services and the overall quality of care received by pregnant women. The study showed that focused ANC is acceptable to both clients and providers and the approach has also received tremendous support from both the government and health development partners. However, the sustainability of the focused ANC package is contingent …

Cost Analysis Of Reproductive Health Services In Pcea Chogoria Hospital, Kenya, Nzoya Munguti, Moses Mokua, Rick Homan, Harriet Birungi

Reproductive Health

Presbyterian Church of East Africa Chogoria Hospital is a faith-based nongovernmental organization providing a wide range of healthcare services. The organization faces a number of challenges related to sustainability: declining donor support (especially for reproductive health services), low cost recovery levels, and increasing poverty levels among its clientele. In response to these concerns, a team from Chogoria Hospital attended a one-week workshop on financial sustainability held in Ghana and developed a small-scale operations research project to determine the cost of providing a selected number of reproductive health (RH) services and to evaluate their cost recovery levels. The study found that …

Correlates Of Inter-Birth Intervals: Implications Of Optimal Birth Spacing Strategies In Mozambique, Saumya Ramarao, John Townsend, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

The Optimal Birth Spacing Initiative (OBSI) was created under the auspices of USAID to place optimal birth spacing on the global leadership priority agenda. As part of this initiative, Advance Africa documented a pilot intervention to introduce the new spacing message in Mozambique. The FRONTIERS program of the Population Council collaborated with Advance Africa providing technical input, and assistance in the conceptualization of intervention design and evaluation. This paper was written to inform Advance Africa’s efforts in Mozambique and includes a short review of correlates of birth intervals; a presentation of results from analysis of Mozambique-DHS 1997 data that identify …

Developing Regional Capacity In Operations Research And Economic Evaluation In South Asia, M.E. Khan, Sohini Roychowdhury, James R. Foreit, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Geetha Vaithyanathan

Reproductive Health

This project contributed significantly to the capacity-building of regional professionals in planning, implementing, and monitoring of reproductive health programs in South Asia. During 2001–05, professionals from 17 countries received training in various aspects of reproductive health in nine workshops, including operations research, economic evaluation, qualitative research methods, proposal writing, and process documentation and enhancing the utilization of research findings in reproductive health programs. Forty-three percent of workshop participants were program managers from government health programs and nongovernmental organizations. Success in leveraging resources from other collaborating agencies and other donors helped the project to organize more workshops than originally planned and …

Cost Of Training Programs And Willingness To Pay For Training: An Application Of Break-Even Analysis In Uganda, Nicholas Mugumya, Juliana K. Nyombi, Michael Matsiko, Rick Homan, Harriet Birungi, Nzoya Munguti

Reproductive Health

The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) provides care and support to persons living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda. The organization has also developed a large number of training courses related to AIDS care and counseling that are offered to local and regional organizations. To explore alternatives for increasing the sustainability of the training center, a team from TASO attended a one-week workshop on financial sustainability and developed an operations research study to determine ways in which the training center could increase its revenues and reduce costs. The report finds that with updated fees as well as changes to the structure of some …

Operations Research To Improve Financial Sustainability In Three Bolivian Ngos, Martha Merida, Javier Arce, Douglas Moscoso, Carlo Ramirez, Patricia Riveros, John H. Bratt

Reproductive Health

The FRONTIERS project worked with three Bolivian NGOs (Prosalud, the Center for Research, Education and Services or CIES, and the Association of Rural Health Programs or APSAR) to improve their ability to conduct research on market analysis and cost recovery. Following a one-week workshop on conducting cost studies, staff from the three NGOs designed operations research studies to help with decisions on planning and cost recovery. Study findings showed that cost recovery varied from high (Prosalud, 83-109%) to low (CIES, 38-46%) and very low (APSAR, 10-25%), depending on the service. All three studies focused on alternative options to client fees, …

Sexual Harassment In The Workplace: Experiences Of Women In The Health Sector, Paramita Chaudhuri

Reproductive Health

The objective of this report is to explore sexual harassment of women in the health sector in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Specifically, it explores women’s perceptions of the occurrence of sexual harassment in hospital settings, and probes women’s own experiences of sexual harassment and incidents of sexual harassment in the hospital environment about which women are aware. The study also investigates the nature of action taken to seek redress, and the extent to which working women are aware of the complaint mechanism outlined by the Supreme Court. Findings confirm the persistence of sexual harassment in the workplace, the reluctance of …

Guide To A Successful Pregnancy: A Resource Manual For Pregnant And Parenting Young Women In Las Vegas, Nevada Institute For Children's Research And Policy Reports

Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy Reports

A Guide to a Successful Pregnancy.

• Are you Pregnant? Taking a pregnancy test
• First steps of Pregnancy: Options of pregnancy, health plans, obtaining medical care such as a doctor
• Months 1, 2, 3: Maintaining a healthy diet, what you should stay away from, exercise, symptoms of danger, and normal symptoms of pregnancy
• Months 4, 5, 6: Following a routine, classes available during pregnancy, normal pregnancy symptoms
• Months 7, 8, 9: Following a routine, normal pregnancy symptoms
• Labor and Delivery: Symptoms of labor, symptoms of danger
• Parenting: Normal symptoms after birth, Routine to follow to return to normal state, Breast feeding …

Lack Of Knowledge Of Mother-To-Child Transmission In Kenya Among Women Ages 15-49, Nisha Warrier

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The epidemic of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV/AIDS in resource-poor countries is dramatic; it is responsible for nearly 90% of childhood infections. The primary purpose of analysis was to understand the distribution of factors and their association with lack of knowledge of MTCT in Kenya. In parallel, another aim was to identify the relationship between media, particularly frequency of radio exposure, and lack of knowledge.Methods: This study used the 2003 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) collected for 8,195 women, ages 15-49. Descriptive analysis, univariate analysis, and logistic regression were completed on SPSS 14 software.Results: In the sample, 1151 …

Factors Associated With High Sexual Risk Behavior In Single Women, Thomas B. M. Leecost

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: This study was to identify factors associated with High Sexual Risk Behavior (HSRB) in single Afro American women seen in an Epidemiology/Sexual transmitted disease (EPID/STD) Clinic in Richmond, Virginia from January 2006 through April 2006.Method: Participants were 154 single women (no history of marriage) between the ages of 18-30 visiting the EPID/STD clinic for the first time.Demographic information was obtained from their records. A volunteer interview was given that contained 101 variables to evaluate for High Sexual Risk Behavior (HSRB). HSRB was defined to response 'yes' to the question, "During the past 3 months did you have sex with …

Determinants Of Dating Violence Among Youth In The U.S., Candace Hamm

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Physical Dating Violence (PDV) victimization is a major public health concern among adolescents in the United States. Research has shown that determinants of PDV victimization are different for male and female adolescents. However, inconsistent findings entail that further research needs to be done using a representative sample of male and female adolescents.Objective: To identify gender-specific determinants of PDV victimization utilizing a nationally representative sample of high school adolescents.Methods: Data from the 2005 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used for this analysis. The study population included 6.951 male and 6,807 female students in grades 9 through 12. Bivariate and …

Active Noise Control Of Stageloader Noise In Longwall Mining, Jeremy M. Slagley, Steven Guffey

Faculty Publications

With the large-scale mechanization inherent to the mining industry, noise-induced hearing loss remains a major concern. As part of on-going efforts to develop engineering controls to reduce noise levels in longwall mining, active noise control experiments were conducted above ground on a modified non-working stageloader. Recorded underground stageloader noise was broadcast into the above ground stageloader. The result was an average 7 dBA reduction when the active noise control was applied. These results suggest the possibility that active noise reduction can be a useful means to reduce stageloader noise if the control system can be made sufficiently rugged. The study …

Développement D'Un Outil D'Évaluation Des Mesures De Retenue Des Camions Aux Quais De Transbordement : Étude Préliminaire De L'Efficacité Des Cales De Roues Utilisées Pour Contrer Les Risques De Départ Inopiné Et De Glissement De La Semi-Remorque Lors Des Travaux De Transbordement, François Gauthier, Laurent Giraud, Réal Bourbonnière, Sylvain Bournival, Jean-Guy Richard, Renaud Daigle, Serge Massé

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Ce document est une annexe du rapport Développement d'un outil d'évaluation des mesures de retenue des camions aux quais de transbordement (R-381)

This document is an annex to the report Développement d'un outil d'évaluation des mesures de retenue des camions aux quais de transbordement (R-381)

Étude Descriptive Des Conditions D’Emploi, De Travail Et De Santé Et De Sécurité Du Travail Des Infirmières D’Agence Privée Dans Un Contexte De Pénurie De Main-D’Oeuvre, Esther Cloutier, Madeleine Bourdouxhe, Élise Ledoux, Hélène David, Isabelle Gagnon, François Ouellet

Rapports de recherche scientifique

On constate présentement une augmentation du recours au personnel infirmier d’agences privées par les gestionnaires du réseau public. Le contexte actuel de pénurie d’infirmières pourrait avoir des effets contradictoires sur leur SST. D’une part, ce pourrait être un avantage pour les infirmières d’agence en termes de conditions de travail (horaires, rémunération, choix de clientèle, charge de travail, etc.) mais, d’autre part, il est possible que le fait d’être toujours placées en situation de travail inconnu, sans formation préalable suffisante, joue un rôle négatif sur leur SST. L’objectif général de cette recherche est de circonscrire les conditions d’emploi, de travail et …

Développement D'Un Outil D'Évaluation Des Mesures De Retenue Des Camions Aux Quais De Transbordement : Résultats Des Analyses Amde, François Gauthier, Laurent Giraud, Réal Bourbonnière, Sylvain Bournival, Jean-Guy Richard, Renaud Daigle, Serge Massé

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Ce document est une annexe du rapport Développement d'un outil d'évaluation des mesures de retenue des camions aux quais de transbordement (R-381)

This document is an annex to the report Développement d'un outil d'évaluation des mesures de retenue des camions aux quais de transbordement (R-381)

Les Effets D'Une Intervention De Counseling Sur La Réadaptation De Travailleurs Accidentés À Risque De Chronicité : Résumé, Conrad Lecomte, Réginald Savard

Rapports de recherche scientifique

La version intégrale de se rapport est disponible à https://pharesst.irsst.qc.ca/rapports-scientifique/444/

Impact Of Lowering The Permissible Exposure Value For Formaldehyde: Health Impact Of An Occupational Exposure To Formaldehyde, Gaétan Carrier, Michèle Bouchard, Nolwenn Noisel, Yvette Bonvalot, Sandra Fradet

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Cliquez ici pour la version française de ce rapport

Ce document est une annexe du rapport Impacts d'un abaissement de la valeur d'exposition admissible au formaldéhyde (R-386)

This document is an annex to the report Impacts d'un abaissement de la valeur d'exposition admissible au formaldéhyde (R-386)

Mental Illness And Barriers To Health Care Access, Charlene Powell

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Statement of Problem

Access to health care in the United States is major concern, despite the fact that the country spends more per capita on health care than any other country. Individuals with mental illness may face greater access problems than the general population.

Research Question

• Does mental illness predict greater difficulties with access to health care?

Methodology

The 2004 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was used to examine the barriers to health care among individuals reporting a mental illness diagnosis. Nine questions relating to health access problems were drawn from the survey and combined into an access index. Multivariate …

Pastoral Care In Education, Lydia Hearn, Renee Campbell-Pope, Joanne House, Donna Cross

Research outputs pre 2011

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. During the past decade, there has been growing recognition the school environment plays a major role in the social and emotional competence and wellbeing of children. As a consequence, increasing national and international commitment has been directed towards the development of Health Promoting Schools2, with efforts being made to assess how curriculum and pastoral practice can best contribute to students’ social, emotional, physical and moral wellbeing. Within Australia, the National Safe Schools Framework3 has set as a key priority the importance of achieving a shared vision of physical and emotional safety and wellbeing for all students …

Process Evaluation Of A School- And Home-Based Sun Safety Education Intervention, Robyn S. Johnston

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Effective interventions that reduce children's sun exposure are likely to reduce melanoma incidence in the longer term. However, for such interventions to have an impact they must be adequately implemented. School-based sun protection programs have been evaluated to determine their effectiveness in changing behaviours, however, few studies have assessed the implementation of such programs, or the effect of their implementation on outcomes. Kidskin was a five-year intervention trial designed to assess the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention in reducing sun exposure in children in Perth, Western Australia. This thesis describes the process evaluation of the school- and home-based educational components …

Neck Loading In High Performance Combat Pilots During Aerial Combat Manoeuvres And Specific Neck Strengthening Exercises, Kevin J. Netto

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Background: Neck pain and injury is a common occurrence in high performance combat pilots (HPCP) around the world. The cause of this has been attributed to exposure to the unavoidable high mechanical loading related to the neck being positioned in non-neutral head postures whilst being exposed to moderate to high +Gz levels. Specific neck conditioning exercises have been proposed as being a possible method to decrease the incidence of neck pain and injury in this population. However, there has been sparsely published research examining the suitability of selected exercises for HPCP who participate in regular aerial combat manoeuvres (ACM).

Confined Space Fatalities, Ciaran Maccarron

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The extent of work related fatal accidents has been analysed statistically by agencies throughout the world. As a result of this analysis there is a wealth of information available categorised by industry types, sub-industry, occupation, sex, age, nature of occurrence, bodily location, agency of occurrence and mechanism of injury. It is however extremely difficult to identify information pertaining to confined space fatalities such as contributory factors, mechanisms of injury and other data of an epidemiological nature.

Controlling And Constraining The Participation Of The Hepatitis C-Affected Community In Australia: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The First National Hepatitis C Strategy And Selected News Media Texts, Judith D. Pugh

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The construction of texts that place hepatitis C-positive persons at social risk (Candlin, 1989, p. ix), informs this study of the ways in which public health policy makers and journalists in Australia communicate about hepatitis C. The institutions of public health and the news media form part of the cultural context within which persons construct their illness narratives. The privileged perspectives and framing of public health policy and news media discourses; the discursive practices associated with the institutions of public health and the media around hepatitis C and hepatitis C-positive persons, the “objects” of knowledge (Foucault, 1969/2002, p. 81); and …

Exploring Young People's Concepts Of Smoking Addiction: Perceived Opportunities To Try Smoking Without Becoming Addicted, Calvin Wang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study explores how young people conceptualise addiction to smoking and, also the relationship between young people's addiction beliefs and intentions to smoke cigarettes. Addiction to smoking is a major health problem, not just for adults, but also for young smokers, up to 60% of whom are dependent on nicotine. However, anti-smoking prevention efforts targeted at young people generally emphasise ill-health effects and little attention is paid to addiction education which is generally considered relevant only to adult smoking and cessation efforts. Perhaps as a consequence, young people appear to have many misconceptions and unrealistic ideas about addiction, and these …

Producing Safety: Evaluating Structuration Theory As A Framework For Exploring The Values In Action Within The Civil Construction Industry In Wa, Susanne Bahn, Llandis Barratt-Pugh

Research outputs pre 2011

In this paper we argue that occupational safety and health (OS&H) in the workplace is a production of values in action. We propose that such relations may best be explored through the structuration lens generated by Giddens (1984). We both use structuration theory to conceptualise the relations that produce safety and evaluate the utility of the theory as a research framework. We provide a detailed discussion of the context of, and rationale for a proposed study. The paper then analyses the components of structuration theory and frames the production of safety within these conceptual relations. The paper argues that the …

Analyse De L'Evolution De La Pratique De L'Excision Au Burkina Faso: L'Environment Institutionel, Politique Et Programmatique De La Lutte Contre La Pratique De L'Excision, Nafissatou J. Diop, Zakari Congo, Aina Ouedraogo, Alphosine Sawadogo, Lydia Saloucou, Ida Tamini

Reproductive Health

La présente analyse du projet Frontiers du Population Council fait un tour historique des événements majeurs de la lutte contre la pratique de l’excision au Burkina Faso avant d’aborder les conventions internationales auxquelles le pays a adhéré ainsi que les textes nationaux adoptés en ce qui concerne les droits de l’homme, spécifiquement le droit des femmes et des enfants. Elle analyse également l’application de la loi à travers l’évolution des cas de condamnation depuis l’adoption de la loi. Enfin, elle s’intéressera à quelques programmes d’intervention mis en place en identifiant les acquis et les limites. Ce travail fait partie d’une …

Baseline Household Survey: Dadu District, Pakistan Initiative For Mothers And Newborns (Paiman)

Reproductive Health

The Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN) is a five-year project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). PAIMAN is committed to assisting the Government of Pakistan in implementing the full spectrum of interventions necessary to address maternal and neonatal health issues. USAID has provided a grant to implement PAIMAN in ten districts of Pakistan’s four provinces. The goal of the project is to reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality. The project calls for a multipronged and integrated strategic approach combining individual health care with public health and community-based interventions. To ensure that success is properly …

Comparison Of Microbial Water Quality Parameters Of Four Geographically Similar Creeks In Northeast Tennessee, Kimberlee K. Hall, L. K. Gallagher, Brian G. Evanshen, Kurt J. Maier, Phillip R. Scheuerman

ETSU Faculty Works

Four creeks within the Watauga River watershed in Northeast Tennessee are routinely monitored for water quality assessments. To identify sources and monitor remediation, Sinking Creek, Cash Hollow Creek, Buffalo Creek and Boones Creek are monitored for chemical and microbial parameters. These parameters include phosphates, nitrates, BOD and fecal coliforms. Sinking Creek is a tributary of the Watauga River with 10 miles of impaired water. Cash Hollow Creek enters the Watauga River at river mile 11.4 with 3.4 miles of impaired water. Boones Creek contains 18.6 impaired miles while the status of water quality in Buffalo Creek is not yet determined. …