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Using Operations Research To Strengthen Programmes For Encouraging Abandonment Of Female Genital Cutting. Report Of A Consultative Meeting On Methodological Issues For Fgc Research, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2002

Using Operations Research To Strengthen Programmes For Encouraging Abandonment Of Female Genital Cutting. Report Of A Consultative Meeting On Methodological Issues For Fgc Research, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

The Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health program, with funding from USAID, organized a consultative meeting on the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in Nairobi, Kenya in April 2002. The meeting brought together a small group of researchers and program managers who are actively undertaking operations research and systematic program evaluations to review the state of the art concerning intervention research design and measurement issues. The deliberations at this workshop should stimulate interest both in undertaking operations research more routinely when programming anti-FGC activities and in furthering the development and application of research methods appropriate for this subject. Several …


Strategic Assessment Of Reproductive Health In The Dominican Republic, Suellen Miller, Argelia Tejada, Patricio Murgueytio Jan 2002

Strategic Assessment Of Reproductive Health In The Dominican Republic, Suellen Miller, Argelia Tejada, Patricio Murgueytio

Reproductive Health

This report documents the findings of a strategic assessment of reproductive health in the Dominican Republic (DR), carried out by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (SESPAS) and the Dominican Social Security Institute with support from the Population Council’s Expanding Contraceptive Choice (ECC) program and its Latin American and Caribbean regional offices, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The USAID/DR has been working closely with SESPAS to understand the major reproductive health problems in the DR. To better assist SESPAS and to plan the country’s Reproductive Health Strategy for 2002–2007, USAID asked the Population Council’s ECC …


Universal Sexuality Education In Mongolia: Educating Today To Protect Tomorrow, Delia Barcelona, Laura Laski, Caitlin Gerdts Jan 2002

Universal Sexuality Education In Mongolia: Educating Today To Protect Tomorrow, Delia Barcelona, Laura Laski, Caitlin Gerdts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This issue of Quality/Calidad/Qualité demonstrates how Mongolia developed a national plan to a provide a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health curriculum and media for adolescents. Among the lessons learned from the Mongolian experience were the following: 1) questions about unwanted sexual relations and sexual roles were the most pressing among adolescents, especially girls; 2) printed media are efficient and inexpensive; and 3) parental opposition was almost nonexistent in certain settings—often they expressed gratitude for this education.


Demographic Factors In East Asian Regional Integration, Geoffrey Mcnicoll Jan 2002

Demographic Factors In East Asian Regional Integration, Geoffrey Mcnicoll

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Remapping Asia project, to which this paper is a contribution, investigates broad spatial changes in the ways that East Asia’s political and social life are organized and economies operate. Such changes are attributable to planned action of governments, firms, and other organized groups and to the unorganized but in some measure predictable behavior of myriad families and individuals. The project’s particular interest is in processes of regionalization-both through the deliberate construction of political institutions and through the largely unplanned emergence of regional affiliations and identities. Demographic factors play a potentially significant part both in promoting and in impeding regional …


The End Of The Fertility Transition In The Developing World, John Bongaarts Jan 2002

The End Of The Fertility Transition In The Developing World, John Bongaarts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Fertility declines are now underway in many developing countries, and the focus of the debate about future fertility trends is shifting from the early to the later phases of the transition. This study examines patterns and determinants of fertility in the developing world using UN estimates of the total fertility rates for 143 developing countries from 1950 to 2000. The main objective is to identify regularities in the past record that may provide clues to future trends. Three key findings emerge from this analysis. First, the pace of fertility decline decelerates as countries reach the later stages of the transition. …


Institutional Support For A Program Of Activities Within The Pilot Health Project In The West Bank And Gaza, Health, Development, Information And Policy Institute Jan 2002

Institutional Support For A Program Of Activities Within The Pilot Health Project In The West Bank And Gaza, Health, Development, Information And Policy Institute

Reproductive Health

This document contains reports on three activities undertaken by the Pilot Health Project (PHP) in order to upgrade antenatal and postpartum services for Palestinian women. Specifically, it includes results of a survey and a comprehensive assessment of the antenatal and postpartum care services, including family planning, that are currently provided at the project clinics. The findings show that the shortage of care provided to women during the perinatal period could be partially overcome by conducting home visits to provide information on many reproductive health issues, to help women and their families make decisions regarding their future fertility, and to provide …


Upgrading The Capacity And Skills Of Service Providers Of The West Bank/Gaza Pilot Health Project, Nancy Ali, Laila Nawar, Dale Huntington, Tawhida Khalil Jan 2002

Upgrading The Capacity And Skills Of Service Providers Of The West Bank/Gaza Pilot Health Project, Nancy Ali, Laila Nawar, Dale Huntington, Tawhida Khalil

Reproductive Health

The Center for Development in Primary Health Care (CDPHC), in collaboration with the Population Council’s FRONTIERS program, developed a 19-month training program to strengthen and improve existing maternal and children’s health and family planning services and to promote the establishment of the standardized basic package of services at Pilot Health Project (PHP) clinic sites in the West Bank and Gaza. There were four key start-up activities, including: 1) an assessment of standards of care provided at PHP clinics; 2) a review of formative research; 3) the development of clinical training manuals and curricula; and 4) the development of behavior change …


Informed Consent: From Good Intentions To Sound Practices—A Report Of A Seminar, Susan Y. Wood, Barbara Friedland, C. Elizabeth Mcgrory Jan 2002

Informed Consent: From Good Intentions To Sound Practices—A Report Of A Seminar, Susan Y. Wood, Barbara Friedland, C. Elizabeth Mcgrory

Reproductive Health

This report is a summary of presentations and discussions at a seminar entitled “Informed Consent: From Good Intentions to Sound Practices.” This two-day seminar brought together 65 individuals from nine countries in May 2001 to discuss challenges of informed consent in research. The goal of the meeting was to put informed consent into historical and contemporary perspective and to explore ways that the barriers to effective implementation can be overcome. The underlying premise of the seminar was that, as the issues around doing ethical research in health will only grow in scope and complexity, even when those who sponsor and …


Childcare, Mothers' Work, And Earnings: Findings From The Urban Slums Of Guatemala City, Kelly Hallman, Agnes R. Quisumbing, Marie T. Ruel, Benedicte De La Briere Jan 2002

Childcare, Mothers' Work, And Earnings: Findings From The Urban Slums Of Guatemala City, Kelly Hallman, Agnes R. Quisumbing, Marie T. Ruel, Benedicte De La Briere

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This study investigates the effects of childcare on work and earnings of mothers in the slums of Guatemala City. Recognizing that mother’s work behavior may depend on the availability of childcare, the modeling approach allows participation in the labor force and use of formal daycare to be jointly determined. We also investigate whether a mother’s “status” within her household (as measured by the value of the assets she brought to her marriage) influences her entry into the labor force. Finally, we explore the impact of childcare prices on a mother’s earnings, conditional on her decision to work. The study uses …


Frontiers Capacity Building: An Overview, James R. Foreit Jan 2002

Frontiers Capacity Building: An Overview, James R. Foreit

Reproductive Health

The Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program is a cooperative agreement with USAID to improve family planning and reproductive health service delivery through operations research (OR). Frontiers builds on more than 20 years of research to improve family planning service delivery programs. A major goal of Frontiers is to transfer skills in OR so that public and private agencies in developing countries can conduct OR and apply research findings to reproductive health programs and policies. OR addresses problems in operational effectiveness, access, quality, and efficiency by investigating facets of programs that managers can control and change. As concluded in …


Midline Survey Results: Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Mary Philip Sebastian, Dale Huntington, Barbara Mensch, Wesley H. Clark, Shahina Begum, Bela Patel Uttekar, Sohini Roychowdhury Jan 2002

Midline Survey Results: Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Mary Philip Sebastian, Dale Huntington, Barbara Mensch, Wesley H. Clark, Shahina Begum, Bela Patel Uttekar, Sohini Roychowdhury

Reproductive Health

The Population Council in collaboration with CARE India has been conducting an operations research (OR) study to investigate the impact of adding a livelihoods component to the Action for Slum Dwellers' Reproductive Health, Allahabad (ASRHA) Project in Uttar Pradesh run by CARE India. The ASRHA Project selected peer educators from the slums and trained them in providing reproductive health (RH) information, communication skills, and group formation techniques. After the peer educators completed training, they conducted group sessions about livelihoods and savings. RH sessions were held alongside vocational counseling sessions. Population Council staff provided vocational training courses, both in the slums …


Men In Maternity Study: Men Matter, Anjana Das, Leila Caleb-Varkey, Anurag Mishra, Emma Ottolenghi, Dale Huntington Jan 2002

Men In Maternity Study: Men Matter, Anjana Das, Leila Caleb-Varkey, Anurag Mishra, Emma Ottolenghi, Dale Huntington

Reproductive Health

The Population Council and the Employees’ State Insurance Company are collaborating in a Men in Maternity (MiM) study in India to test a model of antenatal and postnatal services designed to help thousands of couples, especially men, redefine their roles in reproductive health and improve birth outcomes and maternal health. This is part of a global study that will assess the impact of male partnership in improving pregnancy outcomes and reproductive health, primarily by reducing the prevalence of STIs and increasing postpartum family planning use. Studies suggest that the lack of men’s participation in reproductive health actually undermines women’s health. …


South Asia: Clarify Goals And Expand The Reach Of Anti-Trafficking Programs, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2002

South Asia: Clarify Goals And Expand The Reach Of Anti-Trafficking Programs, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Each year, a significant number of adults and children become victims of human trafficking—forced transportation within or across country borders for exploitation in the form of forced sex, labor, or other services unwillingly given. In September 2001, the Population Council collaborated with the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health and the United Nations Development Fund for Women to conduct a consultative meeting on antitrafficking programs in South Asia. About 50 participants from national and international human rights and antitrafficking organizations attended the three-day meeting, held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The meeting had three objectives: clarifying the definition of trafficking; describing the …


Using Men As Community-Based Distributors Of Condoms, Cynthia P. Green, Stephanie Joyce, James R. Foreit Jan 2002

Using Men As Community-Based Distributors Of Condoms, Cynthia P. Green, Stephanie Joyce, James R. Foreit

Reproductive Health

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has led program managers to seek approaches to family planning (FP) that will also help combat HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). These approaches include use of simplified STI diagnosis and treatment protocols and promotion of male and female condoms. One aspect of condom promotion that is receiving increased attention is the idea of adding men to community-based distribution (CBD) programs. The male latex condom is the only contraceptive method that, when used correctly and consistently, provides protection against STIs, including HIV/AIDS. Currently, an estimated 6 to 9 billion male condoms are used worldwide annually. However, …


Peer Education As A Strategy To Increase Contraceptive Prevalence And Reduce The Rate Of Stis/Hiv Among Adolescents In Cameroon, Institut De Recherche Et Des Etudes Des Comportements (Iresco) Jan 2002

Peer Education As A Strategy To Increase Contraceptive Prevalence And Reduce The Rate Of Stis/Hiv Among Adolescents In Cameroon, Institut De Recherche Et Des Etudes Des Comportements (Iresco)

Reproductive Health

The Institute for Behavioral Studies and Research completed an operations research project entitled “Among Youth” targeting adolescents in the Mokolo neighborhood of Yaoundé, Cameroon. The results presented in this report show that adolescents in Mokolo, more often than their counterparts in the control site, adopted behavioral changes to prevent STI/HIV transmission and unwanted pregnancies as a result of the intervention. The report concludes that peer education combined with mass media campaigns form an important strategy for targeting youth with reproductive health and family planning messages and can help adolescents translate knowledge into healthy lifestyles. Integration of reproductive health messages into …


Increasing Client Participation In Family Planning Consultations: "Smart Patient" Coaching In Indonesia, Young Mi Ki, Fitri Putjuk, Endang Basuki, Adrienne Kols Jan 2002

Increasing Client Participation In Family Planning Consultations: "Smart Patient" Coaching In Indonesia, Young Mi Ki, Fitri Putjuk, Endang Basuki, Adrienne Kols

Reproductive Health

In Indonesia, paternalistic models of health care, social distance between clients and service providers, and cultural norms discourage family planning clients from playing an active role in consultations. This report discusses the interventions needed to encourage clients to communicate more openly and more vigorously with providers. The study confirmed that educational interventions directed to family planning clients can help them become effective partners in their own care, assuming they meet with receptive providers. Communication interventions like Smart Patient complement and reinforce provider interpersonal communication and counseling training by giving clients the confidence and the skills to take advantage of increased …