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Demography, Population, and Ecology

2004

English

Articles 1 - 30 of 45

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Effects Of Igss' Job Aids-Assisted Balanced Counseling Algorithms On Quality Of Care And Client Outcomes, Federico R. Leon, Carlos Brambila, Marisela De La Cruz, John H. Bratt, Gustavo Gutierrez, Veronica Davila, Carlo Boniato, Alex Rios Jan 2004

Effects Of Igss' Job Aids-Assisted Balanced Counseling Algorithms On Quality Of Care And Client Outcomes, Federico R. Leon, Carlos Brambila, Marisela De La Cruz, John H. Bratt, Gustavo Gutierrez, Veronica Davila, Carlo Boniato, Alex Rios

Reproductive Health

This study identified a need to improve the quality of care at the main maternity hospital of the Social Security Institute (IGSS) in Guatemala. Problems included very short counseling sessions, counseling not focused on clients’ needs, redundancy in the role of physicians and social workers as providers, skewed method mix, and low client return rate for method resupply. The intervention, using Balanced Counseling Algorithms, changed the counseling behavior of physicians and social workers and enhanced the quality of family planning care. The report includes recommendations for continuing these improvements: monitoring provider implementation of the job aids–assisted Balanced Counseling Algorithms, monitoring …


Improving Health Care Providers' Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices In Reproductive Health In Rural Romania, Elaine Claire Himelfarb Jan 2004

Improving Health Care Providers' Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices In Reproductive Health In Rural Romania, Elaine Claire Himelfarb

Reproductive Health

To support new health reform initiatives undertaken by the Romanian Ministry of Health and Family, and in support of the USAID Romania strategy for improving women’s reproductive health, Project Concern International/Romania (PCI/R) was awarded a two-year grant to implement a reproductive healthcare project, Healthy Parents-Healthy Children (HP-HC). This project trained family physicians and nurses in rural dispensaries in techniques to improve pre- and postnatal care, including training on modern contraception, cervical and breast cancer screening, treating menopause and its symptoms, and the encouragement of healthy lifestyles. The goal of this OR project was to test the efficacy of interventions to …


Improving Adolescent Reproductive Health In Bangladesh, Ismat Bhuiya, Ubaidur Rob, Asiful Haider Chowdhury, Laila Rahman, Nazmul Haque, Susan E. Adamchak, Rick Homan, M.E. Khan Jan 2004

Improving Adolescent Reproductive Health In Bangladesh, Ismat Bhuiya, Ubaidur Rob, Asiful Haider Chowdhury, Laila Rahman, Nazmul Haque, Susan E. Adamchak, Rick Homan, M.E. Khan

Reproductive Health

An operations research project was launched in northwestern Bangladesh with the objective of preventing adverse outcomes and promoting healthy lifestyles among adolescents by providing reproductive health education and services. The Population Council, in collaboration with the Urban Family Health Partnership and its three nongovernmental service delivery partners, worked in three urban areas of the country. On the basis of its findings, the study first recommends implementation of a combination of reproductive health interventions at the school, community, and health-facility levels, accompanied by community sensitization, to effectively respond to adolescent reproductive health needs. Second, information providers such as teachers and facilitators …


Scaling Up A Successful Counseling Model In Guatemala, Guatemalan Association Of Female Physicians (Agmm) Jan 2004

Scaling Up A Successful Counseling Model In Guatemala, Guatemalan Association Of Female Physicians (Agmm)

Reproductive Health

This project aimed to improve clients’ ability to make an informed choice of contraceptive methods by scaling up the use of the balanced counseling strategy in public service delivery institutions in Guatemala. To reach this end, the project provided technical assistance to Calidad en Salud (Quality in Health), the leading reproductive health project in Guatemala, to train service providers in public institutions about the counseling methodology. The project successfully introduced the balanced counseling strategy in Guatemala and, as a result, has improved the informed choice of contraceptives in the country.


Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Dale Huntington, Mary Philip Sebastian, Barbara Mensch, Wesley H. Clark, Aditya Narain Singh, Sohini Roychowdhury, M.E. Khan, Nirmala Selvam, Bella C. Patel, Sandhya Barge, Y.P. Gupta, Lovleen Johri, Gita Biswas, Manohar Shenoy Jan 2004

Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Dale Huntington, Mary Philip Sebastian, Barbara Mensch, Wesley H. Clark, Aditya Narain Singh, Sohini Roychowdhury, M.E. Khan, Nirmala Selvam, Bella C. Patel, Sandhya Barge, Y.P. Gupta, Lovleen Johri, Gita Biswas, Manohar Shenoy

Reproductive Health

The Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) program and Policy Research Division, in collaboration with CARE India, conducted an operations research study in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh to examine the feasibility and impact of adding livelihood counseling and training, savings formation activities, and follow-up support to an ongoing reproductive health program for adolescents. The short-term objective of the study was to foster development of alternative socialization processes for adolescent girls that encourage positive sexual and reproductive health behaviors. The study also aimed to produce a replicable model for CARE and other agencies to use in adding livelihood activities to adolescent …


Developing A Supervision Instrument For Postabortion Care In Guatemala, Bolivia And Mexico, Carlos Brambila Jan 2004

Developing A Supervision Instrument For Postabortion Care In Guatemala, Bolivia And Mexico, Carlos Brambila

Reproductive Health

The main objective of this project was to develop and test a supervision instrument and corresponding guidelines to collect information about postabortion care (PAC) services and to provide constructive feedback to service providers and program managers. The instrument and guidelines were designed to be used by technical supervisors to monitor performance and engage providers in continuous quality improvement of PAC services. As part of the project activities, existing postabortion care supervision practices were reviewed and analyzed, and, during a one-week workshop in December 2002, an international technical committee produced a first version of the instrument and guidelines. These materials were …


Involving Men In Maternity Care: South Africa, Busi Kunene, Mags Beksinska, Simphiwe Zondi, Nobuhle Mthembu, Saiqa Mullick, Emma Ottolenghi, Immo Kleinschmidt, Susan E. Adamchak, Barbara Janowitz, Carmen Cuthbertson Jan 2004

Involving Men In Maternity Care: South Africa, Busi Kunene, Mags Beksinska, Simphiwe Zondi, Nobuhle Mthembu, Saiqa Mullick, Emma Ottolenghi, Immo Kleinschmidt, Susan E. Adamchak, Barbara Janowitz, Carmen Cuthbertson

Reproductive Health

The Reproductive Health Research Unit University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, in partnership with the FRONTIERS Program of the Population Council, and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health conducted a three-year operations research study titled “Men in Maternity” in the Ethekwini district. The intervention was clinic-based and included two broad strategies: improving antenatal care services by strengthening the existing antenatal package and service monitoring and supervision; and introducing couple counseling by providing training to health providers, inviting partners of antenatal women to attend counseling twice during pregnancy and once post delivery, and providing information to couples with a new antenatal booklet. …


Evaluation Of Community Education Interventions In Sexual And Reproductive Health Services In Urban-Marginal Areas Of La Paz, Bolivia, Maria Dolores Castro Mantilla, Mariel Loayza Antezana Jan 2004

Evaluation Of Community Education Interventions In Sexual And Reproductive Health Services In Urban-Marginal Areas Of La Paz, Bolivia, Maria Dolores Castro Mantilla, Mariel Loayza Antezana

Reproductive Health

The purpose of this study was to strengthen community strategies to improve quality-of-care services first implemented as part of a Bolivian Ministry of Health and Prevention and World Health Organization (WHO) project in 1997–98. To reach groups that do not regularly attend health facilities and improve community demand for services, the Centro de Información y Desarrollo de la Mujer (Center for Information and Development of Women) implemented a community education intervention focusing on sexual and reproductive health and rights targeting adolescents, men, and women with older or no children. Results showed that the interventions improved access to and utilization of …


Socioeconomic Disadvantage And Unsafe Sexual Behaviors Among Young Women And Men In South Africa, Kelly Hallman Jan 2004

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 …


The Experience Of Adolescence In Rural Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Tekle-Ab Mekbib, Negussie Simie, Tsehai Gulema Jan 2004

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.


Youth Behavioral Risks And Psychosocial Resources In Peru's Alternative-Development Zones, Federico R. Leon, Mary L. Claux Jan 2004

Youth Behavioral Risks And Psychosocial Resources In Peru's Alternative-Development Zones, Federico R. Leon, Mary L. Claux

Reproductive Health

Alternative-development programs are being offered to the population of seven regions of central-eastern Peru involved in coca cropping. The youth of these regions are above the national average in risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, use of alcohol and drugs, and violence against women. This study sought to identify and describe protective factors expected to function as counterforces to such risks; develop reliable indicators and provide a baseline concerning the risk behaviors and protective factors; compare youth by gender, developmental stage, urbanization, and geography to determine whether segmented interventions are required; and recommend specific intervention strategies. The results 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 Jan 2004

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. …


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 Jan 2004

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 …


Introduction Of Emergency Contraception In Bangladesh: Using Operations Research For Policy Decisions, M.E. Khan, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Md. Moshiur Rahman Jan 2004

Introduction Of Emergency Contraception In Bangladesh: Using Operations Research For Policy Decisions, M.E. Khan, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Md. Moshiur Rahman

Reproductive Health

The Directorate of Family Planning, Bangladesh, the Population Council, Pathfinder International, and John Snow Incorporated collaborated to conduct this operations research study to assess the acceptability and feasibility of providing emergency contraception pills (ECP) as a backup support to existing family planning methods. The study demonstrated that all categories of health providers, including NGO outreach workers, could be effectively trained to provide ECP services. The study also demonstrated high acceptability of ECP and revealed that if used correctly, the success rate in avoiding unwanted pregnancy was extremely high. The positive findings of the study have helped the Ministry of Health …


Gender Differences In Time Use Among Adolescents In Developing Countries: Implications Of Rising School Enrollment Rates, Amanda Ritchie, Cynthia B. Lloyd, Monica J. Grant Jan 2004

Gender Differences In Time Use Among Adolescents In Developing Countries: Implications Of Rising School Enrollment Rates, Amanda Ritchie, Cynthia B. Lloyd, Monica J. Grant

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Researchers at the Population Council have been involved in the collection of data on time use from adolescents in India, Kenya, Pakistan, and South Africa. Three questions are addressed in this working paper: (1) How does time use change during the transition to adulthood? (2) Does gender role differentiation intensify during the transition? (3) Does school attendance attenuate gender differences? The data document differences in time use patterns between students and nonstudents. Although female adolescent students still work longer hours than male adolescent students, the gender division of labor that typically develops during adolescence is greatly attenuated among students when …


The Tostan Program: Evaluation Of A Community Based Education Program In Senegal, Nafissatou J. Diop, Modou Mbacke Faye, Amadou Moreau, Jacqueline Cabral, Helene Benga, Fatou Cisse, Babacar Mane, Inge Baumgarten, Molly Melching Jan 2004

The Tostan Program: Evaluation Of A Community Based Education Program In Senegal, Nafissatou J. Diop, Modou Mbacke Faye, Amadou Moreau, Jacqueline Cabral, Helene Benga, Fatou Cisse, Babacar Mane, Inge Baumgarten, Molly Melching

Reproductive Health

This operations research project evaluated the effect and impact of a basic education program, developed by TOSTAN, a nongovernmental organization based at Thiès, Senegal. The basic education program consisted of four modules: hygiene, problem-solving, women’s health, and human rights. Through these four themes, emphasis was placed on enabling the participants, who were mostly women, to analyze their own situation more effectively and thus find the best solutions for themselves. The GTZ Supra Regional Project for the Elimination of Female Genital Cutting funded implementation of the program in 90 villages in Kolda Region, and the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health …


Expanding The Care Continuum For Hiv/Aids: Bringing Carers Into Focus, Jessica Ogden, Simel Esim, Caren Grown Jan 2004

Expanding The Care Continuum For Hiv/Aids: Bringing Carers Into Focus, Jessica Ogden, Simel Esim, Caren Grown

HIV and AIDS

This review by the International Center for Research on Women explores the specific issues that cluster around the provision of care in the context of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. With the support of the Population Council’s Horizons program, this review applies the care economy lens to two key sectors, health and social protection, and finds that while important strides are being made, much more needs to be known and done to enable individuals, families, and households to survive in a world shaken by AIDS. The report documents the challenges faced by family care providers, who are primarily women and unlinked …


Succession Planning In Uganda: Early Outreach For Aids-Affected Children And Their Families, Horizons Program, Makerere University Department Of Sociology, Plan Uganda Jan 2004

Succession Planning In Uganda: Early Outreach For Aids-Affected Children And Their Families, Horizons Program, Makerere University Department Of Sociology, Plan Uganda

HIV and AIDS

This publication reports on an intervention study that evaluated the effectiveness of a succession planning (SP) program in Uganda. Unlike most other programs for AIDS-affected children, succession planning reaches children and their families while their HIV-positive parents are still living and in a position to plan for their children’s long-term well-being. Research carried out by the Department of Sociology at Makerere University (Kampala) and the Population Council Horizons program suggests that succession planning is a promising approach: despite AIDS-related stigma and cultural resistance to acknowledging illness and death, qualitative research indicates that the approach met with a high degree of …


Review Of Field Experiences: Integration Of Family Planning And Pmtct Services, Naomi Rutenberg, Carolyn Baek Jan 2004

Review Of Field Experiences: Integration Of Family Planning And Pmtct Services, Naomi Rutenberg, Carolyn Baek

HIV and AIDS

The Population Council and its research partners have been addressing several key questions about prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services and how well they function in field settings. The World Health Organization asked the Population Council to provide a review of field experiences regarding the integration of family planning and PMTCT services. This report provides conclusions and recommendations as input into a WHO/UNFPA-sponsored consultative meeting on "The linkages between reproductive health and HIV/AIDS: Family planning and prevention of mother-to-child transmission."


The Implications Of Early Marriage For Hiv/Aids Policy, Judith Bruce, Shelley Clark Jan 2004

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 …


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 Jan 2004

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 …


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 Jan 2004

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 …


Culturally Appropriate Information, Education And Communication Strategies For Improving Adolescent Reproductive Health In Cusco, Peru, Marco Florez-Arestegui Cornejo, Rosalinda Barreto Silva Jan 2004

Culturally Appropriate Information, Education And Communication Strategies For Improving Adolescent Reproductive Health In Cusco, Peru, Marco Florez-Arestegui Cornejo, Rosalinda Barreto Silva

Reproductive Health

The project Culturally Appropriate Information, Education and Communication Strategies for Improving Adolescent Reproductive Health in Cusco, Peru was designed in response to the evident lack of information and education on adolescent reproductive health in the country and, in particular, in the rural areas of the department of Cusco. Research revealed that a great need for sexual and reproductive health information still exists among indigenous adolescents in the rural areas of the region and that sexual education programs have to be sustainable. This report recommends that the Ministry of Education train more teachers in sexual and reproductive health topics, taking into …


Tulane University Final Report, M. Celeste Marin, Anastasia J. Gage, Suhaila Khan Jan 2004

Tulane University Final Report, M. Celeste Marin, Anastasia J. Gage, Suhaila Khan

Reproductive Health

The Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) program is a 10-year cooperative agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Population Council in partnership with Family Health International and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. This report summarizes the main activities undertaken by Tulane University under its subagreement with the Population Council on the FRONTIERS project from 1998–2004. As a partner, Tulane furthered progress toward all three of the program’s intermediate results: contributing innovative interventions tested to improve reproductive health through the small grants program; helping research staff take a more proactive approach to …


Safe Motherhood Demonstration Project, Western Province: Final Report, Charlotte E. Warren, Wilson Liambila Jan 2004

Safe Motherhood Demonstration Project, Western Province: Final Report, Charlotte E. Warren, Wilson Liambila

Reproductive Health

Since March 2000, the Population Council and the University of Nairobi have been assisting the Kenya Ministry of Health to implement Safe Motherhood activities in Western Kenya. The purpose of this project was to increase utilization of quality maternal services in the selected districts and, in an effort to improve pregnancy outcomes, focused on improving quality of antenatal care, essential obstetric care, clean and safe delivery, postpartum care, postabortion care, and management issues at all levels. In addition, the project focused on strengthening referral practices and addressing factors responsible for delays by pregnant women in making decisions on when, where, …


Experience From A Community-Based Education Program In Burkina Faso: The Tostan Program, Djingri Ouoba, Zakari Congo, Nafissatou J. Diop, Molly Melching, Baya Banza, Georges Guiella, Inge Baumgarten Jan 2004

Experience From A Community-Based Education Program In Burkina Faso: The Tostan Program, Djingri Ouoba, Zakari Congo, Nafissatou J. Diop, Molly Melching, Baya Banza, Georges Guiella, Inge Baumgarten

Reproductive Health

This study describes a project that tested the feasibility and effectiveness of replicating the village empowerment program (VEP) developed by the Senegalese NGO, TOSTAN, in Burkina Faso. Although originally developed for empowering women, the program implemented in Burkina Faso also involved men because of their key role in such decisions. Frontiers in Reproductive Health, with funding from USAID and the GTZ Supra Regional Project for the Elimination of FGC, supported the adaptation, implementation, and evaluation of the VEP model in 23 villages in the province of Bazega/Zoundwéogo. In the existing social climate among the Burkinabé, where there is widespread awareness …


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 Jan 2004

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 …


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 Jan 2004

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 …


Popular Perceptions Of Emerging Influences On Mortality And Longevity In Bangladesh And West Bengal, Sajeda Amin, Alaka Malwade Basu Jan 2004

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 …


Long-Range Trends In Adult Mortality: Models And Projection Methods, John Bongaarts Jan 2004

Long-Range Trends In Adult Mortality: Models And Projection Methods, John Bongaarts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Population Council working paper has two objectives: (1) to test a new version of the logistic model for the pattern of change over time in age-specific adult mortality rates, and (2) to develop a new method for projecting future trends in adult mortality. A test of the goodness-of-fit of the logistic model for the force of mortality indicates that its slope parameter is nearly constant over time. This finding suggests a variant of the model that is called the shifting logistic model. A new projection method based on the shifting mortality model is proposed and compared with the widely …