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Full-Text Articles in Public Health

Factsheet: Youth In India: Situation And Needs Study—Key Indicators, 2006-2007: Bihar, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Factsheet: Youth In India: Situation And Needs Study—Key Indicators, 2006-2007: Bihar, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This factsheet provides selected key indicators for the state of Bihar, drawn from the Youth in India: Situation and Needs Study (Youth Study) 2006–07. The main goal of the Youth Study was to provide information on the situation of youth in India and the life choices available to them on a broad range of sexual and reproductive health issues, including both behaviors and their antecedents, through a population-based study. Findings are expected to inform evidence-based programming to address the health and other needs of young people. The subnational Youth Study was undertaken in six states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, …


Factsheet: Youth In India: Situation And Needs—Key Indicators, 2006-2007: Andhra Pradesh, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Factsheet: Youth In India: Situation And Needs—Key Indicators, 2006-2007: Andhra Pradesh, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This factsheet provides selected key indicators for the state of Andhra Pradesh, drawn from the Youth in India: Situation and Needs Study (Youth Study) 2006–07. The main goal of the Youth Study was to provide information on the situation of youth in India and the life choices available to them on a broad range of sexual and reproductive health issues, including both behaviors and their antecedents, through a population-based study. Findings are expected to inform evidence-based programming to address the health and other needs of young people. The subnational Youth Study was undertaken in six states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, …


Youth In India: Situation And Needs 2006-2007, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Youth In India: Situation And Needs 2006-2007, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Youth in India: Situation and Needs Study (Youth Study) is the first-ever subnationally representative study conducted to identify key transitions experienced by married and unmarried youth in India. While today’s youth are healthier, more urbanized, and better educated than earlier generations, social and economic vulnerabilities persist. In the course of the transition to adulthood, young people face significant risks related to sexual and reproductive health, and many lack the knowledge and power to make informed sexual and reproductive choices. Several national policies and programs formulated since 2000 have underscored a commitment to addressing the multiple needs of this group …


Factsheet: Youth In India: Situation And Needs—Key Indicators, 2006-2007: Rajasthan, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Factsheet: Youth In India: Situation And Needs—Key Indicators, 2006-2007: Rajasthan, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This factsheet provides selected key indicators for the state of Rajasthan, drawn from the Youth in India: Situation and Needs Study (Youth Study) 2006–07. The main goal of the Youth Study was to provide information on the situation of youth in India and the life choices available to them on a broad range of sexual and reproductive health issues, including both behaviors and their antecedents, through a population-based study. Findings are expected to inform evidence-based programming to address the health and other needs of young people. The subnational Youth Study was undertaken in six states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, …


Marriage Considerations In Sending Girls To School In Bangladesh: Some Qualitative Evidence, Sajeda Amin, Lopita Huq Jan 2008

Marriage Considerations In Sending Girls To School In Bangladesh: Some Qualitative Evidence, Sajeda Amin, Lopita Huq

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This working paper analyzes parents’ decisions about girls’ schooling in the context of marriage through in-depth exploration of case studies in two rural areas of northern Bangladesh. The villages are sites of a long-term community study from 1991 and 2002, a time when significant changes were underway, partly as a result of new school incentive programs introduced in 1994. The data show that the rise of dowry demands, a relatively recent practice that is barely a generation old among Muslims in these areas, asserts an important and independent influence on marriage decisions and indirectly influences decisions about schooling. The influence …


Has The Hiv Epidemic Peaked?, John Bongaarts, Thomas Buettner, Gerhard Heilig, Francois Pelletier Jan 2008

Has The Hiv Epidemic Peaked?, John Bongaarts, Thomas Buettner, Gerhard Heilig, Francois Pelletier

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This working paper reviews the highly diverse regional and country patterns of HIV epidemics and discusses possible causes of the geographic variation in epidemic sizes. The main finding of this analysis is that the HIV epidemic reached a major turning point over the past decade. The peak years of HIV incidence rates are past for all regions, and the peaks of prevalence rates are mostly in the past except in Eastern Europe, where it is expected to peak in 2008. But owing in part to the life-prolonging effect of antiretroviral therapy and to sustained population growth, the absolute number of …


Fertility Transitions In Developing Countries: Progress Or Stagnation?, John Bongaarts Jan 2008

Fertility Transitions In Developing Countries: Progress Or Stagnation?, John Bongaarts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Over the past quarter century fertility has declined rapidly in many developing countries. Projections typically assume that this trend will continue until the replacement level is reached. However, recent evidence suggests that ongoing fertility declines may have slowed or stalled in a number of countries in transition. This Population Council study examines the pace of fertility change in developing countries that have multiple DHS surveys to determine whether ongoing transitions are decelerating or stalling. The main findings are that in sub-Saharan African countries, the average pace of decline in fertility is lower around 2000 than in the mid-1990s, and more …


Empowering Married Young Women And Improving Their Sexual And Reproductive Health: Effects Of The First-Time Parents Project, K.G. Santhya, Nicole Haberland, Arup Das, F. Ram, R.K. Sinha, Usha Ram, S.K. Mohanty Jan 2008

Empowering Married Young Women And Improving Their Sexual And Reproductive Health: Effects Of The First-Time Parents Project, K.G. Santhya, Nicole Haberland, Arup Das, F. Ram, R.K. Sinha, Usha Ram, S.K. Mohanty

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Population Council, in partnership with Child In Need Institute in Kolkata, Deepak Charitable Trust in Vadodara, and International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, initiated the First-time Parents Project in India to develop and test an integrated package of health and social interventions to improve married young women’s reproductive and sexual health knowledge and practices, enhance their ability to act in their own interest, and expand their social support networks. The project was formulated on the hypothesis that the periods immediately following marriage and surrounding the first pregnancy and birth offer a unique and powerful entry point for improving the …


How Early Marriage Compromises Girls' Lives, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

How Early Marriage Compromises Girls' Lives, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The policy and program discourse around early marriage has increased significantly over the last decade in India. For example, several national-level policies formulated since 2000, including the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, have advocated special program attention to delay age at marriage and to enforce existing laws against child marriage. Also, programmatically several initiatives have been launched to prevent early marriage. Despite these commitments, substantial proportions of girls continue to marry in adolescence. As recently as 2005–06, 47 percent of women aged 20–24 were married by 18 years nationally. While the situation of married young women in India has …


Romance And Sex Before Marriage Among Young Women And Men In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Romance And Sex Before Marriage Among Young Women And Men In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Premarital partnerships among youth are widely discouraged in India. Indeed, there is a widespread perception that youth do not find opportunities to mix and form romantic relationships, and that premarital sex is negligible. These kinds of perceptions are often cited to argue against the provision of sexuality or family life education and sexual and reproductive health services to unmarried young people. While several small studies have noted that sizable proportions of young people, particularly young men, are sexually active before marriage, the lack of rigorous evidence on the levels and patterns of intimate partnerships among youth continues to hamper the …


Parents Matter: How Supportive Parenting Influences The Behaviours Of Youth, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Parents Matter: How Supportive Parenting Influences The Behaviours Of Youth, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In India, policies and programs have increasingly recognized the need to actively engage parents in enabling adolescents to make safe and healthy transitions to adulthood. The design of appropriate strategies to engage parents is, however, hampered by the paucity of evidence available. Little is known about the socialization of daughters and sons, the extent to which socialization practices differ for daughters and sons, and the extent to and ways in which parents communicate sensitive matters to their adolescent children. Similarly, research is limited that sheds light on the role of socialization patterns and parental interaction in influencing young people’s schooling …


Identifying Sources Of Adolescent Exclusion Due To Violence: Participatory Mapping In South Africa, Nora Kenworthy, Kelly Hallman, Judith A. Diers Jan 2008

Identifying Sources Of Adolescent Exclusion Due To Violence: Participatory Mapping In South Africa, Nora Kenworthy, Kelly Hallman, Judith A. Diers

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Adolescents in post-apartheid South Africa lead lives that are filled with new opportunities yet overshadowed by rampant violence and crime. The presence of multiple and simultaneous forms of violence and the systemic lack of safety are experienced most acutely by adolescents—in particular, adolescent girls. High levels of violence and crime within the community are coupled with violence within the home and schools. The Population Council’s Transitions to Adulthood Program examines the particular factors that shape adolescents’ life chances and choices. In South Africa, Council researchers have studied how economic literacy and life skills education affect young men and women who …


Reforming Marriage Practices In Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin Jan 2008

Reforming Marriage Practices In Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Marriage customs in Bangladesh vary by region complicating national-level efforts to eliminate some of the more harmful practices, such as early marriage and dowry demands, that undermine the status of women. Efforts to reform marriage must consider economic concerns, social traditions, and social activism. Early marriage—often involving girls as young as 10—has been widely recognized in Bangladesh and elsewhere as a human rights offense. The current legal age at marriage is 18 for women and 21 for men, yet age restrictions are difficult to enforce because Bangladesh lacks an official birth registration system that can verify age. By studying the …


Sexuality Education For Youth In Maharashtra: Yes Or No?, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Sexuality Education For Youth In Maharashtra: Yes Or No?, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Serious reservations have been expressed in Maharashtra about the sexuality component of programs intended to build awareness of safe and healthy behaviors for school-going youth. This policy brief answers: Is there a need for sexuality education in school and out-of-school in Maharashtra? Are the concerns expressed supported by evidence? Evidence was obtained from the Youth in India: Situation and Needs study conducted in Maharashtra, which explored young people’s awareness of sexual and reproductive matters, sexual experiences of youth, parent–child communication on sexual and reproductive matters, and experience and acceptability of sexuality education programs. Parents were asked whether they had discussed …


Female-Initiated Prevention Methods (Fipm) In Kenya: Focus On The Female Condom, Martha Brady Jan 2008

Female-Initiated Prevention Methods (Fipm) In Kenya: Focus On The Female Condom, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

As noted in this brief, the female condom (FC) is the only female-initiated prevention product that provides simultaneous protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Although available for more than a decade, the FC remains limited in supply, not readily available, and underutilized. Obstacles to widespread availability and use are often generalized (e.g., high costs, resistance of partners, or unavailability). With the upcoming second generation of FCs—and ultimately microbicides—being added to female-initiated prevention methods, the need to overcome these impediments with concrete solutions is critical. Government and donor commitment to long-term, sustained supply and program support is essential. …


The Female Condom In Ghana: Exploring The Current State Of Affairs And Gauging Potential For Enhanced Promotion, Reshma Naik, Martha Brady Jan 2008

The Female Condom In Ghana: Exploring The Current State Of Affairs And Gauging Potential For Enhanced Promotion, Reshma Naik, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The female condom (FC) is the only safe and effective female-initiated method that provides simultaneous protection against unintended pregnancy as well as sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. An exploratory exercise was conducted by the Population Council to gain an understanding of the current and historical landscape of FC procurement, distribution, and programming in Ghana and to explore the viability of enhancing national FC promotion. The exercise revealed that a large-scale launch of the FC occurred in Ghana in 2000 and was largely successful in raising product awareness; however, uptake remained low. Momentum has waned since the initial launch and financial …


Education And Transition To Work Among Youth In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Education And Transition To Work Among Youth In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The extent to which India will be able to successfully harness its demographic dividend depends significantly on the situation of its youth, notably on the levels of education and market-oriented skills they attain. In many states, youth have made progress on these fronts. Youth in Maharashtra have made considerable strides in terms of educational attainment, yet it is not clear that they are prepared for the challenges they will face in a globalized world. Looking at the current educational and employment situation of youth in Maharashtra, this policy brief argues that significant investments in terms of appropriate policies and programs …


Young People's Participation In Civil Society And Political Life In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Young People's Participation In Civil Society And Political Life In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Youth participation in civil society and political life is increasingly recognized as an important development objective. The opportunities for participation that young people experience in their communities may influence their development and the types of transitions they make to adulthood. Moreover, behaviors and attitudes relating to community participation that individuals adopt as young people predict lifelong civic affiliations and perspectives. In India, the National Youth Policy 2003 has underscored the role of India’s youth in political decision-making, and has argued for greater representation of youth in appropriate bodies as well as more extensive youth participation in program design and implementation. …


Terms Of Marriage And Time-Use Patterns Of Young Wives: Evidence From Rural Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin, Luciana Suran Jan 2008

Terms Of Marriage And Time-Use Patterns Of Young Wives: Evidence From Rural Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin, Luciana Suran

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This working paper explores the relationship between marriage arrangements and daily activities of young married women, using detailed time-use data from an adolescent study in rural Bangladesh. Measures of marriage arrangement are payment of dowry and the relative wealth status of natal and marital families. Using multivariate regression analysis, the results show that women’s time spent in domestic work, socializing, and self-care is significantly associated with marriage arrangement variables. Those who paid dowry spent more time in domestic work and less time in self-care and socializing relative to those who did not pay dowry. These patterns of association are similar …


Multiple Dimensions Of Urban Well-Being: Evidence From India, S. Chandrasekhar, Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay Jan 2008

Multiple Dimensions Of Urban Well-Being: Evidence From India, S. Chandrasekhar, Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This working paper addresses differences in outcomes across households residing in slums and non-slum urban areas of India. We first established that if utility is defined as access to public goods such as water and sanitation, then residents in non-slum urban areas are unambiguously better off than slum dwellers. On the other hand, we found that the distribution of private goods (monthly per capita expenditure and per capita living area) in non-slum areas does not dominate the distribution of these goods in the slums, implying that non-slum residents are not unequivocally better off than slum residents. Since slums are on …


Early Marriage And Sexual And Reproductive Health Risks: Experiences Of Young Women And Men In Andhra Pradesh And Madhya Pradesh, India, K.G. Santhya, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, Saswata Ghosh Jan 2008

Early Marriage And Sexual And Reproductive Health Risks: Experiences Of Young Women And Men In Andhra Pradesh And Madhya Pradesh, India, K.G. Santhya, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, Saswata Ghosh

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Population Council undertook a large-scale study of married young women and men in two rural settings in India to assess their situation and vulnerability to HIV and other adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Findings of the study clearly underscore the vulnerability of married youth to STI/HIV as a result of risky sexual experiences before, within, and after marriage. Furthermore, there is a need to sensitize healthcare providers to the special needs and vulnerability of married young people and orient them to the need for developing appropriate strategies to reach diverse groups of young people, including married young women …


Youth In India: Situation And Needs 2006-2007, Executive Summary, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips), Population Council Jan 2008

Youth In India: Situation And Needs 2006-2007, Executive Summary, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips), Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This executive summary presents, in brief, findings on the situation of youth in Maharashtra, part of a subnational study undertaken by the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, and the Population Council, New Delhi, as part of a project to collect information on key transitions experienced by youth in India. Transitions include those related to education, workforce participation, sexual activity, marriage, health and civic participation, the magnitude and patterns of young people’s sexual and reproductive practices before, within, and outside of marriage, as well as related knowledge, decision-making, and attitudes. The project was implemented in six states of India, namely, …


Evaluation Of The Long-Term Impact Of The Tostan Programme On The Abandonment Of Fgm/C And Early Marriage: Results From A Qualitative Study In Senegal, Nafissatou J. Diop, Amadou Moreau, Helene Benga Jan 2008

Evaluation Of The Long-Term Impact Of The Tostan Programme On The Abandonment Of Fgm/C And Early Marriage: Results From A Qualitative Study In Senegal, Nafissatou J. Diop, Amadou Moreau, Helene Benga

Reproductive Health

In 1998–99, a village empowerment program was implemented in the Thiès/Fatick and Kolda regions of Senegal by the nongovernmental organization Tostan, to mobilize communities to hold public declarations in support of abandoning harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage. The information presented in this report indicates that many did end the practices following a public declaration, however, the lack of follow-up in the field and the absence of support mechanisms pose a large obstacle. Nevertheless, the program achieved significant results: knowledge of life skills resulting in positive changes and a shift in the perception of FGM/C …


Analysis Of The Evolution Of The Practice Of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Burkina Faso, Nafissatou J. Diop, Zakari Congo, Aina Ouedraogo, Alphosine Sawadogo, Lydia Saloucou, Ida Tamini Jan 2008

Analysis Of The Evolution Of The Practice Of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Burkina Faso, Nafissatou J. Diop, Zakari Congo, Aina Ouedraogo, Alphosine Sawadogo, Lydia Saloucou, Ida Tamini

Reproductive Health

This study was undertaken as a collaboration between the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health program and the Comité National de Lutte contre la Pratique de l’Excision (CNLPE) within the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity in Burkina Faso. The creation of a favorable environment for the campaign against excision in Burkina Faso has facilitated various anti-cutting activities over the past two decades and enabled the achievement of gains, both in terms of awareness and behavior change. However some of the strategies need further readjustment: among the reasons why excision still continues in Burkina Faso is a certain view …


Institutionalization Of Quality Assurance Within District Health Management: Experiences From Maharashtra And Karnataka, M.E. Khan, Anurag Mishra, Vivek Sharma, Jaleel Ahmad, Jose Joseph, Venkatesh Srinivasan, K.M. Sathyanarayana, Viji Vargees, K.D. Maiti, Rashmi Sharma Jan 2008

Institutionalization Of Quality Assurance Within District Health Management: Experiences From Maharashtra And Karnataka, M.E. Khan, Anurag Mishra, Vivek Sharma, Jaleel Ahmad, Jose Joseph, Venkatesh Srinivasan, K.M. Sathyanarayana, Viji Vargees, K.D. Maiti, Rashmi Sharma

Reproductive Health

The Population Council, with financial support from UNFPA, provided technical assistance to the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, India in implementing a quality assurance (QA) program and helped its institutionalization in the district level of health management. An analysis of all the facilities covered as of December 2007 revealed substantial gaps in the infrastructure and human resources available to provide good-quality services, as well as adherence to standards for providing the services. To build the capacity to undertake QA visits, the Population Council and state authorities organized a series of events to orient and train state and district officials, facility-level …


Using Systematic Screening To Integrate Health Services In India And Senegal: Pilot Study Versus Scale-Up Results, James R. Foreit Jan 2008

Using Systematic Screening To Integrate Health Services In India And Senegal: Pilot Study Versus Scale-Up Results, James R. Foreit

Reproductive Health

This study examines the effectiveness of using systematic screening to integrate health services in India and Senegal. First, a pilot study of relatively small-scale experiments was undertaken to determine if systematic screening for unmet needs for health services could increase the number of preventive care services clients receive at healthcare visits. FRONTIERS then participated in the scale-up to test the effect of different supervision and training strategies on the frequency of provider screening. Results show that systematic screening may have the potential to produce important increases in the number of services provided in many developing country settings at the pilot …


From Pilot To Program: Scaling Up The Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Project, Humphres Evelia, Japheth Nyambane, Harriet Birungi, Ian Askew, Rikka Trangsrud, Eva Muthuuri, Irene Chaami, Agnes Odawa, Lucy Musyoka, Susan Mutungi, Margaret Githuiya, Joan Omuruli Jan 2008

From Pilot To Program: Scaling Up The Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Project, Humphres Evelia, Japheth Nyambane, Harriet Birungi, Ian Askew, Rikka Trangsrud, Eva Muthuuri, Irene Chaami, Agnes Odawa, Lucy Musyoka, Susan Mutungi, Margaret Githuiya, Joan Omuruli

Reproductive Health

The Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program and the Program for Appropriate Technology in Heath collaborated with three Government of Kenya ministries—Education; Health; and Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services—to design and implement the Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Project with the goals of: improving knowledge about reproductive health and encouraging a responsible and healthy attitude toward sexuality among adolescents, delaying the onset of sexual activity among younger adolescents, and decreasing risky behaviors among sexually active adolescents. Key findings from the pilot project showed that the three ministries could successfully implement these interventions with high participation among parents and youth. …


Strengthening Emergency Contraception In Nepal, Mahendra Pd. Shrestha, Sharif M.I. Hossain, M.E. Khan Jan 2008

Strengthening Emergency Contraception In Nepal, Mahendra Pd. Shrestha, Sharif M.I. Hossain, M.E. Khan

Reproductive Health

A national workshop on emergency contraception was organized in Nepal by the Family Health Division within the Ministry of Health in 2004, with technical assistance provided by the FRONTIERS program of the Population Council. Among many conclusions from the workshop, one recommendation was that emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) should be introduced through the government family planning program to assist in reducing unwanted pregnancies. Based on the Population Council’s past experiences with introducing and mainstreaming ECP services in Bangladesh and India, a phase-wise introduction of ECP in Nepal was recommended. The project findings suggest that Nepalese women continue to face an …


Sexual And Gender Based Violence In Africa: Literature Review, Population Council Jan 2008

Sexual And Gender Based Violence In Africa: Literature Review, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This report provides details of a literature review that is intended to inform partners in the Population Council–coordinated regional network that aims to develop a multisectoral and comprehensive response to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa. The first section defines the terminology used throughout the review, and discusses the prevalence and consequences of SGBV, considers the implications of the disproportionate programmatic focus on adult women survivors, and explores approaches to managing child and male survivors of sexual violence. The second section presents regional policies and programming relating to the medical and psychosocial management of survivors. …


Exploring Positive Women's Lives In Namakkal District, India, P. Kousalya, Deepika Ganju Jan 2008

Exploring Positive Women's Lives In Namakkal District, India, P. Kousalya, Deepika Ganju

Reproductive Health

This report describes an initiative that was undertaken to document the experiences of HIV-positive ever-married women in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu, India. The initiative sought to explore the circumstances in which women learned about their HIV status; their feelings on finding out they were HIV-positive; the nature of husband–wife relationships prior to and following disclosure of women’s HIV status; the extent of support or discrimination that women experienced from family members, friends, and neighbors; treatment-seeking behaviors; and women’s perspectives about ways in which the multiple needs of HIV-infected women can be met. Drawing on the testimonies of these women gathered …