Public Health Commons^™

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 …

Urban Poverty And Health In Developing Countries: Household And Neighborhood Effects [Arabic], Mark R. Montgomery, Paul C. Hewett

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In the United States and other high-income countries, where most people live in cities, there is intense scholarly and program interest in the effects of household and neighborhood living standards on health. Yet very few studies of developing-country cities have examined these issues. This paper investigates whether in these cities the health of women and young children is influenced by both household and neighborhood standards of living. Using data from the urban samples of 85 Demographic and Health Surveys, and modeling living standards using factor-analytic MIMIC methods, we find, first, that the neighborhoods of poor households are more heterogeneous than …

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

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

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

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

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

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

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

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

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

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

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

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

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

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

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

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

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

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

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 …

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 …

The Effect Of A Livelihoods Intervention In An Urban Slum In India: Do Vocational Counseling And Training Alter The Attitudes And Behavior Of Adolescent Girls?, Barbara Mensch, Monica J. Grant, Mary Philip Sebastian, Paul C. Hewett, Dale Huntington

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Population Council working paper examines whether an experimental intervention for girls aged 14–19 that provided reproductive health information, vocational counseling and training, and assistance with opening savings accounts in slum areas of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, India had an effect on their attitudes and behaviors. Although the livelihoods program was acceptable to parents and feasible to implement, the project had only a minimal impact on the behavior and attitudes of adolescent girls in the experimental slums. The greatest changes between the baseline and the endline surveys were found in those outcomes that most closely reflected the content of the …

Patterns Of Variations In Escherichia Coli Strains That Produce Cytolethal Distending Toxin, Carol L. Pickett, Robert B. Lee, Aysegul Eyigor, Ben Elitzur, Emily M. Fox, Nancy A. Strockbine

United States Public Health Resources

A collection of 20 Escherichia coli strains that produce cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) were analyzed for their virulence-associated genes. All of these strains were serotyped, and multiplex PCR analysis was used to ascertain the presence of genes encoding other virulence factors, including Shiga toxin, intimin, enterohemolysin, cytotoxic necrotizing factor type 1 (CNF1) and CNF2, heat-stable toxin, and heat-labile toxin. These CDT-producing strains possessed various combinations of known virulence genes, some of which have not been noted before. Partial cdtB sequences were obtained from 10 of these strains, and their predicted CdtB sequences were compared to known E. coli CdtB sequences; …

Back To The Future: The Future Of Long-Term Care In Massachusetts, Deborah H. Thomson, John J. Ford

Gerontology Institute Publications

The state of Massachusetts, like the rest of the United States, is facing an approaching crisis in long-term care. Over the next few decades the number of Massachusetts residents age 65 and older will soar. As these numbers increase, so will the need for long-term care.

Massachusetts is ill prepared to provide the services that will be needed. Our current system of health care benefits leaves many elders with gaps in coverage. Those individuals who need long-term services often impoverish themselves and their spouses before the state pays for their care. Others languish on waiting lists to receive services. Our …

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Administration Is Associated With High Pregnancy Rates During Ovarian Stimulation And Timed Intercourse Or Intrauterine Insemination, Mohamed F. Mitwally, Sonya Abdel-Razeq, Robert F. Casper

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

There are different factors that influence treatment outcome after ovarian stimulation and timed-intercourse or intrauterine insemination (IUI). After patient age, it has been suggested that timing of insemination in relation to ovulation is probably the most important variable affecting the success of treatment. The objective of this study is to study the value of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration and occurrence of luteinizing hormone (LH) surge in timing insemination on the treatment outcome after follicular monitoring with timed-intercourse or intrauterine insemination, with or without ovarian stimulation.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of 2000 consecutive completed treatment cycles (637 timed-intercourse and …

Do Recent Data From The Seychelles Islands Alter The Conclusions Of The Nrc Report On The Toxicological Effects Of Methylmercury?, Alan H. Stern, Joseph L. Jacobson, Louise Ryan, Thomas A. Burke

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

In 2000, the National Research Council (NRC), an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, released a report entitled, "Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury." The overall conclusion of that report was that, at levels of exposure in some fish- and marine mammal-consuming communities (including those in the Faroe Islands and New Zealand), subtle but significant adverse effects on neuropsychological development were occurring as a result of in utero exposure. Since the release of that report, there has been continuing discussion of the public health relevance of current levels of exposure to Methylmercury. Much of this discussion has been linked to …

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Profile Of African American College Freshmen, Theodosha S. Gilliard

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Background: Rates of CVD are higher among African Americans compared to whites and natives of South Carolina and the Southeast compared to non-natives. Obesity, a CVD risk factor, is also known to be more prevalent in African Americans compared to whites. Ethnic differences in body image are thought to play a role in the higher rates of obesity among African Americans compared to whites. This study investigated the prevalence of CVD risk factors and body image in an at risk population, African American adolescents primarily from the state of South Carolina. Research Design and Methods: Students were given a Health …

Did A Rising Tide Lift All Boats? The Nih Budget And Pediatric Research Portfolio, Daniel P. Gitterman, Robert S. Greenwood, Keith C. Kocis, Rick Mayes, Aaron N. Mckethan

Political Science Faculty Publications

This paper examines National Institutes of Health (NIH) pediatric research spending in absolute terms and relative to the doubling of the NIH overall budget between fiscal years 1998 and 2003. Pediatric spending increased by an average annual rate of 12.8 percent during the doubling period (almost on par with the NIH average annual growth rate of 14.7 percent). However, the proportion of the total NIH budget devoted to the pediatric portfolio declined from 12.3 to 11.3 percent. We offer recommendations for implementing existing commitments to strengthen the pediatric research portfolio and to protect the gains of the doubling period.

What Future Democracy?, Aziz Rana

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The threat posed by Aids to the development of democracy in Africa plays no part in current discussions of the impact of the disease.

The Roles, Responsibilities, And Realities Of Married Adolescent Males And Adolescent Fathers: A Brief Literature Review, Gary Barker, Jorge Lyra, Benedito Medrado

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

From the perspective of developing countries, we know relatively little about married adolescent males and adolescent fathers, and much of what we know is inferred from research with young women or comes from a few specific regions in the world. However, there has been a growing interest in the issue on the part of researchers, policy-makers, and program staff. This interest has coincided with increasing attention in general to men, with gender studies, and with sexual and reproductive health initiatives. Early marriage and early childbearing are much more prevalent among young women than young men, and the negative consequences are …

Ishraq: Safe Spaces To Learn, Play And Grow: Expansion Of Recreational Sports Program For Adolescent Rural Girls In Egypt, Nadia Zibani

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Over the past three years, the Ishraq program in the villages of northern El-Minya, Egypt, grew from a novel idea into a vibrant reality. In the process, approximately 300 rural girls have participated in a life-transforming chance to learn, play, and grow into productive members of their local communities. Currently other villages—and soon other governorates—are joining the Ishraq network. Ishraq is a mixture of literacy, life-skills training, and—for girls who have been sheltered in domestic situations of poverty and isolation—a chance to play sports and games with other girls their age and develop a sense of self-worth and mastery; the …

Développement D'Un Outil D'Évaluation Des Mesures De Retenue Des Camions Aux Quais De Transbordement : Exemple D'Application De L'Outil D'Évaluation, 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)

Développement D'Un Outil D'Évaluation Des Mesures De Retenue Des Camions Aux Quais De Transbordement : Étude Par Modélisation Du Glissement D'Une Semi-Remorque, 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)

Développement D'Un Outil D'Évaluation Des Mesures De Retenue Des Camions Aux Quais De Transbordement : Étude Par Éléments Finis De La Résistance Des Barres Anti-Encastrement, 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)

Impacts D'Un Abaissement De La Valeur D'Exposition Admissible Au Formaldéhyde : Industries De Fabrication De Formaldéhyde Et De Résines À Base De Formaldéhyde, Nicole Goyer, Charles Beaudry, Denis Bégin, Michèle Bouchard, Sophie Buissonnet, Gaétan Carrier, Olivia Gely, Michel Gérin, Jérôme Lavoué, Pierre Lefebvre, Nolwenn Noisel, Guy Perrault, Brigitte Roberge

Rapports de recherche scientifique

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)

Impacts D’Un Abaissement De La Valeur D’Exposition Admissible Au Formaldéhyde : Industrie De La Fabrication De Panneaux Agglomérés, Nicole Goyer, Charles Beaudry, Denis Bégin, Michèle Bouchard, Sophie Buissonnet, Gaétan Carrier, Patrice Duguay, Olivia Gely, Michel Gérin, François Hébert, Jérôme Lavoué, Pierre Lefebvre, Nolwenn Noisel, Eddy Pellerin, Guy Perrault, Brigitte Roberge

Rapports de recherche scientifique

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)

Développement D'Un Outil D'Évaluation Des Mesures De Retenue Des Camions Aux Quais De Transbordement : Étude Du Basculement D'Une Semi-Remorque, 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)

Développement D'Un Outil D'Évaluation Des Mesures De Retenue Des Camions Aux Quais De Transbordement : Questionnaire De Caractérisation Contextuelle, 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)

Développement D'Un Outil D'Évaluation Des Mesures De Retenue Des Camions Aux Quais De Transbordement : Validation De L'Outil D'Évaluation, 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)

Développement D'Un Outil D'Évaluation Des Mesures De Retenue Des Camions Aux Quais De Transbordement : Grilles De Collecte De Données Utilisées Lors Des Visites Sur Le Terrain, 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)

Impacts D'Un Abaissement De La Valeur D'Exposition Admissible Au Formaldéhyde : Autres Industries Du Bois, Nicole Goyer, Charles Beaudry, Denis Bégin, Michèle Bouchard, Sophie Buissonnet, Gaétan Carrier, Olivia Gely, Michel Gérin, Rodrigue Gravel, François Hébert, Jérôme Lavoué, Pierre Lefebvre, Nolwenn Noisel, Guy Perrault, Brigitte Roberge

Rapports de recherche scientifique

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)