International Public Health Commons^™

Decreasing Barriers For Teens: Evaluation Of A New Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Strategy In School-Based Clinics, Abbey C. Sidebottom, Amanda Birnbaum, Sarah S. Nafstad

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Sidebottom et al seek to evaluate the effects of the change in distribution systems on students' receipt of requested contraceptives and demand for contraceptive school-based clinics (SBC). The result of the study reveals that the average number of requests per student was higher under the voucher system, possibly as a consequence of expires vouchers resulting in repeated requests. The findings also suggest that SBCs could go a step further in reducing adolescents' barriers to accessing contraceptives by adopting an on-site direct delivery system..

Associations Between Perceived Family Meal Environment And Parent Intake Of Fruit,Vegetables, And Fat, Kerri N. Boutelle, Amanda Birnbaum, Leslie Lytle, David M. Murray, Mary T. Story

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective

To describe the family mealtime environment and assess associations with adult fruit, vegetable, and fat intake.

Design

Telephone survey.

Participants

A convenience sample of 277 adults in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area were recruited through 4 schools. The sample was 85% female and 70% married. The mean number of children in the household was 2.6 (range 1 to 9).

Variables Measured

Adult fruit and vegetable intake, fat intake, and perceptions of the mealtime environment.

Analysis

Descriptive and mixed-model linear regression.

Results

Participants reported that the television was frequently on during dinner meals and almost one third felt that their family …

Renforcement Des Capacites Villageoises: Comment 23 Villages S'Initient Aux Droits Humains Et Abandonnent La Pratique De L'Excision Au Burkina Faso, Nafissatou J. Diop, Edmond Bagde, Djingri Ouoba, Molly Melching

Reproductive Health

This document is a summary of the process followed in implementing a community-based education program in Burkina Faso. The Population Council initiated a collaboration between two NGOs, Tostan in Senegal and Mwangaza Action in Burkina Faso, to replicate the program for improving women’s reproductive health and contributing to the end of female genital cutting (FGC). In Burkina Faso, the participants (men and women) held discussions to analyze the problems faced by their communities and to find appropriate solutions. Many positive changes occurred in the participating villages: the communities now promote reproductive health and human rights and work to improve public …

Improving Postpartum Care Among Low Parity Mothers In Palestine, Center For Development In Primary Health Care (Cdphc)

Reproductive Health

In an effort to improve the health status of Palestinian women and their children in the West Bank and Gaza, USAID, in collaboration with the Palestinian Ministry of Health and a number of NGOs, designed and funded a 28-month pilot activity, the Pilot Health Project (PHP), that was expected to have a positive impact on the health of women and children. This report describes the results of the intervention designed to measure the effectiveness of a second home visit on low-parity women in 1) improving their knowledge and practices regarding their own health as well as the health of their …

Assessment Of Pilot Health Project Outcome Indicators: West Bank/Gaza, Laila Nawar, Dale Huntington, Ibrahim Kharboush, Nancy Ali, Mahmoud Shaheen

Reproductive Health

The Pilot Health Project (PHP) was designed to address Palestinian women’s most pressing reproductive health needs. This report presents results from a single cross-sectional study that was conducted by the Health, Development, Information and Policy Institute (HDIP) between May and August 2000 in order to determine the baseline measures for the PHP’s key outcome indicators among healthcare providers and clients in the PHP clinics. Based on the findings reflected by the study, a number of recommendations were made that need to be followed up and implemented by the Improved Village and Community Health Services Project. These include the need for …

Introducing Dmpa Injectable Contraceptives To Private Medical Practitioners In Urban Gujarat, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Many public, NGO, and private-sector service-delivery systems are suitably matched to the requirements of providing injectable contraceptives in India, including the ability to ensure choice and service delivery quality. This operations research study was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of providing injectable contraceptives in private medical practices and to contribute to the body of scientific literature on the acceptability of this method in India. DKT India and EngenderHealth formed a partnership with the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health program to conduct this study in Gujarat. The ability to generate recommendations is limited, however, by the special characteristics of the …

Creation Of A Unified Management Information System For Three Ngos In The West Bank And Gaza, Health, Development, Information And Policy Institute

Reproductive Health

The goal of the Pilot Health Project (PHP) has been to improve the health status of Palestinian women and children. To further this goal, the Health, Development, Information and Policy Institute (HDIP) was given the responsibility to develop a management information system (MIS) for the collection, storage, processing, and dissemination of information for PHP clinics. In cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH) and various healthcare providers and MIS professionals, HDIP worked through a carefully organized and highly participatory process to design and develop the MIS for the PHP. This report reviews that process and presents the features of …

Replication Of The Tostan Programme In Burkina Faso: How 23 Villages Participated In A Human Rights-Based Education Programme And Abandoned The Practice Of Female Genital Cutting In Burkina Faso, Nafissatou J. Diop, Edmond Bagde, Djingri Ouoba, Molly Melching

Reproductive Health

This document is a summary of the process followed in implementing a community-based education program in Burkina Faso. The Population Council initiated a collaboration between two NGOs, Tostan in Senegal and Mwangaza Action in Burkina Faso, to replicate the program for improving women’s reproductive health and contributing to the end of female genital cutting (FGC). In Burkina Faso, the participants (men and women) held discussions to analyze the problems faced by their communities and to find appropriate solutions. Many positive changes occurred in the participating villages: the communities now promote reproductive health and human rights and work to improve public …

Empowering Communities To Respond To Hiv/Aids: Ndola Demonstration Project On Maternal And Child Health: Operations Research Final Report, Hope Humana, Linkages, National Food And Nutrition Commission, Ndola District Health Management Team, Horizons Program, Zambia Integrated Health Project

HIV and AIDS

A pre–post intervention study conducted in Zambia by Horizons and local NGOs and governmental organizations demonstrated that HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) and infant feeding counseling (IFC) to mothers attending maternal and child health (MCH) clinics are vital components of any mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) reduction strategy, whether or not antiretrovirals (ARVs) are available. These interventions enable mothers to make informed and healthy decisions. Data from the Ndola Demonstration Project yielded encouraging results from efforts to improve the capacity of mothers to make informed decisions about their own health and the health of their infant. The interventions succeeded in raising …

Availability And Acceptability Of Iuds In Guatemala, Carlos Brambila, Berta Taracena

Reproductive Health

The purpose of this study was to identify the reasons for the low use of the IUD in Guatemala and to explore the reasons why other reversible methods are selected more frequently than IUDs. The study aimed to determine the availability and acceptability of IUDs as a contraceptive option within the Ministry of Health, the Guatemalan Social Security Institute, and APROFAM. Results indicated that service providers do not take into consideration women’s reproductive needs or intentions when they provide family planning counseling. There are several demand-side factors that affect the use of the IUD, including lack of knowledge about the …

Female Circumcision In Indonesia. Extent, Implications And Possible Interventions To Uphold Women's Health Rights, Meiwita P. Budiharsana, Lila Amaliah, Budi Utomo

Reproductive Health

In Indonesia, the practice of female circumcision (FC) has long existed, but information concerning where and how it is carried out has been limited. The specific aims of the study conducted by the Population Council Jakarta were to provide research-based information on FC customary practices and their socio-cultural determinants, and if possible, to assess any long-term physical and psychological consequences. Study findings indicate that in general Muslim communities support the continuation of FC practice, because they perceive it as both a societal custom and a religious duty. The report strongly recommends that key donor agencies pressure the Ministry of Health …

Policy And Program Implications Of The Matching Grants Program In The Philippines, Marilou Palabrica-Costello, Nimfa Ogena, Alejandro N. Herrin

Reproductive Health

In 1999, the Philippines Department of Health, with support from USAID and technical assistance from Management Sciences for Health (MSH), implemented the matching grants program (MGP) as a component of the local government performance program. The MGP aims to improve the capability of municipalities and component cities to expand service delivery, and to achieve significant increases in rates of fully immunized children, vitamin A supplementation, tetanus toxoid immunization for women, as well as in the use of family planning methods, especially modern methods. Upon the request of the USAID Mission, the Frontiers in Reproductive Health program worked closely with MSH …

Postabortion Family Planning Operations Research Study In Perm, Russia, Irina Savelieva, John M. Pile, Inna Sacci, Ratha Loganathan

Reproductive Health

EngenderHealth, the Population Council’s FRONTIERS program, and the Research Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Perinatology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, with support from the Perm Health Departments, undertook an operations research study to test models for increasing contraceptive use and reducing the repeat abortion rate among abortion clients in Perm, Russia. The study also assessed the direct and indirect costs of abortion and contraceptive use incurred by women in the year following their index abortion (the abortion which took place the day of entry into the study). The findings of the study were significant for the training interventions …

Taking Postabortion Care Services Where They Are Needed: An Operations Research Project Testing Pac Expansion In Rural Senegal, Engenderhealth

Reproductive Health

EngenderHealth, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, conducted an operations research project to examine the feasibility of introducing an integrated three-element model of postabortion care (PAC) services in secondary- and primary-level sites in two predominantly rural regions in Senegal. The intervention provided health personnel with: 1) training to improve clinical competence, counseling, infection prevention, and general care; 2) technical assistance, materials, and support to aid in overcoming challenges; and 3) ongoing monitoring and supervision. The project findings attest to the benefits of expanding existing PAC programs in rural settings and suggest that the advantages of such an expansion outweigh …

Improving Quality Of Care For Family Planning Services In Uganda, Joel Okullo, Quinto Okello, Harriet Birungi, Ian Askew, Barbara Janowitz, Carmen Cuthbertson, Florence Ebanyat

Reproductive Health

The Regional Centre for Quality of Health Care at Makerere University, Uganda in collaboration with the Delivery of Improved Services for Health II Project, the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Population Council’s FRONTIERS Program, conducted an operations research project to help the MOH improve the quality of family planning services with the aim of helping couples better attain their reproductive goals. The study developed a package of interventions (the Yellow Star Programme—YSP) that sought to increase the readiness of clinics to offer basic family planning services, to improve provider motivation, and to empower clients to request quality services. The …