Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

International Public Health Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 16 of 16

Full-Text Articles in International Public Health

Practice Notes: Strategies In Health Education, Lisa D. Lieberman Apr 2010

Practice Notes: Strategies In Health Education, Lisa D. Lieberman

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective: The purpose of the Be Red Cross Ready Community Outreach Project (BRCR) was to train health education students to provide high-quality, theory-driven community preparedness education in a community on the U.S.-Mexico border. This aim was achieved through an innovative partnership between a community organization, a federal research center, and a university. The ultimate goal of the project was to increase disaster and emergency preparation to protect, promote, and preserve the health of the public.


Introducing And Pilot-Testing The National Guidelines On Integrating The Management Of Stis/Rtis Into Reproductive Health Settings In Kenya, Wilson Liambila, Saiqa Mullick, Ian Askew, Nathalie Broutet, Bartilol Kigen, Cosmas Mutunga, Daniel Sande, Nimrod Garama, Benjamin Tsofa, Christine Awuor, Ibrahim Mohammed Jan 2010

Introducing And Pilot-Testing The National Guidelines On Integrating The Management Of Stis/Rtis Into Reproductive Health Settings In Kenya, Wilson Liambila, Saiqa Mullick, Ian Askew, Nathalie Broutet, Bartilol Kigen, Cosmas Mutunga, Daniel Sande, Nimrod Garama, Benjamin Tsofa, Christine Awuor, Ibrahim Mohammed

Reproductive Health

This report evaluated a project in ten Kenyan health facilities. It examined the feasibility, acceptability and effect of introducing reproductive tract infection and sexually transmitted infection (RTI/STI) guidelines on the quality of care provided, and the incremental costs of integrating these services into existing reproductive health (RH) services; it also disseminated the results and lessons learnt within Kenya. Overall, the results showed that integration of activities to screen for and manage STIs/RTIs into RH services is feasible, acceptable to clients and providers, and effective in improving the range and quality of services offered to clients.


Increasing Institutional Delivery And Access To Emergency Obstetric Care Services In Rural Uttar Pradesh: Implications For Behavior Change Communication, Population Council Jan 2010

Increasing Institutional Delivery And Access To Emergency Obstetric Care Services In Rural Uttar Pradesh: Implications For Behavior Change Communication, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The Population Council conducted a formative in rural Uttar Pradesh (UP), India to determine the impact of the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) scheme on the current status of institutional delivery in the region, to understand the facilitating factors and barriers in delivering in a health facility, and to identify programmatic and behavior change communication (BCC) initiatives that could accelerate the adoption of institutional delivery. JSY was launched as an intervention to address the barriers to institutional delivery, through the introduction of community-based women volunteers. The study shows that with the introduction of the JSY the rate of institutional delivery jumped …


The Pregnancy Cycle Approach To Safe Motherhood, Saumya Ramarao, Sarah Raifman Jan 2010

The Pregnancy Cycle Approach To Safe Motherhood, Saumya Ramarao, Sarah Raifman

Reproductive Health

The Population Council's Reproductive Health program partnered with the Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF), the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), and the PAC Consortium, to address the UN Millenium Development Goal of improving maternal health, and reducing child mortality. Specifically this brief examines the pregnancy cycle approach whereby women’s needs from facilitating a desired pregnancy to successful parturition are addressed in a range of settings—home, community and health facility. This brief covers the different stages including abortion and postabortion care, antenatal care, delivery, and postpartum and beyond.


Maternal And Neonatal Health Services In Sudan: Results Of A Situation Analysis, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Maha El-Rabbat Jan 2010

Maternal And Neonatal Health Services In Sudan: Results Of A Situation Analysis, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Maha El-Rabbat

Reproductive Health

This project brief is based on the results of a situation analysis (SA) study that was done collaboratively by the Population Council and Sudan Ministry of Health (MOH) with funds from UNFPA, UNICEF, and Packard Foundation. The analysis showed an uneven distribution of reproductive health (RH) staff across Sudan, and nurses and nurse midwives are the key in RH services. There was also limited access to family planning services. Antenatal care was limited, and pregnant women in the study seldom received counseling on birth spacing or birth preparedness. Birth attendants also lacked adequate knowledge and skills. Emergency obstetric care was …


Effect Of Dai Training On Maternal And Neonatal Care: An Operations Research Study, Peter C. Miller, Gul Rashida, Abdul Wajid, Zeba Tasneem, Lubna Mahmood, Minhaj Ul Haque Jan 2010

Effect Of Dai Training On Maternal And Neonatal Care: An Operations Research Study, Peter C. Miller, Gul Rashida, Abdul Wajid, Zeba Tasneem, Lubna Mahmood, Minhaj Ul Haque

Reproductive Health

This study examines the use of training traditional birth attendants, or "dais" as they are known in Pakistan, to reduce maternal mortality. By training dais to adopt safer routine delivery, newborn care practices, and recognize and refer in case of emergencies, dais can improve maternal and neonatal health. While one group of women met with specially trained dais who received Safe Motherhood Applied Research Training (SMART), a control group met with dais who offered health services only. The objectives of this evaluation were to determine whether dais substantially improved their performance after attending the "SMART dai" training course, to determine …


A Bland–Altman Comparison Of The Lead Care® System And Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry For Detecting Low-Level Lead In Child Whole Blood Samples, Christina Sobin, Tanner Schaub, Natali Parisi, Eva De La Riva Jan 2010

A Bland–Altman Comparison Of The Lead Care® System And Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry For Detecting Low-Level Lead In Child Whole Blood Samples, Christina Sobin, Tanner Schaub, Natali Parisi, Eva De La Riva

Christina Sobin, Ph.D.

Chronic childhood lead exposure, yielding blood lead levels consistently below 10 μg/dL, remains a major public health concern. Low neurotoxic effect thresholds have not yet been established. Progress requires accurate, efficient, and cost-effective methods for testing large numbers of children. The LeadCare® System (LCS) may provide one ready option. The comparability of this system to the “gold standard” method of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the purpose of detecting blood lead levels below 10 μg/dL has not yet been examined. Paired blood samples from 177 children ages 5.2–12.8 years were tested with LCS and ICP-MS. Triplicate repeat tests …


Assessing The Feasibility Of Home Administration Of Misoprostol In The Prevention Of Postpartum Hemorrhage In Rural Pakistan, Ali M. Mir, Abdul Wajid, Sadaf Gull Jan 2010

Assessing The Feasibility Of Home Administration Of Misoprostol In The Prevention Of Postpartum Hemorrhage In Rural Pakistan, Ali M. Mir, Abdul Wajid, Sadaf Gull

Reproductive Health

This report details an operations research project carried out by the Population Council as part of the Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns. The overall goal of the project was to test the feasibility of administering misoprostol for the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) in a home setting through community‐based healthcare providers, including traditional birth attendants (TBAs), or family members, in two districts of Pakistan. Furthermore, it aimed to identify common side effects of misoprostol and determine the reduction in demand for referral due to PPH after oral ingestion of misoprostol. The results provide a useful addition to the literature …


Assessing Abortion-Related Experiences And Needs In Four Districts Of Maharashtra And Rajasthan, 2006, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, A.J. Francis Zavier, Shveta Kalyanwala Jan 2010

Assessing Abortion-Related Experiences And Needs In Four Districts Of Maharashtra And Rajasthan, 2006, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, A.J. Francis Zavier, Shveta Kalyanwala

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Recognizing the urgent need to enable rural women to acquire accessible and high-quality abortion services in India, a consortium of organizations—including the Population Council—has come together with the goal of increasing access to legal, safe, and comprehensive abortion services, including postabortion family planning, in the public health system, especially among the rural poor. One of its key activities was to develop a comprehensive and evidence-based abortion care model suitable for rural women. The aim of this report is to shed light on community-level perspectives about abortion services and probe the experiences of women who had undergone abortion, to better understand …


Mainstreaming Emergency Contraception Pills In Kenya, Jill Keesbury, Monica Wanjiru, Katherine Maina Jan 2010

Mainstreaming Emergency Contraception Pills In Kenya, Jill Keesbury, Monica Wanjiru, Katherine Maina

Reproductive Health

To improve access to emergency contraception (ECP) and ensure that adequate information is provided to all users, the Kenyan Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, the Population Council, and Population Services International-Kenya undertook a three-year effort to mainstream ECP in Kenya. This brief presents the results of this initiative and discusses strategies for further strengthening ECP provision. Kenya has emerged as a leader in ECP programming in the region and has demonstrated that it is possible to strengthen ECP services in both the public and private sectors while at the same time increasing public awareness, knowledge, and use of the …


Emergency Contraception: Idea To Program, Saumya Ramarao, John Townsend, Sarah Raifman Jan 2010

Emergency Contraception: Idea To Program, Saumya Ramarao, John Townsend, Sarah Raifman

Reproductive Health

This report summarizes the role of the Population Council in generating evidence, providing technical leadership, and demonstrating at scale that emergency contraception (EC) can be easily integrated into national family planning programs and other reproductive health services. Since the 1990s, the Population Council, along with other partners, has contributed to the changes seen in the provision and availability of EC, now available in over 140 countries around the world. While much progress has been made in the campaign for access to EC, the Council is committed to improving existing methods of service delivery and to leading advocacy efforts and research …


Community Mobilization For Postabortion Care In Kenya: Baseline Evaluation Report, Chi-Chi Undie, Saumya Ramarao Jan 2010

Community Mobilization For Postabortion Care In Kenya: Baseline Evaluation Report, Chi-Chi Undie, Saumya Ramarao

Reproductive Health

Maternal health complications, including those arising from unsafe abortion and miscarriage, are a leading cause of morbidity among women in Kenya. These realities necessitate interventions to prevent unintended or unwanted pregnancies and to ensure access to quality care for women with postabortion complications. In response to this need, the RESPOND Project designed an intervention package aimed at increasing awareness and use of postabortion care (PAC) services and improving family planning, reproductive health, and maternal health outcomes. As part of the intervention, RESPOND works with districts and communities to: strengthen service delivery points to provide PAC services; conduct community mobilization to …


Referral Mechanism Improves Uptake Of Art Services For Hiv+ Fp Clients, Population Council Jan 2010

Referral Mechanism Improves Uptake Of Art Services For Hiv+ Fp Clients, Population Council

Reproductive Health

An operations research intervention by the Population Council in Kenya aimed to design a referral framework for linking HIV‐positive family planning (FP) clients to treatment and care in selected health facilities. The project also assessed the acceptability and effectiveness in increasing the number of eligible HIV‐positive FP clients receiving HIV care and treatment services. This summary details the effort to improve the linkage between FP services and comprehensive care centers that led to a dramatic increase in the proportions of HIV-positive clients in FP clinics who go on to receive HIV/AIDS treatment and care services at the same facility. Recommendations …


Brief Report: Activities And Achievements Of The P4p Project—Introducing Pay-For-Performance (P4p) Approach To Increase Utilization Of Maternal, Newborn, And Child Health Services In Bangladesh, Population Council Jan 2010

Brief Report: Activities And Achievements Of The P4p Project—Introducing Pay-For-Performance (P4p) Approach To Increase Utilization Of Maternal, Newborn, And Child Health Services In Bangladesh, Population Council

Reproductive Health

A pilot study was initiated in Bangladesh for testing Pay-for-Performance for providers and clients in improving maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services by addressing supply and demand-side barriers. With funding from UNICEF, the Population Council provided technical assistance for the operations research study implemented by the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of Bangladesh. Necessary and key human resource placement and training on integrated management of childhood illness, emergency operations centers, newborn care, infection prevention, and waste management are important for better performance in all facilities. In spite of existing barriers, …


Increasing Postpartum Contraception In Rural Uttar Pradesh: Implications For Behavior Change Communication, Population Council Jan 2010

Increasing Postpartum Contraception In Rural Uttar Pradesh: Implications For Behavior Change Communication, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The Population Council conducted a formative study in rural Uttar Pradesh, India to assess the level of adoption of postpartum contraception for spacing among low parity women, identify the facilitating factors and barriers to the adoption of this target behavior, and identify programmatic and behavior change communications (BCC) initiatives that could accelerate the adoption of postpartum contraception for spacing and improve the service delivery system, if required, to facilitate the process. Barriers included low awareness of consequences of closely spaced births, misconceptions about contraceptive methods, lack of counseling by health workers, reluctance to include husbands, and programmatic emphasis on limiting …


Training Service Providers Increases Tb Screening In Postnatal Care, Population Council Jan 2010

Training Service Providers Increases Tb Screening In Postnatal Care, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This document summarizes a Population Council operations research project undertaken in collaboration with the Kenya Ministry of Health to develop and pilot-test an intervention to improve TB screening, case detection, treatment, and care among postnatal clients. The intervention demonstrated that it is feasible to use postnatal care services as a platform to increase TB screening and case detection. Training providers, giving them job-aids, and strengthening client flow within the facility also improved the overall quality of care that the clients received. The actual number of cases of TB detected was extremely low, however; thus the report recommends that the Ministry …