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Full-Text Articles in Women's Health
Examining Early Marriage In India: Qualitative Findings, Neelanjana Pandey, Komal Saxena, Andrea J. Melnikas
Examining Early Marriage In India: Qualitative Findings, Neelanjana Pandey, Komal Saxena, Andrea J. Melnikas
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
The More Than Brides Alliance (MTBA) implements the “Marriage: No Child’s Play” program (2016–20) in India, Malawi, Mali, Niger, and Pakistan. The MTBA is a holistic program that addresses early marriage through multiple strategies, including: sexual and reproductive health and rights, livelihoods, education, and prevalent community social norms around marriage. Furthermore, the program operates at multiple levels (girl, family, community, block, and district) to address individual, familial, and structural barriers to reducing child marriage in these communities. This report first looks at the legal environment in which programs operate by examining participants’ awareness of laws, acts, and programs related to …
Does Education Improve Health In Low- And Middle Income Countries? Results From A Systematic Review, Stephanie Psaki, Barbara Mensch, Erica Chuang, Andrea J. Melnikas
Does Education Improve Health In Low- And Middle Income Countries? Results From A Systematic Review, Stephanie Psaki, Barbara Mensch, Erica Chuang, Andrea J. Melnikas
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Despite enormous progress in expanding school enrollment globally, improvements in health have not always followed, raising important questions: Does education, in fact, enable women, men and their families to be healthier? And if so, how? To fill this gap in knowledge, the GIRL Center conducted a systematic review of the evidence for the effects of education on health in low- and middle-income countries.
The Nia Project: Baseline Survey Instruments, Karen Austrian
The Nia Project: Baseline Survey Instruments, Karen Austrian
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This document includes all of the Nia Project baseline survey instruments used to collect data in Kenya, providing a multidimensional description of a sample of the participating girls and the schools they attend. The Project is one of the first randomized controlled trials to explore the role of sanitary pad distribution and reproductive health education—individually and in combination—to improve girls’ educational and sexual and reproductive health outcomes. The study collected data from 3,489 girls from 140 schools in three rural Kilifi subcounties: Magarini, Kaloleni, and Ganze.
The Nia Project—Brief, Eunice N. Muthengi, Emily Farris, Karen Austrian
The Nia Project—Brief, Eunice N. Muthengi, Emily Farris, Karen Austrian
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This brief provides highlights from the Nia Project conducted in Kenya. The study found that while gaps exist in girls’ capabilities, particularly knowledge and attitudes related to menstruation and reproductive health, the Nia Project has the potential to bridge those gaps. The Project is one of the first randomized controlled trials to explore the role of sanitary pad distribution and reproductive health education—individually and in combination—to improve girls’ educational and sexual and reproductive health outcomes. The findings of this study will make a critical contribution to filling an evidence gap in the field of menstrual health and hygiene management, and …
The Nia Project: Baseline Report, Eunice N. Muthengi, Emily Farris, Karen Austrian
The Nia Project: Baseline Report, Eunice N. Muthengi, Emily Farris, Karen Austrian
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
The onset of puberty and menarche is a particularly vulnerable time for girls, when external pressures are exacerbated by their lack of knowledge of their bodies, their rights, and the implications of their decisions, and by their inability to manage puberty and adolescence safely and comfortably with appropriate menstrual health and hygiene management (MHM) products. Although several programs have previously been developed to address girls’ MHM needs globally, few have been evaluated, and where evidence does exist the results have been mixed. In collaboration with ZanaAfrica, the Population Council is evaluating the Nia Project, a set of interventions for adolescent …
Strengthening School-Based Sexual And Reproductive Health Education And Services In Accra, Ghana, Nancy Termini Lachance, Terence Adda-Balinia
Strengthening School-Based Sexual And Reproductive Health Education And Services In Accra, Ghana, Nancy Termini Lachance, Terence Adda-Balinia
Reproductive Health
This evidence brief presents results of a study aimed to assess the acceptability and feasibility of two proposed solutions for strengthening the content and delivery of in-school sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programs in Ghana. The study was conducted in Nima, a suburb of Accra, where stakeholders agreed there was a need for enhanced SRH services in school. The study explored providing comprehensive in-school SRH education to adolescents using trained psychologists and health workers to deliver and explain comprehensive sexuality education to adolescents and link them as needed to outside services. There was unanimous agreement that adolescent SRH needs are …
Kenya: Helping Adolescent Mothers Remain In School Through Strengthened Implementation Of School Re-Entry Policies, Esther Lwanga Walgwe, Nancy Termini Lachance, Harriet Birungi, Chi-Chi Undie
Kenya: Helping Adolescent Mothers Remain In School Through Strengthened Implementation Of School Re-Entry Policies, Esther Lwanga Walgwe, Nancy Termini Lachance, Harriet Birungi, Chi-Chi Undie
Reproductive Health
By applying robust evidence, securing the support of decisionmakers, and engaging stakeholders, STEP UP enabled national and local decisionmakers to better understand the consequences of unintended pregnancy for adolescent girls’ schooling in Homa Bay County, Kenya. STEP UP is playing an important role in informing the implementation of policies within the Kenyan educational sector that will improve educational opportunities for school-age mothers. Through early stakeholder engagement, strong partnerships, the support of implementers and policymakers, effective communication and dissemination strategies, decisionmaker capacity, and the dedication of the adolescent mothers themselves, evidence generated by STEP UP was successfully utilized by key stakeholders. …
Expanding Access To Secondary School Education For Teenage Mothers In Kenya: A Baseline Study Report, Chi-Chi Undie, Harriet Birungi, George Odwe, Francis Obare
Expanding Access To Secondary School Education For Teenage Mothers In Kenya: A Baseline Study Report, Chi-Chi Undie, Harriet Birungi, George Odwe, Francis Obare
Reproductive Health
Carried out in Homa Bay County, Kenya, this study provides a baseline assessment involving the following data collection components: a household survey with out-of-school teenage girls (regardless of whether they had ever been pregnant or not), teenage mothers, and their household heads; and a school survey with secondary school principals and students. The objectives of the study were to: 1) foster an understanding of the current situation and context in regard to out-of-school teenage mothers and their potential support systems for school re-entry at the household and school levels; 2) clarify possible solutions for promoting school re-entry on the part …
Education Sector Response To Early And Unintended Pregnancy: A Review Of Country Experiences In Sub-Saharan Africa, Harriet Birungi, Chi-Chi Undie, Ian Mackenzie, Anne Katahoire, Francis Obare, Patricia Machawira
Education Sector Response To Early And Unintended Pregnancy: A Review Of Country Experiences In Sub-Saharan Africa, Harriet Birungi, Chi-Chi Undie, Ian Mackenzie, Anne Katahoire, Francis Obare, Patricia Machawira
Reproductive Health
In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), early and unintended pregnancy leads to a colossal loss of educational opportunities for girls. Existing studies that show associations between early/unintended pregnancy and school dropout lead to critical questions about how the education sector is responding to the issue in SSA. Conducted from August 2014 to April 2015, this review was devoted to an examination of such responses across six countries: Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. The review focused on several key issues, including: education-sector policies for pregnant students and adolescent mothers; integration of pregnancy prevention into sexuality education curricula; the school environment as …
Transition From Higher Education To The Labor Market: Unemployment Among Graduates From The Gender Perspective In The Palestinian Territory, Saleh Alkafri
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This research highlights and identifies the factors affecting the low potential of female graduates entering the labor market in the Palestinian Territories, despite their achievements in education. The results show that employers’ attitudes limit the occupations and activities that women can engage in, and delays in obtaining work often lead women out of the labor market. However, the report also shows that the problem of unemployment among graduates is worse in specific areas and disciplines where education and training do not match the requirements of the labor market. Given this general trend, Palestinian decisionmakers face extraordinary challenges to provide opportunities …
The Nature Of Mothers' Work And Children's Schooling In Nepal: The Influence Of Income And Time Effects, Ashish Bajracharya
The Nature Of Mothers' Work And Children's Schooling In Nepal: The Influence Of Income And Time Effects, Ashish Bajracharya
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Using nationally representative cross-sectional data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey, this Population Council working paper examines the influence of the nature of mothers’ work on Nepali children’s schooling outcomes. It analyses whether the engagement of mothers (and fathers) in nonagricultural work has significant consequences for their children’s school attendance and grade attainment, compared with these consequences when parents’ work is in traditional subsistence agriculture. Results indicate that children of parents who both work in the nonagriculture sector are significantly more likely to have attended or currently be attending school and have higher grade attainment, compared with children whose parents …
Multiple Disadvantages Of Mayan Females: The Effects Of Gender, Ethnicity, Poverty, And Residence On Education In Guatemala, Kelly Hallman, Sara Peracca, Jennifer Catino, Marta Julia Ruiz
Multiple Disadvantages Of Mayan Females: The Effects Of Gender, Ethnicity, Poverty, And Residence On Education In Guatemala, Kelly Hallman, Sara Peracca, Jennifer Catino, Marta Julia Ruiz
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Although access to primary education in Guatemala has increased in recent years, particularly in rural areas, levels of educational attainment and literacy remain among the lowest in Latin America. Inequalities in school access and grade attainment linked to ethnicity, gender, poverty, and residence remain. Age trends show that Mayan females are the least likely to ever enroll, and, if they do enroll, start school the latest and drop out earliest. Innovative programs for girls that combine instruction with social interaction in safe local community spaces may increase their educational attainment and their social networks and means of social support. In …
Implementing A Reproductive Health Agenda In India: The Beginning, Saroj Pachauri
Implementing A Reproductive Health Agenda In India: The Beginning, Saroj Pachauri
Reproductive Health
At the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994, the nations of the world agreed to give special attention to girls’ education, women’s health, infant survival, and women’s empowerment, and to provide comprehensive reproductive health (RH) services to enable couples to achieve their reproductive goals. The government of India launched a reproductive and child health program in October 1997. This book begins a review of the processes underway to operationalize the program. It brings together several important initiatives at various stages of development and examines key policy and program issues based on empirical research and field experience. The …