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Full-Text Articles in Women's Health
Advocating Corporate Policy Change On Women's Health And Family Planning: Lessons From The Environmental Movement, Matthew Mcfall, Carolyn Rodehau, David Wofford
Advocating Corporate Policy Change On Women's Health And Family Planning: Lessons From The Environmental Movement, Matthew Mcfall, Carolyn Rodehau, David Wofford
Reproductive Health
This brief presents key lessons from the environmental movement on effective strategies for driving changes in corporate policies and practices and creating new mechanisms for holding businesses accountable for environmental impacts. Corporate policies and voluntary and “soft law” standards may be unfamiliar to many women’s health advocates, but they are likely to have increasing importance in the years to come. The global health community can learn from the experience of environmentalists on how to engage businesses on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards and corporate practices around women’s health. The brief offers six recommendations for moving forward.
Health Needs, Health Seeking Pathways, And Drivers Of Health Seeking Behaviors Of Female Garment Factory Workers In Cambodia: Findings From A Qualitative Study In Phnom Penh And Kandal Provinces, Population Council, The Evidence Project
Health Needs, Health Seeking Pathways, And Drivers Of Health Seeking Behaviors Of Female Garment Factory Workers In Cambodia: Findings From A Qualitative Study In Phnom Penh And Kandal Provinces, Population Council, The Evidence Project
Reproductive Health
Existing information on Cambodian garment factory workers’ (GFWs) barriers to health services has generally come from project implementation documents or general baseline studies of these projects, rather than independent, rigorous studies that specifically examine the health needs and health-seeking behaviors of workers. Since previous studies did not include specific indicators related to workers’ health needs and health-seeking behaviors, they cannot offer a complete picture of these important issues. To fill this critical knowledge gap, in partnership with the National Institute of Public Health, the Evidence Project/Population Council conducted a formative qualitative study under the USAID-funded WorkerHealth project to improve the …
Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of The Herhealth Model For Improving Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights Knowledge And Access Of Female Garment Factory Workers In Bangladesh, Md. Irfan Hossain, Abdullah Al Mahmud Shohag, Ashish Bajracharya, Ubaidur Rob, Laura Reichenbach
Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of The Herhealth Model For Improving Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights Knowledge And Access Of Female Garment Factory Workers In Bangladesh, Md. Irfan Hossain, Abdullah Al Mahmud Shohag, Ashish Bajracharya, Ubaidur Rob, Laura Reichenbach
Reproductive Health
The Population Council, under its USAID-funded Evidence Project, partnered with Bangladesh’s Business for Social Responsibility program to conduct operational research to evaluate the effectiveness of the HERhealth model for improving female factory workers’ health, and to find ways to optimize program inputs and processes to support future scale-up of the intervention. This report presents findings from a pre- and post-intervention quantitative study of female factory workers from 10 factories; a qualitative study with factory managers, service providers, and implementing partners; and self-administered retention assessments of the Peer Health Educators from six factories in Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj districts. Findings from …
Married Young Women And Girls' Family Planning And Maternal Heath Preferences And Use In Ethiopia, Aparna Jain, Elizabeth Tobey, Hussein Ismail, Annabel Erulkar
Married Young Women And Girls' Family Planning And Maternal Heath Preferences And Use In Ethiopia, Aparna Jain, Elizabeth Tobey, Hussein Ismail, Annabel Erulkar
Reproductive Health
Married young women and girls are the primary users of youth-centered sexual and reproductive health services in Ethiopia and, given the health risks associated with early and closely-spaced pregnancies, represent an especially important population to reach with sexual and reproductive health services. This brief looks specifically at the needs and preferences for family planning and reproductive health services among married young women and girls, with recommendations for how to more effectively ensure that they have access to those services.
Workplace Health And The Garment Sector In Cambodia, Bunmey Yat, Carolyn Rodehau, David Wofford, Ashish Bajracharya
Workplace Health And The Garment Sector In Cambodia, Bunmey Yat, Carolyn Rodehau, David Wofford, Ashish Bajracharya
Reproductive Health
In Cambodia, there has been considerable investment in improving the well-being of factory workers. Understanding the key stakeholders and their roles in improving worker health is essential for policy change and ensuring that interventions achieve sustainable, long-term impact in and around the workplace. This policy brief presents selected findings from a stakeholder and situational analysis undertaken by the Cambodia Worker Health Coalition (WorkerHealth) to understand the stakeholder landscape and policy environment for women’s health in the garment industry in Cambodia, with the objective of identifying leading stakeholders and their relationships, as well as strategies and opportunities for collaboration. Collaboration and …
Reducing Violence Against Women And Girls In India: Lessons From The Do Kadam Programme, K.G. Santhya, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy
Reducing Violence Against Women And Girls In India: Lessons From The Do Kadam Programme, K.G. Santhya, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
A key challenge underlying the gap between policy and program commitments in India and the reality of women’s lives is the dearth of evidence on what works and what does not work to change notions of masculinity and femininity, reverse norms at the community level that condone marital violence, and reduce women’s experience of intimate partner violence. The Do Kadam Barabari Ki Ore (Two Steps Towards Equality) program aimed to fill this evidence gap. Do Kadam was implemented by the Population Council, the Centre for Catalyzing Change, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, with support from the …
Evaluation Of The Herhealth Intervention In Bangladesh: Baseline Findings From An Implementation Research Study, Md. Irfan Hossain, Abdullah Al Mahmud Shohag, Ashish Bajracharya, Ubaidur Rob, Laura Reichenbach
Evaluation Of The Herhealth Intervention In Bangladesh: Baseline Findings From An Implementation Research Study, Md. Irfan Hossain, Abdullah Al Mahmud Shohag, Ashish Bajracharya, Ubaidur Rob, Laura Reichenbach
Reproductive Health
The Business for Social Responsibility's (BSR) HERproject is a collaborative initiative that strives to empower low-income women working in global supply chains in 14 countries worldwide. One of the HERproject’s three pillars is HERhealth, which seeks to improve the health-related knowledge and behaviors, and access to health services and products, of low-income working women. In Bangladesh, HERhealth specifically addresses reproductive health and family planning needs. BSR asked the Evidence Project/Population Council to conduct an implementation science study assessing the effectiveness of BSR’s HERhealth model in Bangladesh. This study is one of the first studies of female garment workers in Dhaka …
Garment Sector Health Interventions In Cambodia: A Comprehensive Review, Molyaneth Heng, Ashish Bajracharya
Garment Sector Health Interventions In Cambodia: A Comprehensive Review, Molyaneth Heng, Ashish Bajracharya
Reproductive Health
As part of the WorkerHealth project, the Evidence Project/Population Council conducted a comprehensive review of garment sector health interventions, particularly reproductive health (RH) and family planning (FP)–focused projects, in Cambodia during the last five years. The results from the review support WorkerHealth’s objective of enabling evidence-based decisionmaking and programming related to the health and well-being of female garment factory workers in Cambodia, by documenting the range of garment sector health interventions and identifying best practices and gaps in programming and evaluation. This review identified a number of priority actions for current and future garment sector health interventions to consider in …
Promoting Respectful Maternity Care Resource Package—Implementing Respectful Maternity Care In Kenya, Population Council
Promoting Respectful Maternity Care Resource Package—Implementing Respectful Maternity Care In Kenya, Population Council
Reproductive Health
The Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) Resource Package was developed by the Heshima project as part of the USAID Translating Research into Action (TRAction) project. The resource package is designed to be used by program managers, supervisors, trainers, technical advisors, and others who organize or facilitate RMC training workshops on sexual and reproductive health as well as skills training in emergency obstetric and newborn care. The resource package provides experienced facilitators with background information, materials, instructions, and tips for promoting respectful care in reproductive, maternal, and newborn health services in both facilities and communities. The resource package also includes tools for …
Contraceptive Use And Fertility Intentions Among Women Living With Hiv In Kenya And Swaziland, Integra Initiative
Contraceptive Use And Fertility Intentions Among Women Living With Hiv In Kenya And Swaziland, Integra Initiative
Reproductive Health
At the end of 2013, an estimated 35 million people were living with HIV, and sub-Saharan Africa was disproportionately affected. With major efforts directed at expanding access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa, many people are living longer with HIV, leading productive and sexually active lives. Unintended pregnancies and the potential of vertical transmission are some of the challenges faced by women living with HIV. Understanding the fertility preferences and reproductive decisions of these women is vital for informing efforts to enable them to achieve these desires effectively and safely. The “Steps to Integration” series provides a guide on …
Women And Hiv: Risk Of Hiv Infection And How To Prevent [Arabic], Population Council
Women And Hiv: Risk Of Hiv Infection And How To Prevent [Arabic], Population Council
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
No abstract provided.
Learning From Women About Hiv Risk, Hiv Testing Behaviors, And Prevention Practices In Mpumalanga, South Africa: A Descriptive Study To Inform Microbicides Introduction, Martha Brady, Saiqa Mullick, Barbara Friedland, Marlena Gehret Plagianos, Linda Du Plessis, Thabiso Mango
Learning From Women About Hiv Risk, Hiv Testing Behaviors, And Prevention Practices In Mpumalanga, South Africa: A Descriptive Study To Inform Microbicides Introduction, Martha Brady, Saiqa Mullick, Barbara Friedland, Marlena Gehret Plagianos, Linda Du Plessis, Thabiso Mango
HIV and AIDS
The provision of any new prevention product in clinical trial settings is often vastly different from implementation in “real life” public sector settings. In addition, use of antiretrovirals (ARV), such as tenofovir gel, for pre-exposure prophylaxis requires regular HIV testing to ensure users are uninfected before initiating and continuing product use. Therefore, before any ARV-based prevention product can be introduced to women, information is needed on HIV testing practices, how best to integrate products into existing primary health care systems, and women’s risk perception and health-seeking behaviors. The Population Council, in partnership with Solutions IPPT, conducted a study to learn …
Sexual And Reproductive Health Among Young Female Sex Workers In Bangladesh Brothels—Baseline Findings From Link Up, Population Council
Sexual And Reproductive Health Among Young Female Sex Workers In Bangladesh Brothels—Baseline Findings From Link Up, Population Council
HIV and AIDS
Link Up is a global consortium of international and local nongovernmental organizations led by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. Link Up aimed to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people in Bangladesh, Burundi, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Uganda who are living with HIV or are affected by the HIV pandemic. Consortium members PIACT Bangladesh and Marie Stopes Bangladesh implemented a brothel-based program for female sex workers to address sexual and reproductive health and rights. Working in eight brothels in seven districts, trained female sex worker peer educators provided face-to-face education, including referrals to on-site and off-site health care …
Sexual And Reproductive Health Of Women Living With Hiv In Egypt: Unmet Needs And Unfulfilled Dreams, Doaa Oraby, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab
Sexual And Reproductive Health Of Women Living With Hiv In Egypt: Unmet Needs And Unfulfilled Dreams, Doaa Oraby, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab
Reproductive Health
The gender profile of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has changed since it emerged 30 years ago when infections were concentrated in key populations of men such as injecting drug users and men who have sex with men. In 2012, women accounted for nearly 50 percent of the estimated 35.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS globally. In the Middle East and North Africa, 44 percent of infected adults are women. The past 30 years have also witnessed remarkable improvements in access to high-quality information and medical services, including services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the virus. With care and treatment for …
Female Disadvantage In The Egyptian Labor Market: A Youth Perspective, Maia Sieverding
Female Disadvantage In The Egyptian Labor Market: A Youth Perspective, Maia Sieverding
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
In this brief, three aspects of female youth’s disadvantage in the labor market are analyzed: low labor force participation, high unemployment, and concentration in the public sector. These issues are closely interrelated and can be addressed through a set of policies that promote family-friendly employment conditions and the formalization of the private sector. The establishment of job search services for female youth is also critical to addressing the gender gap in unemployment.
Female Disadvantage In The Egyptian Labor Market: A Youth Perspective [Arabic], Maia Sieverding
Female Disadvantage In The Egyptian Labor Market: A Youth Perspective [Arabic], Maia Sieverding
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
In this brief, three aspects of female youth’s disadvantage in the labor market are analyzed: low labor force participation, high unemployment, and concentration in the public sector. These issues are closely interrelated and can be addressed through a set of policies that promote family-friendly employment conditions and the formalization of the private sector. The establishment of job search services for female youth is also critical to addressing the gender gap in unemployment.
Women's Economic Resources And Bargaining In Marriage: Does Egyptian Women's Status Depend On Earnings Or Marriage Payments?, Rania Salem
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This working paper reports on a study using Egyptian survey data to determine whether the effect of women's work on their status is mediated by the material transactions that accompany marriage. This perspective posits that marriage payments made to the bride, as well as assets she herself brings to the marriage, enhance her bargaining position. Analysis of the 2006 Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey panel data is used to explore the associations between women’s labor market activity, earnings, absolute and proportional marriage payments, and a measure of women’s status within marriage, namely their decisionmaking power. Consistent with the existing literature, …
Women's Job Search Behavior In The Egyptian Labor Market, Somaya Abdel Mowla
Women's Job Search Behavior In The Egyptian Labor Market, Somaya Abdel Mowla
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This study evaluates the difference between male and female job search behavior in the Egyptian labor market and the changes in this behavior between 1998 and 2006, in order to examine the effect of transition toward a market-oriented economy on job search activity. The paper also investigates the determinants of women’s job search behavior. The results reveal three alarming facts that raise worries about women’s labor force participation and their future labor market outcomes: women were less active job searchers than men, the gender gap in job search has widened, and this gap is even wider when excluding registration in …
Exploring Positive Women's Lives In Namakkal District, India, P. Kousalya, Deepika Ganju
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 …
Leave No Woman Behind, Ethiopia: Baseline Report, Annabel Erulkar, Tekle-Ab Mekbib, Helen Amdemikael, Garry Conille
Leave No Woman Behind, Ethiopia: Baseline Report, Annabel Erulkar, Tekle-Ab Mekbib, Helen Amdemikael, Garry Conille
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
“Leave No Woman Behind, Ethiopia” is an experimental project being implemented in rural areas of Ethiopia’s Amhara region. The project uses the mobilization of women into groups and adult literacy as an entry point for reproductive health education and referrals. Measurement of the program’s impact is being undertaken using a quasi-experimental research design including baseline and endline surveys in six Kebele Associations in rural Amhara. This report presents findings from the baseline survey conducted among more than 3,000 girls and women aged 10–45 in rural Amhara region. The results cover a broad range of topics including education, work, livelihoods, social …
Women's Participation In Disaster Relief And Recovery, Ayse Yonder, Sengul Akcar, Prema Gopalan
Women's Participation In Disaster Relief And Recovery, Ayse Yonder, Sengul Akcar, Prema Gopalan
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Too little attention has been given to the gender-differentiated effects of natural disasters, that is, women’s losses relative to men’s, how women’s work time and conditions change (both in terms of care-giving and income-generating work), or how disaster-related aid and entitlement programs include or marginalize affected women. The detailed case studies from three earthquake-stricken areas in India and Turkey that are contained in this issue of SEEDS help fill this information gap. They provide examples of how low-income women who have lost everything can form groups and become active participants in the relief and recovery process. Readers learn how women …
Strengthening Social Science Research On Women's Health: Lessons Learned From A Capacity Building Programme, M.E. Khan, Bella C. Patel, John Townsend
Strengthening Social Science Research On Women's Health: Lessons Learned From A Capacity Building Programme, M.E. Khan, Bella C. Patel, John Townsend
Reproductive Health
The International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 led to an upsurge in interest in implementing reproductive health (RH) programs worldwide. The urgency to act has led to the development of disparate activities in several developing countries including India. While programs have been growing in numbers, their quality is in question. A fundamental problem has been lack of capacity at all levels of the health service system to respond to the paradigm shift articulated by the advocates of the reproductive health and rights agenda. To redesign programs, considerable research must be undertaken to understand the health needs and sociocultural …
Testing Alternative Channels For Providing Emergency Contraception To Young Women, John P. Skibiak, Mangala Chambeshi-Moyo, Yusuf Ahmed
Testing Alternative Channels For Providing Emergency Contraception To Young Women, John P. Skibiak, Mangala Chambeshi-Moyo, Yusuf Ahmed
Reproductive Health
In September 1997, the Population Council and Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital (UTH) launched a 15-month study to identify and explore the range of issues relating to the introduction of emergency contraception (EC) within a developing country context. The study allowed clinic-based family planning providers to accumulate enough first-hand experience to be able to identify strategies for overcoming difficulties associated with the introduction or delivery of EC services. One issue on most participants’ minds was the need to expand the delivery of EC services toward young women, especially out-of-school women, who are harder to reach. Participants recommended that future research activities …
Alone You Are Nobody, Together We Float: The Manuela Ramos Movement, Judith Bruce, Debbie Rogow
Alone You Are Nobody, Together We Float: The Manuela Ramos Movement, Judith Bruce, Debbie Rogow
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Quality/Calidad/Qualité, a publication of the Population Council, highlights examples of clinical and educational programs which bring a strong commitment, as well as innovative and thoughtful approaches, to the issue of quality care in sexual and reproductive health. The series is based on the philosophy that women and their partners have a fundamental right to respectful treatment, information, choice, and follow-up from reproductive health care providers. This issue discusses improving women’s health and well being through a range of empowerment strategies in rural Peru.
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 …
Integrating Rti Service With Primary Health Care, Population Council
Integrating Rti Service With Primary Health Care, Population Council
Reproductive Health
The reproductive health (RH) movement worldwide has brought reproductive tract infections (RTIs) under sharp focus as an urgent health need of women. While RTIs are preventable or treatable, they are often the cause of infertility, ectopic pregnancy, cervical cancer, fetal loss, low birth-weight infants, infant blindness, and neonatal pneumonia. The adverse health effects of RTIs, particularly STIs, is much higher for women than men. Recent research has demonstrated that RTIs are closely linked to other areas of health care like family planning (FP), safe motherhood, child survival, and HIV prevention. Hence, each could significantly contribute to the reduction and control …
Living On A Fault Line: Political Violence Against Women In Algeria, Leila Hessini
Living On A Fault Line: Political Violence Against Women In Algeria, Leila Hessini
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This study raises three questions to better comprehend the crisis women face in Algeria today: how are the state and the opposition groups addressing and defining women’s contemporary status, what is the link between women’s status and violence against them, and what are the tactics both of resistance and accommodation that Algerian women are using to survive in such a context? Throughout this study, the term “Islamic Fundamentalists” refers to movements and people in Algeria who use the “recovery” of early principles of the Ideal Muslim Community to develop their idea of a future Islamic “social order,” with the ultimate …
Women's Perceptions Of Sexuality In Rural Giza, Hind Khattab
Women's Perceptions Of Sexuality In Rural Giza, Hind Khattab
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This study on sexuality among women in rural Giza, Egypt, is part of a broader project on women's health and reproductive morbidity conducted by the Population Council’s Reproductive Health Working Group. Reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and other ailments associated with reproduction among women in the rural community surveyed suggest that a heavy burden of disease is being borne by women living in underprivileged areas in this region. This research on sexuality has been conducted within a conceptual framework that uses a socio-cultural approach to health and illness. The investigation is an assessment of women's perception of and knowledge about sexuality …
Improving The Counseling And Medical Care Of Postabortion Patients In Egypt, Population Council, Egyptian Fertility Care Society
Improving The Counseling And Medical Care Of Postabortion Patients In Egypt, Population Council, Egyptian Fertility Care Society
Reproductive Health
This pilot study conducted in Cairo and Minya examined the effects of improving the medical care and counseling of post-abortion patients in Egypt. A pre-test/post-test, no control group study design was used to measure the effects of an intervention that upgraded physicians' clinical and interpersonal communication skills for the care of post-abortion patients, including counseling and family planning (FP). The study's surveys utilized direct interviews with staff working in the OB/GYN wards, structured observations of treatment procedures and counseling of post-abortion patients, and interviews with patients prior to discharge. Changes in the clinical management of post-abortion patients were introduced through …
Follow-Up Study Among Iud Acceptors Of Java, R. Hasan M. Hoesni, M. Hasan, Anthony Tan, Jayanti Tuladhar, Jusuf S. Effendi, Bantuk Hadijanto, Pudjo Hartono
Follow-Up Study Among Iud Acceptors Of Java, R. Hasan M. Hoesni, M. Hasan, Anthony Tan, Jayanti Tuladhar, Jusuf S. Effendi, Bantuk Hadijanto, Pudjo Hartono
Reproductive Health
As of April 1993, an estimated 5.3 million women in Indonesia were using IUDs. In 1991, the IUD was the second most commonly used family planning method in Indonesia (13.4 percent). According to the Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey, in 1994 it became the third most commonly used method among currently married women (10.3 percent), primarily on the islands of Java and Bali. The National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN), in collaboration with the Faculties of Medicine, Diponegoro University in Semarang, Airlangga University in Surabaya, and BKS-Penfin in Bandung, conducted a "Follow-up Study Among IUD Acceptors of Java,” from November …