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Full-Text Articles in Women's Health

The Nia Project: Baseline Survey Instruments, Karen Austrian Jan 2017

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 Jan 2017

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 Jan 2017

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 …


Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya: Qualitative Report, Eunice N. Muthengi, Karen Austrian, Amanda Landrian, Benta Abuya, Joyce Mumah, Caroline W. Kabiru Jan 2016

Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya: Qualitative Report, Eunice N. Muthengi, Karen Austrian, Amanda Landrian, Benta Abuya, Joyce Mumah, Caroline W. Kabiru

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya (AGI-K) is currently delivering multisectoral interventions, targeting violence prevention, education, health, and wealth creation, to adolescent girls aged 11–14 in two marginalized areas of Kenya. This report provides a brief overview of the research design and intervention components being delivered in AGI-K, and presents findings from the first round of qualitative data collection intended to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation processes thus far. The findings provide important information about the perceived effects of the program from a diverse set of respondents. Overall, beneficiaries, their parents/guardians, and other key stakeholders value the program and …


Female-Initiated Prevention: Integrating Female Condoms Into Hiv Risk-Reduction Activities In Kenya, Population Council, Liverpool Vct Care & Treatment Jan 2009

Female-Initiated Prevention: Integrating Female Condoms Into Hiv Risk-Reduction Activities In Kenya, Population Council, Liverpool Vct Care & Treatment

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Female Condom (FC) is the only female-initiated prevention product on the market today that provides simultaneous protection against STIs, including HIV, and unintended pregnancy. However, the FC remains limited in supply, not widely available, and underutilized in many settings. Improvements in FC programming are essential to achieve increased uptake and public health impact, and to pave the way for future women’s HIV prevention products. The Population Council’s Female-Initiated Prevention Methods project aimed to stimulate action and generate evidence around FC access through innovative program experimentation. The study was conducted to understand the challenges and opportunities these different access models …


Adolescent Girls Programming And Capacity-Building Workshop, Nairobi, Kenya, November 10-14, 2008: Workshop Report, Population Council Jan 2009

Adolescent Girls Programming And Capacity-Building Workshop, Nairobi, Kenya, November 10-14, 2008: Workshop Report, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Around the world, adolescent girls are disadvantaged by age and gender. Many are denied the skills and resources to protect and advance themselves. Adolescent girls are even more vulnerable to exploitive work, abuse, and limiting life options if they are poor. Adolescent girls are marginalized or entirely invisible in development policy, yet their role in communities and populations make them a critical asset to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). International donors and development partners have started to recognize the critical role adolescent girls play in achieving the MDGs. The purpose of the Adolescent Girls Programming and Capacity-building Workshop was …


Female-Initiated Prevention Methods (Fipm) In Kenya: Focus On The Female Condom, Martha Brady Jan 2008

Female-Initiated Prevention Methods (Fipm) In Kenya: Focus On The Female Condom, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

As noted in this brief, the female condom (FC) is the only female-initiated prevention product that provides simultaneous protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Although available for more than a decade, the FC remains limited in supply, not readily available, and underutilized. Obstacles to widespread availability and use are often generalized (e.g., high costs, resistance of partners, or unavailability). With the upcoming second generation of FCs—and ultimately microbicides—being added to female-initiated prevention methods, the need to overcome these impediments with concrete solutions is critical. Government and donor commitment to long-term, sustained supply and program support is essential. …


Consistency In The Reporting Of Sexual Behavior Among Adolescent Girls In Kenya: A Comparison Of Interviewing Methods, Paul C. Hewett, Barbara Mensch, Annabel Erulkar Jan 2003

Consistency In The Reporting Of Sexual Behavior Among Adolescent Girls In Kenya: A Comparison Of Interviewing Methods, Paul C. Hewett, Barbara Mensch, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This paper explores the consistency in reporting of sexual behavior in a household survey of adolescents aged 15-21 in the Kisumu district of Kenya. Respondents were randomly assigned to different interviewing modes: face-to-face interviews, paper-and-pencil self-administered interviews, and audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI). The analysis focuses on the reporting of sexual behavior by adolescent girls in the face-to-face and ACASI modes and compares responses to a variety of questions about sexual activity, including sexual initiation, risky sexual behavior, and coerced sex. All sexual behavior questions were asked of each adolescent girl even if she answered “no” to the initial question about …


The Reporting Of Sensitive Behavior Among Adolescents: A Methodological Experiment In Kenya, Barbara Mensch, Paul C. Hewett, Annabel Erulkar Jan 2001

The Reporting Of Sensitive Behavior Among Adolescents: A Methodological Experiment In Kenya, Barbara Mensch, Paul C. Hewett, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This paper assesses whether audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (audio-CASI), a technique designed in the United States to collect data on sensitive behaviors, is a feasible method of survey data collection in a developing-country setting and whether it produces more valid reporting of sexual activity and related behaviors than traditional survey methods. The analysis is based on interviews with nearly 4,400 unmarried adolescents aged 15-21 in Nyeri, a rural district of Kenya that was selected because previous research had indicated a wide discrepancy in the reporting of premarital sexual behavior between boys and girls. The study was based on a quasi-experimental design …


El Método Cope Para Mejorar El Cuidado De La Atención: La Experiencia De La Asociación Para La Planificación Familiar De Kenia, Janet Bradley, Judith Bruce, Soledad Diaz, Carlos Huezo, Kalimi Mworia Jan 1998

El Método Cope Para Mejorar El Cuidado De La Atención: La Experiencia De La Asociación Para La Planificación Familiar De Kenia, Janet Bradley, Judith Bruce, Soledad Diaz, Carlos Huezo, Kalimi Mworia

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Esta es la primera de varias ediciones de Quality/Calidad/Qualité que describen métodos concebidos para ayudar tanto a los directores como al personal de los programas de planificación familiar a efectuar una evaluación propia de la calidad de los servicios que prestan. Estas herramientas dan a los patrocinadores de los programas la oportunidad de identificar las deficiencias en su entorno de servicio y proponer soluciones. El informe examina la experiencia de la Asociación Nacional de Planificación Familiar de Kenia, proporciona algunas lecciones aprendidas y demuestra que estos ejercicios de autoevaluación están, de hecho, dando como resultado una mejora de la calidad …


Using Cope To Improve Quality Of Care: The Experience Of The Family Planning Association Of Kenya, Janet Bradley, Judith Bruce, Soledad Diaz, Carlos Huezo, Kalimi Mworia Jan 1998

Using Cope To Improve Quality Of Care: The Experience Of The Family Planning Association Of Kenya, Janet Bradley, Judith Bruce, Soledad Diaz, Carlos Huezo, Kalimi Mworia

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This is the first of several editions of Quality/Calidad/Qualité that describe methodologies designed to assist family planning program managers and staff to self-assess the quality of services they are providing. These tools give program sponsors an opportunity to identify shortfalls in their service environment and propose solutions. This issue focuses on AVSC International's COPE (client-oriented, provider-efficient) methodology, a self-assessment tool that has now been used in 35 countries around the world. The report examines the experience of the National Family Planning Association of Kenya, provides some lessons learned, and demonstrates that these self-assessment exercises are, in fact, resulting in system-wide …