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

Women's Health Commons

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

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Women's Health

Priority Setting For Reproductive Health At The District Level In The Context Of Health Sector Reforms In Ghana, Harriet Birungi, Philomena Nyarko, Ian Askew, Ayorinde Ajayi, Gifty Addico, Edward Addai, Caroline Jehu-Appiah Jan 2006

Priority Setting For Reproductive Health At The District Level In The Context Of Health Sector Reforms In Ghana, Harriet Birungi, Philomena Nyarko, Ian Askew, Ayorinde Ajayi, Gifty Addico, Edward Addai, Caroline Jehu-Appiah

Reproductive Health

This report outlines results of an in-depth assessment carried out in Ghana in order to provide a better understanding of key factors affecting reproductive health (RH) prioritization at the district level; and to make recommendations for policy dialogue, advocacy, resource allocation, and RH program implementation. In particular, the study examined whether or not districts are connecting to the central process of priority setting and reasons for not doing so. The report includes recommendations for bridging the policy implementation gap, including: ensuring that RH advocates participate in national policy dialogue; investing in systems development for procurement and delivery of drugs and …


Costs Of Reproductive Health Services Provided By Four Christian Health Association Of Ghana (Chag) Hospitals, James Boateng, Henry Surnye, Alex Mensah, Bismark Boateng, Philomena Nyarko, Nzoya Munguti, John H. Bratt Jan 2006

Costs Of Reproductive Health Services Provided By Four Christian Health Association Of Ghana (Chag) Hospitals, James Boateng, Henry Surnye, Alex Mensah, Bismark Boateng, Philomena Nyarko, Nzoya Munguti, John H. Bratt

Reproductive Health

The Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) is a large faith-based NGO which currently serves an estimated 35 percent of the Ghanaian population, mainly in remote rural areas. This study built capacity within the CHAG secretariat to calculate the economic cost and cost recovery levels of selected reproductive health services in four CHAG-affiliated hospitals. Techniques learned in the study are applicable to most costing problems, not just to reproductive health. Information obtained in the study forms the basis for negotiating reimbursement under the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme, and for setting cost recovery and containment policies. CHAG senior managers plan …


Acceptability And Sustainability Of The Who Focused Antenatal Care Package In Kenya, Harriet Birungi, Washington Onyango-Ouma Jan 2006

Acceptability And Sustainability Of The Who Focused Antenatal Care Package In Kenya, Harriet Birungi, Washington Onyango-Ouma

Reproductive Health

The objectives of this study were to assess the Kenyan Ministry of Health’s capacity to adapt focused antenatal care (ANC) at the service delivery level so that it can be sustained, and to examine the extent to which adaptation of the package has increased coverage and quality of key ANC services and the overall quality of care received by pregnant women. The study showed that focused ANC is acceptable to both clients and providers and the approach has also received tremendous support from both the government and health development partners. However, the sustainability of the focused ANC package is contingent …


Correlates Of Inter-Birth Intervals: Implications Of Optimal Birth Spacing Strategies In Mozambique, Saumya Ramarao, John Townsend, Ian Askew Jan 2006

Correlates Of Inter-Birth Intervals: Implications Of Optimal Birth Spacing Strategies In Mozambique, Saumya Ramarao, John Townsend, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

The Optimal Birth Spacing Initiative (OBSI) was created under the auspices of USAID to place optimal birth spacing on the global leadership priority agenda. As part of this initiative, Advance Africa documented a pilot intervention to introduce the new spacing message in Mozambique. The FRONTIERS program of the Population Council collaborated with Advance Africa providing technical input, and assistance in the conceptualization of intervention design and evaluation. This paper was written to inform Advance Africa’s efforts in Mozambique and includes a short review of correlates of birth intervals; a presentation of results from analysis of Mozambique-DHS 1997 data that identify …


Reproductive Health Update Trainings For Health Workers In North Eastern Province, Garissa, Kenya Ministry Of Health, Population Council Jan 2006

Reproductive Health Update Trainings For Health Workers In North Eastern Province, Garissa, Kenya Ministry Of Health, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The Somali community living in Kenya has practiced the severest form of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), infibulation, for centuries. To understand the context within which the practice takes place, and how its complications are managed, FRONTIERS undertook a diagnostic study in North Eastern Province and in the Eastleigh area of Nairobi. The study found that the health system is ill equipped to serve women who have been cut, and particularly infibulated women who are pregnant and delivering, stemming from an overall weakness in the availability and quality of maternal and neonatal heath services. Specific recommendations could strengthen these services so …


Strategies For Encouraging The Abandonment Of Female Genital Cutting In West Africa: Experiences From Senegal, Burkina Faso, And Mali, Nafissatou J. Diop, Ian Askew Jan 2006

Strategies For Encouraging The Abandonment Of Female Genital Cutting In West Africa: Experiences From Senegal, Burkina Faso, And Mali, Nafissatou J. Diop, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

This article explores efforts to encourage abandonment of female genital cutting (FGC) in Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Mali. The strategy of encouraging traditional practitioners to stop performing FGC is not effective as community-level support for the practice remains high. Training health staff significantly improved healthcare providers' levels of knowledge about FGC and its complications. Consequently, it was recommended that such training be incorporated into preservice medical training. The use of community-based strategies like the Village Education Program (VEP) showed the most promise, as their multifaceted approach addresses knowledge, attitudes, actions, and communal support in an integrated manner. The way forward …


Cost Analysis Of Reproductive Health Services In Pcea Chogoria Hospital, Kenya, Nzoya Munguti, Moses Mokua, Rick Homan, Harriet Birungi Jan 2006

Cost Analysis Of Reproductive Health Services In Pcea Chogoria Hospital, Kenya, Nzoya Munguti, Moses Mokua, Rick Homan, Harriet Birungi

Reproductive Health

Presbyterian Church of East Africa Chogoria Hospital is a faith-based nongovernmental organization providing a wide range of healthcare services. The organization faces a number of challenges related to sustainability: declining donor support (especially for reproductive health services), low cost recovery levels, and increasing poverty levels among its clientele. In response to these concerns, a team from Chogoria Hospital attended a one-week workshop on financial sustainability held in Ghana and developed a small-scale operations research project to determine the cost of providing a selected number of reproductive health (RH) services and to evaluate their cost recovery levels. The study found that …


Analyse De L'Evolution De La Pratique De L'Excision Au Burkina Faso: L'Environment Institutionel, Politique Et Programmatique De La Lutte Contre La Pratique De L'Excision, Nafissatou J. Diop, Zakari Congo, Aina Ouedraogo, Alphosine Sawadogo, Lydia Saloucou, Ida Tamini Jan 2006

Analyse De L'Evolution De La Pratique De L'Excision Au Burkina Faso: L'Environment Institutionel, Politique Et Programmatique De La Lutte Contre La Pratique De L'Excision, Nafissatou J. Diop, Zakari Congo, Aina Ouedraogo, Alphosine Sawadogo, Lydia Saloucou, Ida Tamini

Reproductive Health

La présente analyse du projet Frontiers du Population Council fait un tour historique des événements majeurs de la lutte contre la pratique de l’excision au Burkina Faso avant d’aborder les conventions internationales auxquelles le pays a adhéré ainsi que les textes nationaux adoptés en ce qui concerne les droits de l’homme, spécifiquement le droit des femmes et des enfants. Elle analyse également l’application de la loi à travers l’évolution des cas de condamnation depuis l’adoption de la loi. Enfin, elle s’intéressera à quelques programmes d’intervention mis en place en identifiant les acquis et les limites. Ce travail fait partie d’une …


Technical Assistance To Organizations In Guinea Seeking To Reduce Female Genital Cutting, Nafissatou J. Diop Jan 2006

Technical Assistance To Organizations In Guinea Seeking To Reduce Female Genital Cutting, Nafissatou J. Diop

Reproductive Health

This reports details the technical assistance the Population Council’s FRONTIERS program provided to WHO’s Africa Bureau to implement a project addressing medicalization of female genital cutting (FGC), and to support Tostan in replicating its program in Guinea. Technical assistance had several aims: to improve the effectiveness of strategies to abandon FGC in Guinea, to assist WHO in developing and implementing a project to reduce FGC medicalization by health providers, to build the capacity of Guinean organizations to appropriately monitor and evaluate their FGC-related activities, and to enable the Comité de Lutte contre les Pratiques Traditionnelles portant Atteinte aux Femmes (CPTAFE) …


Acceptability And Feasibility Of Introducing The Who Focused Antenatal Care Package In Ghana, Harriet Birungi, Philomena Nyarko, Margaret Armar-Klemesu, Daniel Arhinful, Sylvia Deganus, Henrietta Odoi-Agyarko, Gladys Brew Jan 2006

Acceptability And Feasibility Of Introducing The Who Focused Antenatal Care Package In Ghana, Harriet Birungi, Philomena Nyarko, Margaret Armar-Klemesu, Daniel Arhinful, Sylvia Deganus, Henrietta Odoi-Agyarko, Gladys Brew

Reproductive Health

The main objective of this study, undertaken by Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and FRONTIERS, with USAID funding, was to examine the extent to which adaptation of the WHO focused antenatal care (ANC) package influenced quality of care received by pregnant women and its acceptability to both providers and clients. The results indicate that national-level support for focused ANC is high. The package appears to have been well accepted by both clients and providers because of its comprehensiveness and the individualized care. The process of stimulating changes in focused ANC service delivery …


Sexual Harassment In The Workplace: Experiences Of Women In The Health Sector, Paramita Chaudhuri Jan 2006

Sexual Harassment In The Workplace: Experiences Of Women In The Health Sector, Paramita Chaudhuri

Reproductive Health

The objective of this report is to explore sexual harassment of women in the health sector in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Specifically, it explores women’s perceptions of the occurrence of sexual harassment in hospital settings, and probes women’s own experiences of sexual harassment and incidents of sexual harassment in the hospital environment about which women are aware. The study also investigates the nature of action taken to seek redress, and the extent to which working women are aware of the complaint mechanism outlined by the Supreme Court. Findings confirm the persistence of sexual harassment in the workplace, the reluctance of …