Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons^™

Air Pollution, Economic Development Of Communities, And Health Status Among The Elderly In Urban China., Rongjun Sun, Danan Gu

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

In Western societies, the impact of air pollution on residents' health is higher in less wealthy communities. However, it is not clear whether such an interaction effect applies to developing countries. The authors examine how the level of community development modifies the impact of air pollution on health outcomes of the Chinese elderly using data from the third wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey in 2002, which includes 7,358 elderly residents aged 65 or more years from 735 districts in 171 cities. The results show that, compared with a 1-point increase in the air pollution index in urban …

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. …

The Female Condom In Ghana: Exploring The Current State Of Affairs And Gauging Potential For Enhanced Promotion, Reshma Naik, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The female condom (FC) is the only safe and effective female-initiated method that provides simultaneous protection against unintended pregnancy as well as sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. An exploratory exercise was conducted by the Population Council to gain an understanding of the current and historical landscape of FC procurement, distribution, and programming in Ghana and to explore the viability of enhancing national FC promotion. The exercise revealed that a large-scale launch of the FC occurred in Ghana in 2000 and was largely successful in raising product awareness; however, uptake remained low. Momentum has waned since the initial launch and financial …

Education And Transition To Work Among Youth In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The extent to which India will be able to successfully harness its demographic dividend depends significantly on the situation of its youth, notably on the levels of education and market-oriented skills they attain. In many states, youth have made progress on these fronts. Youth in Maharashtra have made considerable strides in terms of educational attainment, yet it is not clear that they are prepared for the challenges they will face in a globalized world. Looking at the current educational and employment situation of youth in Maharashtra, this policy brief argues that significant investments in terms of appropriate policies and programs …

Young People's Participation In Civil Society And Political Life In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Youth participation in civil society and political life is increasingly recognized as an important development objective. The opportunities for participation that young people experience in their communities may influence their development and the types of transitions they make to adulthood. Moreover, behaviors and attitudes relating to community participation that individuals adopt as young people predict lifelong civic affiliations and perspectives. In India, the National Youth Policy 2003 has underscored the role of India’s youth in political decision-making, and has argued for greater representation of youth in appropriate bodies as well as more extensive youth participation in program design and implementation. …

Terms Of Marriage And Time-Use Patterns Of Young Wives: Evidence From Rural Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin, Luciana Suran

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This working paper explores the relationship between marriage arrangements and daily activities of young married women, using detailed time-use data from an adolescent study in rural Bangladesh. Measures of marriage arrangement are payment of dowry and the relative wealth status of natal and marital families. Using multivariate regression analysis, the results show that women’s time spent in domestic work, socializing, and self-care is significantly associated with marriage arrangement variables. Those who paid dowry spent more time in domestic work and less time in self-care and socializing relative to those who did not pay dowry. These patterns of association are similar …

Multiple Dimensions Of Urban Well-Being: Evidence From India, S. Chandrasekhar, Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This working paper addresses differences in outcomes across households residing in slums and non-slum urban areas of India. We first established that if utility is defined as access to public goods such as water and sanitation, then residents in non-slum urban areas are unambiguously better off than slum dwellers. On the other hand, we found that the distribution of private goods (monthly per capita expenditure and per capita living area) in non-slum areas does not dominate the distribution of these goods in the slums, implying that non-slum residents are not unequivocally better off than slum residents. Since slums are on …

Early Marriage And Sexual And Reproductive Health Risks: Experiences Of Young Women And Men In Andhra Pradesh And Madhya Pradesh, India, K.G. Santhya, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, Saswata Ghosh

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Population Council undertook a large-scale study of married young women and men in two rural settings in India to assess their situation and vulnerability to HIV and other adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Findings of the study clearly underscore the vulnerability of married youth to STI/HIV as a result of risky sexual experiences before, within, and after marriage. Furthermore, there is a need to sensitize healthcare providers to the special needs and vulnerability of married young people and orient them to the need for developing appropriate strategies to reach diverse groups of young people, including married young women …

Youth In India: Situation And Needs 2006-2007, Executive Summary, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips), Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This executive summary presents, in brief, findings on the situation of youth in Maharashtra, part of a subnational study undertaken by the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, and the Population Council, New Delhi, as part of a project to collect information on key transitions experienced by youth in India. Transitions include those related to education, workforce participation, sexual activity, marriage, health and civic participation, the magnitude and patterns of young people’s sexual and reproductive practices before, within, and outside of marriage, as well as related knowledge, decision-making, and attitudes. The project was implemented in six states of India, namely, …

Taller Regional De Utilización De Resultados De Investigación Operativa Para Incrementar El Acceso, La Calidad E Integración De Los Servicios Anticonceptivos En América Latina Y El Caribe, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes, Antonieta Martin

Reproductive Health

En octubre de 2007, el programa Fronteras de la Salud Reproductiva (FRONTERAS) realizó un taller regional de tres días en La Antigua, Guatemala, para difundir los resultados de sus proyectos de investigación operativa. Durante el taller, los participantes escucharon los avances en la metodología anticonceptiva y escucharon las estrategias efectivas que probó FRONTERAS para incrementar el acceso al DIU y la vasectomía; la integración de la planificación familiar con los servicios posparto, postaborto y PTMI. Los investigadores habloaron sobre los resultados de los estudios, los gerentes de los programas explicaron cómo se usaban los instrumentos y se habló de la …

Guía Operativa Para Programas De Educación Sexual Y Servicios De Salud Reproductiva Para Jóvenes, Ofelia Aguilar, Lorena Santos, Marisa Diaz Infante, Rocio Mejia, Ricardo Vernon, Antonieta Martin

Reproductive Health

El presente libro tiene como fin poner al alcance de personas y organizaciones interesadas en establecer políticas y programas de servicios y educación sexual para los jóvenes, una guía basada en el Programa Gente Joven que implementa la Fundación Mexicana para la Planeación Familiar, A.C. (MEXFAM). Consideramos que los componentes y las actividades de este programa pueden ser adaptados en otras latitudes y así enriquecer proyectos orientados al trabajo con jóvenes.

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The purpose of this book is to make available, to people and organizations interested in establishing policies and programs on sexual education and services for young people, a …

Lutte Contre La Pratique De L'Excision Au Mali: De L'Approche Santé À L'Approche Basée Sur Les Droits De L'Enfant-Rapport D'Evaluation Du Programme Du Centre Djoliba, Anta Fall Diagne

Reproductive Health

Depuis les années 1980, Save the Children Suède soutient des activités visant à éliminer la pratique de l'excision organisées par le Centre Djoliba au Mali. Le but de cette évaluation est d'examiner l'impact du programme du Centre Djoliba sur la vie de communautés sélectionnées et en utilisant une approche basée sur les droits de l'homme et de l'enfant, pour examiner les changements majeurs dans les communautés cibles. Cette approche a conduit à une meilleure compréhension de ces droits et à la volonté des communautés d’essayer d’intégrer les connaissances acquises sur ces droits dans leur vie quotidienne. Cependant, l'environnement socioéconomique défavorable …

Evaluation Of The Long-Term Impact Of The Tostan Programme On The Abandonment Of Fgm/C And Early Marriage: Results From A Qualitative Study In Senegal, Nafissatou J. Diop, Amadou Moreau, Helene Benga

Reproductive Health

In 1998–99, a village empowerment program was implemented in the Thiès/Fatick and Kolda regions of Senegal by the nongovernmental organization Tostan, to mobilize communities to hold public declarations in support of abandoning harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage. The information presented in this report indicates that many did end the practices following a public declaration, however, the lack of follow-up in the field and the absence of support mechanisms pose a large obstacle. Nevertheless, the program achieved significant results: knowledge of life skills resulting in positive changes and a shift in the perception of FGM/C …

Analysis Of The Evolution Of The Practice Of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Burkina Faso, Nafissatou J. Diop, Zakari Congo, Aina Ouedraogo, Alphosine Sawadogo, Lydia Saloucou, Ida Tamini

Reproductive Health

This study was undertaken as a collaboration between the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health program and the Comité National de Lutte contre la Pratique de l’Excision (CNLPE) within the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity in Burkina Faso. The creation of a favorable environment for the campaign against excision in Burkina Faso has facilitated various anti-cutting activities over the past two decades and enabled the achievement of gains, both in terms of awareness and behavior change. However some of the strategies need further readjustment: among the reasons why excision still continues in Burkina Faso is a certain view …

Using Systematic Screening To Integrate Health Services In India And Senegal: Pilot Study Versus Scale-Up Results, James R. Foreit

Reproductive Health

This study examines the effectiveness of using systematic screening to integrate health services in India and Senegal. First, a pilot study of relatively small-scale experiments was undertaken to determine if systematic screening for unmet needs for health services could increase the number of preventive care services clients receive at healthcare visits. FRONTIERS then participated in the scale-up to test the effect of different supervision and training strategies on the frequency of provider screening. Results show that systematic screening may have the potential to produce important increases in the number of services provided in many developing country settings at the pilot …

Technical Assistance To The Interagency Coordination Group Seeking To Reduce Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, Nafissatou J. Diop

Reproductive Health

This report documents technical assistance provided by FRONTIERS to the Interagency Coordination Group seeking to reduce female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, staff assisted the group in networking, learning to talk to each other, setting up an operational way of functioning, and influencing key international policy and programmatic documents. Lessons learned through operations research on FGM/C were disseminated widely through the group’s activities and FRONTIERS technical assistance influenced several plans of action and implementation programs. The report notes that in addition to better networking for presenting a common regional vision during the development of policy and programmatic …

Creating The Conditions For Scaling Up The Integration Of Reproductive Health Services For Men In Health And Family Welfare Centers In Bangladesh, M.A. Mannan, Jafar Ahmad Hakim, Syeda Tazneen Waris, Ashraf Ali, Akm Nurul Hakim, Abdul Hannan, Sameena Chowdhury, Saria Tasnim, Saiful Islam, Aqm Rezaul Karim, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Ubaidur Rob, M.E. Khan

Reproductive Health

An operations research study, supported by the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) program, showed that reproductive health services for men could be feasibly and acceptably integrated within the Health and Family Welfare Centres in Bangladesh, which have been primarily women-centered health facilities. Given these findings, a follow-up study was implemented to create the conditions for scaling up the model through identifying and piloting the operational details to consider when taking the intervention to scale. The findings presented in this report suggest that this model of service delivery and training can be scaled up countrywide, preferably in stages. To …

Strengthening Emergency Contraception In Nepal, Mahendra Pd. Shrestha, Sharif M.I. Hossain, M.E. Khan

Reproductive Health

A national workshop on emergency contraception was organized in Nepal by the Family Health Division within the Ministry of Health in 2004, with technical assistance provided by the FRONTIERS program of the Population Council. Among many conclusions from the workshop, one recommendation was that emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) should be introduced through the government family planning program to assist in reducing unwanted pregnancies. Based on the Population Council’s past experiences with introducing and mainstreaming ECP services in Bangladesh and India, a phase-wise introduction of ECP in Nepal was recommended. The project findings suggest that Nepalese women continue to face an …

Situation Analysis Of The Integration Of Family Planning Services In Postpartum, Postabortion And Prevention Of Mother To Child Transmission Programs In The Dominican Republic, Gisela Quiterio, Maritza Molina, Marija Miric, Ricardo Vernon, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes

Reproductive Health

A diagnostic study of the provision and use of contraception in postpartum, postabortion, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs in the Dominican Republic was conducted with funding from USAID. The objectives of the study were to assess the contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of providers and clients; the degree to which information, counseling, and delivery are implemented in postpartum, postabortion, and PMTCT services; the quality of these services; and the readiness of postpartum, postabortion, and PMTCT services to offer contraceptive services. The report finds that family planning services are linked to antenatal, delivery, and postpartum care in most of …

Helping Egyptian Women Achieve Optimal Birth Spacing Intervals Through Fostering Linkages Between Family Planning And Maternal/Child Health Services, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Sarah Loza, Amal Zaki

Reproductive Health

The Population Council’s USAID-funded Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) program, in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population and the NGO Social Planning, Analysis and Administration Consultants, conducted an operations research study to measure the acceptability and effectiveness of two birth spacing message models in Upper Egypt. Overall, the study found that providing birth spacing messages to low-parity women during antenatal and postpartum care and also to husbands through community awareness activities was feasible and acceptable. As a result, birth spacing messages have been integrated into service delivery guidelines for antenatal and postpartum care, and IEC materials on …

Comparing The Effectiveness And Costs Of Alternative Strategies For Improving Access To Information And Services For The Iud In Ghana, Ivy Osei, Gertrude Voetagbe, Moses Aikins, John Gyapong, Philomena Nyarko, Harriet Birungi, Gloria Quansah Asare, Henrietta Odoi-Agyarko, Olivia Aglah

Reproductive Health

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) was prompted to explore ways of increasing interest in the IUD through increasing awareness of this and other long-acting and permanent methods via interpersonal channels and by intensifying campaigns to dispel rumors about the method. The Health Research Unit of the GHS, EngenderHealth’s Quality Health Partners project, and the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) project collaborated with the GHS to test innovative approaches to increase awareness of the IUD and to improve access to the method. The study examined the general and method-specific knowledge of long-acting family planning methods among clients and providers, …

Situation Analysis Of The Integration Of Family Planning Services In Postpartum, Postabortion And Prevention Of Mother To Child Transmission Programs In Haiti, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes, Ricardo Vernon, Michaelle Boulos, Louis-Marie Boulos

Reproductive Health

This report presents the results of a situation analysis of the provision and use of contraception in postpartum, postabortion, and Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services in Haiti. FRONTIERS provided the Centre d’Évaluation et de Recherche Appliqueé (Center for Evaluation and Applied Research or CERA) with technical assistance for the data collection, cleaning, and entry processes. The study found that there is a substantial unmet need for family planning services among postpartum women and many missed opportunities to provide these services during the pregnancy-extended postpartum period continuum. Most outpatient services have adequately implemented HIV counseling for pregnant women, …

Promoting Healthy Timing And Spacing Of Births In India Through A Community-Based Approach, M.E. Khan, Mary Philip Sebastian, Usha Sharma, Rukma Idnani, Kaushal Kumari, Bharati Maheshwari, Shahid Ashraf

Reproductive Health

The Indian Family Welfare Program, though successful in increasing contraceptive use among couples who have achieved their desired family size, has failed in educating people about the importance and need of using contraceptive methods for spacing births. With its Indian collaborators, the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) program undertook a study to test a model to increase use of postpartum contraception among young pregnant women with a parity of 0 or 1. The study showed that the Behavior Change Communication (BCC) model developed to promote Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy (HTSP) was effective in promoting the lactational …

Increasing The Accessibility, Acceptability And Use Of The Iud In Gujarat, India, M.E. Khan, Sitanshu Sekhar Kar, Vikas Kishor Desai, Pratibha Patel, B.P. Itare, Sandhya Barge

Reproductive Health

The USAID-funded FRONTIERS Program of the Population Council, in collaboration with the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Gujarat, and the Center for Operations Research and Training, Vadodara, conducted an operations research study in India to test the hypothesis that by improving the demand for the IUD and simultaneously strengthening the technical competencies and counseling skills of the providers, use of the IUD use would increase. The findings show that demand-generation activities and provision of good-quality IUD services, together with a supportive programmatic environment, when carried out simultaneously showed increased acceptance of the IUD. The intervention could be …

Creating The Conditions For Scale-Up Of The Men In Maternity Intervention In India, Leila Caleb-Varkey, Anurag Mishra, M.E. Khan

Reproductive Health

The Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) program conducted an operations research study, called the Men in Maternity (MiM) study, in collaboration with the Employees' State Insurance Corporation of India (ESIC), aimed at involving men in the antenatal and postpartum care of their partners to raise knowledge and use of postpartum contraception and preventive practices against sexually transmitted infections, as well as improving pregnancy outcomes. This report details the MiM scale-up process, which worked well in terms of ESIC assuming ownership of the training component of the program and being able to build capacity for training. However, to further scale up …

Development Of A Quality Assurance Procedure For Reproductive Health Services For District Public Health Systems: Implementation And Scale-Up In The State Of Gujarat, M.E. Khan, Anurag Mishra, Vivek Sharma, Leila Caleb-Varkey

Reproductive Health

This project was carried out in India, in two districts each in Gujarat and Maharashtra states. It confirmed that quality assurance (QA) checklists and an implementation manual, developed by the USAID-funded Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) Program of the Population Council in collaboration with UNFPA/India, are useful and effective tools that the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHFW) can use to monitor the quality of services provided by health facilities. It also demonstrated that this QA mechanism can be easily institutionalized at the district level management. One key lesson has been the critical role that the commitment of state …

Taking Critical Services To The Home: Scaling-Up Home-Based Maternal And Postnatal Care, Including Family Planning, Through Community Midwifery In Kenya, Annie Mwangi, Charlotte E. Warren

Reproductive Health

With support from USAID, the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) project supported the scaling up of a community-based model in Kenya that enabled women to give birth safely at home or be referred to a hospital when attended by a self-employed skilled midwife living in the community. To strengthen the sustainability of this approach FRONTIERS engaged a microfinance NGO to develop a training curriculum on basic business skills and financial literacy, and encouraged the community midwives (CMs) to form clusters or informal associations so that they could be trained in business skills. Following these interventions, CMs proved more …

Strengthening Postnatal Care Services Including Postpartum Family Planning In Kenya, Annie Mwangi, Charlotte E. Warren, Nancy Koskei, Holly Blanchard

Reproductive Health

The objectives of this study were to develop and introduce a strengthened postnatal care package into one hospital and four health centers in one district in Kenya, to document the feasibility, acceptability, and quality of care of the strengthened postnatal care, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the postnatal package on women’s reproductive health behaviors. The study was implemented jointly by the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) project and by Jhpiego’s ACCESS-FP project, both funded by USAID. A postnatal care–family planning orientation package for providers was developed that incorporated relevant maternal and newborn healthcare services in the postnatal …

Assessing The Need And Opportunities For Improved Linkages Between Conditional Cash Transfers And Reproductive Health Programs In Latin America And The Caribbean, Ricardo Vernon, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes

Reproductive Health

The objective of this project was to document the structure and functioning of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, to assess opportunities for improved linkages between CCTs and reproductive health programs, and to explore the role that operations research may have in the improvement of CCT programs. Activities were conducted in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Peru. Operational problems identified by CCT programs included the targeting and selection of beneficiaries, monitoring compliance with conditions for receiving cash transfers, the systems used to provide the transfers, and management weaknesses. Recommendations are made …

Regional Workshop To Use The Findings From Operations Research To Increase The Access, Quality And Integration Of Contraceptive Services In Latin America And The Caribbean, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes, Antonieta Martin

Reproductive Health

In October 2007, the Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) program held a three-day regional workshop in La Antigua, Guatemala, to disseminate results of its operations research projects. During the workshop, participants received contraceptive technology updates, and learned about effective strategies tested by FRONTIERS to increase access to the IUD and vasectomy; and about integration of family planning with postpartum, postabortion, and PMTCT. Researchers discussed study results, program managers explained how they were used, and practitioners talked about implementing the interventions—a combination of perspectives that successfully transmitted the message that the interventions were not difficult to apply, could have a great …