International Family Planning Perspectives articles from December 2001

International Family Planning Perspectives archives from December 2001

Can Pharmacists Treat STIs? (UPDATE).(sexually transmitted infections )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... With training in managing sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pharmacists in developing countries could provide effective treatment for gonorrhea to men with limited access to health clinics. (1) A 1997-1998 study covering 248 pharmacies in...

Better HIV Surveillance Needed. (UPDATE).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Six in 10 of the world's countries have fully functioning or good HIV surveillance systems; this group includes the majority of countries that have been hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic. According to an assessment of data from 167 countries, 47...

Nurturing the Newly Born. (UPDATE).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Each year, an estimated four million infants worldwide die before they are one month old; 98% of such deaths occur in developing countries. According to a report based on data from 163 countries, 31 of every 1,000 newborns worldwide die before...

STDs Drive Rise in Circumcision. (UPDATE).(sexually transmitted diseases )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... The practice of male circumcision has increased among the Sukuma ethnic group of Northwest Tanzania, reflecting concerns about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and other health issues. (1) According to data collected between 1994 and 1997...

Condom Use with Risky Partners. (UPDATE).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Men and women in urban Mozambique are more likely to use condoms with a nonregular partner if they know where to obtain condoms and if they have received condom information from several sources. (1) To evaluate the effects of a condom social...

STDs, Not IUDs, Cause Infertility. (UPDATE).(sexually transmitted diseases, intrauterine devices)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... For decades, providers and women in many countries have been wary of the IUD because of fears that its use may cause tubal infertility; a study conducted in Mexico in 1997-1999, however, suggests that those fears are unfounded. (1) In analyses...

Mothers Breastfeed, Despite HIV. (UPDATE).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Despite efforts in Uganda to counsel HIV-positive mothers about the risks of breastfeeding, the majority of them choose not to formula-feed their infants. (1) At the National Referral Hospital of Mulago, in Kampala, 61% of HIV-positive mothers...

Most Abortions in China Avoidable. (UPDATE).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... More than half of surgical abortions among women in Shanghai, China, could be avoided if women used emergency contraception. (1) Among 606 married and unmarried women aged 18-50 who had had a first-trimester abortion in 1997-1998, 98% said...

Gaps in HIV Care in Central America. (UPDATE).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... People in Central America who are infected with HIV have little access to needed medical services and antiretroviral drugs, according to a review of HIV services in the region. (1) Clinicians from Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,...

The Acceptability of a Vaginal Microbicide Among South African Men. (ARTICLES).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Context: With the explosive nature of the South African AIDS epidemic, there is an urgent need for HIV prevention methods controlled by women. Because several microbicide trials are going on in South Africa and elsewhere, there also is an...

Why Are Condoms Used, and How Many Are Needed? Estimates from Orissa, India. (ARTICLES).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Context: In Orissa, one of the most impoverished states in India, reproductive health is poor, and the use of condoms and other reversible contraceptives is uncommon. To promote condom use, it is important to know who is using condoms,...

Gender Differences in Adult Perspectives on Adolescent Reproductive Behaviors: Evidence from Lome, Togo. (ARTICLES).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Context: Information on adults' attitudes toward adolescent sexual and contraceptive behaviors is crucial, since adults may facilitate or obstruct adolescents' adoption of healthy behaviors. Relatively little information in this area has been...

The Impact of a Regional Family Planning Service Promotion Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence From Cameroon. (ARTICLES).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Context: Sub-Saharan Africa has a considerable unmet need for contraception, in 1998-1999, the Gold Circle campaign--a regional initiative to promote and improve family planning service delivery sites--was launched in Cameroon. Methods:...

The Persistence of a Service Delivery 'Culture': Findings from a Qualitative Study in Bangladesh. (ARTICLE).
December 1, 2001... Context: A new initiative in Bangladesh has shifted the emphasis in service delivery from door-to-door contraceptive distribution to delivery of a broader package of essential services, primarily through clinics. If the revised approaches are...

Strategies for Detection of Sexually Transmitted Infection Among Family Planning Clients in Jamaica. (ARTICLES).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Context: Family planning clinics that plan to add sexually transmitted infection (STI) services should consider alternatives to modified World Health Organization (WHO) risk-inclusive algorithms for identifying infected women. Methods: A...

Letters: The IUD and Recovery Of Fertility.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2001... A digest that appeared recently in international Family Planning Perspectives [A first pregnancy may be difficult to achieve after long-term use of an IUD, 2001, 27(3):158-159] summarizes at length and with accuracy a report by Helen Doll and...

Medical Abortion Regimen with Reduced Mifepristone Dose, Home Misoprostol Use Is Feasible and Effective. (DIGESTS).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... A regimen of medical abortion involving one-third the usual dose of mifepristone and fewer clinic visits (accomplished by allowing women to take misoprostol at home) appears to be as successful and acceptable as the standard...

Despite Symptoms, Many Kenyans Delay Treatment For STDs, Have Unsafe Sex. (DIGESTS).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Men and women in Nairobi, Kenya, wait approximately one week after the appearance of sexually transmitted disease (STD) symptoms to seek treatment at a health clinic, according to a survey of 471 men and women attending a public STD clinic. (1)...

Peer Training of Nurses Improves Immunization Coverage and Practices. (DIGESTS).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... On-the-job peer training of immunization nurses is a low-cost, effective way to increase the proportion of children vaccinated and to improve immunization practices, according to data from health centers in the Maluku province of Indonesia. (1)...

Risk Factors for Low-Grade Cervical Abnormalities Differ from Those for Human Papillomavirus Infection. (DIGESTS).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... A type of benign lesion commonly thought to be caused by infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) appears to have a set of risk factors distinct from those associated with the acquisition of HPV. (1) In a prospective study conducted among...

Maternal Zinc Supplements In Pregnancy Lower Risks Linked to Low Birth Weight. (DIGESTS).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Children born to women living in areas where zinc deficiency is common frequently suffer from poor health and developmental delays, but those whose mothers take zinc supplements while pregnant have sharply reduced risks of some illnesses during...

Condoms Reduce Women's Risk of Herpes Infection, But Do Not Protect Men. (DIGESTS).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Using condoms during sexual intercourse significantly decreases the likelihood that men infected with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) will transmit the infection to their female partners, according to the first study to examine the...

Many Women in Rural Gambia Have Reproductive Health Problems, but Few of Them Seek Treatment. (DIGESTS).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... The majority of women in some areas of rural Gambia experience reproductive health problems, but few seek medical care for their symptoms, according to a cross-sectional study conducted among women in the Farafenni region. (1) Seventy percent...

Douching Is Indirectly Linked to HIV Infection In Female Sex Workers. (DIGESTS).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Kenyan sex workers who douche are more likely than those who do not to have bacterial vaginosis, a condition that is associated with an increased risk of HIV infection. (1) In a sample of more than 500 Nairobi sex workers, 72% of whom reported...