International Family Planning Perspectives articles from December 2008

International Family Planning Perspectives archives from December 2008

In this issue.(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... In all regions of the developing world, women are at high risk of sexual and reproductive health problems. Many factors--individual, family and societal--make it difficult for women to obtain the information and services they need to reduce...

The human cost of government failure.(UPDATE)(deciding not to implement antiretroviral treatment program)(Author abstract)(Report)
December 1, 2008... Hundreds of thousands of people died and tens of thousands of babies were born with HIV between 2000 and 2005 because the South African government in 1999 ignored scientific consensus and decided not to implement an antiretroviral (ARV)...

10 key factors for programs.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Report)
December 1, 2008... A high-performing staff and client-centered care are among the 10 most important elements for a successful family planning program, according to a report by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health based on a poll of and an online...

Pregnant Zambian women now less likely to have HIV.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Report)
December 1, 2008... HIV prevalence among pregnant women in Lusaka, Zambia, declined between 2002 and 2006, especially among those 17 or younger, according to a study of data from a public clinic-based program to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission and from...

New HPV test for use in poor areas.(UPDATE)(human papillomavirus)(Author abstract)(Report)
December 1, 2008... A new rapid test developed for use in resource-poor settings to detect 14 cancer-causing types of human papillomavirus (HPV) has sensitivity and specificity at least comparable to those of other commonly used HPV testing methods, according to a...

Birth attendant use low in Afghanistan.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Report)
December 1, 2008... The proportion of births in Afghanistan delivered by skilled birth attendants is extremely low, according to a study conducted in the country's 33 provinces between June and September 2004. (1) Of a sample of 9,917 women aged 18-45 who lived...

Family interference with contraceptive use.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Report)
December 1, 2008... One-fifth of ever-married literate women at private reproductive health clinics in Jordan have had their husband or other family members interfere with their use of contraceptives to avoid pregnancy, according to a study conducted in 2005. (1)...

Asymptomatic STIs in South African men.(UPDATE)(sexually transmitted infections)(Author abstract)(Report)
December 1, 2008... Asymptomatic STIs are common among men in informal settlements in South Africa's West Rand (part of the Johannesburg metropolitan area), and such infections would not be treated under the syndromic management approach generally used in such...

In September, the United Nation's Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) released Progress of the World's Women: Who Answers to Women? Gender and Accountability, 2008/2009.(IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... In September, the United Nation's Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) released Progress of the World's Women: Who Answers to Women? Gender and Accountability, 2008/2009. The full biennial global report, which features new data and calls for...

Family Health International's Contraceptive and Reproductive Health Technologies and Research Utilization program has released a new checklist that health care providers can use to screen clients who would like to begin using a contraceptive implant.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2008... Family Health International's Contraceptive and Reproductive Health Technologies and Research Utilization program has released a new checklist that health care providers can use to screen clients who would like to begin using a contraceptive...

Estimates of induced abortion in Mexico: what's changed between 1990 and 2006?(ARTICLES)(Report)
December 1, 2008... CONTEXT: In Mexico, where abortion remains largely illegal and clandestine, reliable data on induced abortion and related morbidity are critical for informing policies and programs. The only available national estimate of abortion is for 1990,...

Consistency in women's reports of sensitive behavior in an interview mode experiment, Sao Paulo, Brazil.(ARTICLES)(Report)
December 1, 2008... CONTEXT: Inaccurate reporting of sexual behavior creates a misleading picture of individuals' risk for STI infection. Despite a substantial body of U.S. research on the consistency of self-reports of sensitive behavior, only a few such studies...

Factors influencing the timing of first sexual intercourse among young people in Nyanza, Kenya.(ARTICLES)(Report)
December 1, 2008... CONTEXT: Despite the relevance of the timing of first intercourse for the risk of HIV infection, few studies have examined postponement of first sex as a strategy to prevent infection. METHODS: Survey data collected in October 2003 from...

The effect of community-based reproductive health communication interventions on contraceptive use among young married couples in Bihar, India.(ARTICLES)(Report)
December 1, 2008... CONTEXT: Contraceptive use among young couples in India is low, and early childbearing and short birth intervals are common. The PRACHAR Project, an ongoing intervention in Bihar, seeks to increase contraceptive use for delaying and spacing...

High complication rates and costs are potential barriers to using circumcision to prevent HIV in Africa.(DIGESTS)(Report)
December 1, 2008... Recent evidence that the risk of female-to-male HIV transmission is reduced among men who have been circumcised has led to suggestions that circumcision programs could become a key component of anti-HIV efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa. However,...

Many pregnant women use tobacco in some developing countries.(DIGESTS)(Report)
December 1, 2008... Pregnant women's tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke are current or emerging problems in developing countries, according to findings from a multinational (but nonrepresentative) survey. In six of the nine countries included in the...

Experience of sexual and physical partner violence linked to elevated risk of HIV in Indian women.(DIGESTS)(Report)
December 1, 2008... In India, married women who have experienced both physical and sexual violence by their husbands are nearly four times as likely to be infected with HIV as women who have not experienced either type of intimate partner violence, according to a...

In Uganda, fewer partners and more condom use were key to drop in HIV.(DIGESTS)(Report)
December 1, 2008... The decline in the prevalence of HIV that occurred in Uganda during the 1990s can be attributed to a reduction in the number of premarital and nonmarital partners and to increased use of condoms with these partners, according to a multifaceted...

Nigerian women would like to receive social support during childbirth.(DIGESTS)(Report)
December 1, 2008... Most pregnant women receiving antenatal care at a Nigerian hospital said they would prefer to have someone with them during childbirth to provide social support, a practice not allowed in many Nigerian facilities. (1) Although 86% said their...

Cameroonian women who marry later have increased risk of HIV infection.(DIGESTS)(Report)
December 1, 2008... In Cameroon, women who marry later and those who have longer periods between age at first sex and age at first marriage have elevated rates of HIV infection, most likely because they have more partners than other women, according to a...

Correction.(Correction notice)
December 1, 2008... In the Digest section of the September 2008 issue, the head of the third item (p. 147) should be "Pregnancy and Marriage Are Not the Main Reasons for Leaving School in Africa." The erroneous head also appears in the Table of Contents.