International Family Planning Perspectives articles from March 2002

International Family Planning Perspectives archives from March 2002

In this issue.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
March 1, 2002... The world, and the family planning field, has changed enormously since the first issue of this journal-then titled International Family Planning Digest-was published in 1975. The issue of greatest concern at that time was the rapid pace of...

For emergencies only. (Update).(contraception)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Indian women who receive a supply of emergency contraception in addition to information about the method are no more likely than women who receive only information to have unprotected intercourse. (1) Between 1997 and 2000, researchers...

Alternative care for underweight infants. (Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Low-birth-weight infants in Colombia who receive outpatient treatment fare just as well as those who receive standard hospital care in an incubator. (1) A sample of 777 low-birth-weight infants were randomized to receive either standard...

The latest on HIV and AIDS. (Update).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Eastern Europe and Central Asia have the fastest-growing AIDS epidemic of any world region; 250,000 of the one million HIV-infected people living there in 2001 received their diagnosis that year. (1) In Russia, new HIV diagnoses have almost...

Meeting the chellenge? (Update).(contraceptives in developing countries)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The cost of supplying contraceptives (including condoms to prevent sexually transmitted infections) to developing countries is expected to rise to $1.8 billion by 2015, according to projections from the United Nations Population Fund (UNEPA)....

The heavy toll of AIDS in South Africa. (Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... AIDS became the single most important cause of death in South Africa in 2000, accounting for an estimated one-quarter of all deaths, according to a report released by the Medical Research Council of South Africa. (1) Using a model developed by...

One service leads to another. (Update).(postpartum contraceptive use in Bolivia, Egypt, and Thailand)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Receipt of prenatal care and previous use of a modern contraceptive are the most consistent factors predicting postpartum contraceptive use among women in Bolivia, Egypt and Thailand, according to an analysis based on Demographic and Health...

Better cervical cancer screening needed. (Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Cervical cancer screening programs in developing countries, when they exist, are generally ineffective, according to a review of programs in South and Central America, Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. (1) Of the 231,000 women...

Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC). (In Brief).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) has launched a global campaign to end the church's ban on condom use. In the first phase of the campaign, which began in November 2001, newspaper and billboard ads aimed at raising public awareness of the...

Population Council. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... By the end of the year, the Population Council will begin Phase Ill clinical trials in Africa of its microbicide Carraguard [TM].. The Council has conducted safety trials of the microbicide in seven countries, including South Africa, Thailand...

Recent changes in heterosexual attitudes, norms and behaviors among unmarried Thai men: A qualitative analysis. (Articles).
March 1, 2002... CONTEXT: High risks of HIV infection have led to dramatic changes in patterns of early sexual experience among young Thai men. We know little about the shifts in attitudes and expectations underlying these changes in behavior. METHODS:...

Spousal communication and family planning adoption: Effects of a radio drama serial in Nepal.(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... CONTEXT: Spousal communication and family planning use are closely linked, but the pathways of influence, especially within the context of exposure to a mass media campaign promoting family planning, are unclear. METHODS: Panel data from a...

Reasons for the low level of IUD use in El Salvador.(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... CONTEXT: While the IUC is a safe and cost-effective method, use is very low in some countries, and the reasons for this are not well understood. METHODS: To examine the reasons that the IUD is little used in El Salvador, data were...

Contraceptive method choice in developing countries.(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... CONTEXT: For all persons to enjoy a choice among contraceptive options, a range of methods must be readily available. Yet measures of access show serious deficits that depress use of each method. Countries differ both in the number of methods...

Population and poverty: New views on an old controversy. (Comment).(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Policymakers often ask how high fertility and related demographic variables affect and are affected by poverty. The popular view in the 1960s and 1970s--that fertility decline would slow population growth in developing countries and thus reduce...

Many rural Ugandans with genital ulcers fail to seek health treatment or to inform their sexual partners. (Digests).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... About three in 10 men and women taking part in a prospective longitudinal study in rural Uganda reported having had genital ulcers, according to data from more than 500 participants. (1) Those infected with HIV were substantially more likely...

During prolonged postnatal abstinence, risky behavior rises for many African men. (Digests).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... In Cote d'lvoire, where couples typically refrain from having intercourse for a year or more after a woman has given birth, men have elevated odds of engaging in risky sexual behavior during this period, according to analyses based on data from...

Women's susceptibility to some STDs is affected. By hormonal method use. (Digests).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Using oral contraceptives or the hormonal injectable significantly affects a woman's risk of acquiring certain sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), according to data from a cohort of Kenyan female sex workers. (1) Compared with women who do...

Half of Bangladeshi women who discontinue pill use attribute their decision to side effects. (Digests).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Side effects are the most common reason cited by Bangladeshi women who stop using oral contraceptives, according to a survey of rural women with recent experience with the pill. (1) Fifty-three percent of women who had discontinued oral...

Risks of some health problems are elevated among implant users. (Digests).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The levonorgestrel-releasing implant is highly effective and generally safe, but is associated with higher risks of some health problems than are other, nonsteroidal contraceptive methods, according to a cohort study of women in eight...

Does breastfeeding affect the health of HIV-positive women? Studies disagree. (Digests).
March 1, 2002... Two recent studies yield contradictory findings on whether the decision to breastfeed affects the health of HIV-infected women. In one study, a secondary analysis of data from 397 seropositive new mothers in Nairobi, Kenya, women who were...

Oral contraceptive regimen that doubles the number of hormonally active pills per cycle reduces bleeding. (Digests).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... An oral contraceptive regimen that extends the pill cycle by doubling the number of days on which women take hormonally active pills resulted in less bleeding than a traditional regimen among participants in a randomized, controlled trial in...