Latest Articles
- Benefits of Advance Oxytocin Preparation Could Extend to the Newborn
Advance preparation of oxytocin not only facilitates rapid administration after delivery to prevent postpartum hemorrhage but also could free health workers to provide immediate neonatal resuscitation to non-breathing newborns within the critical 1-minute time window.
- Family Planning Policy Environment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Levers of Positive Change and Prospects for Sustainability
Building on expressed support from the Prime Minister to the Ministries of Health and Planning, the country’s new family planning commitment grew out of: (1) recognition of the impact of family planning on maternal mortality and economic development; (2) knowledge sharing of best practices from other African countries; (3) participatory development of a national strategic plan; (4) strong collaboration between stakeholders; (5) effective advocacy by champions including country and international experts; and (6) increased donor support. The question becomes: Will the favorable policy environment translate into effective local programming?
- Successful mLearning Pilot in Senegal: Delivering Family Planning Refresher Training Using Interactive Voice Response and SMS
Health workers’ knowledge of contraceptive side effects increased substantially. The mobile phone approach was convenient and flexible and did not disrupt routine service delivery. Clear limitations of the medium are participants can’t practice clinical skills or have interactive discussions. Also, some participants had trouble with network reception.
- Toward a Systematic Approach to Generating Demand for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: Insights and Results From Field Studies
Using an analytical framework to design and implement voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programs can lead to more effective interventions, especially when insights are incorporated from disciplines such as behavioral science and commercial market research. Promising VMMC behavior change practices: (1) address individual, interpersonal, and environmental barriers and facilitators; (2) tailor messages to men’s behavior change stage and focus on other benefits besides HIV prevention, such as hygiene and sexual pleasure; (3) include women as a key target audience; (4) engage traditional and religious leaders; (5) use media to promote positive social norms; and (6) deploy community mobilizers to address individual concerns.
- Social Franchising: A Blockbuster to Address Unmet Need for Family Planning and to Advance Toward the FP2020 Goal
Social franchising has scaled-up provision of voluntary family planning, especially long-acting reversible contraceptives, across Africa and Asia at a rapid and remarkable pace. The approach should be pursued vigorously, especially in countries with a significant private-sector presence, to advance the FP2020 goal of providing access to modern contraception to 120 million additional clients by 2020.
- Action-Oriented Population Nutrition Research: High Demand but Limited Supply
Action-oriented research in nutrition, vital to guiding effective policies and programs at scale, is greatly underrepresented in public health journals and, even more so, in nutrition journals.
- Bedside Availability of Prepared Oxytocin and Rapid Administration After Delivery to Prevent Postpartum Hemorrhage: An Observational Study in Karnataka, India
Advance preparation and bedside availability of oxytocin before childbirth was significantly and robustly associated with rapid administration of the utertonic, as recommended to prevent postpartum hemorrhage.
- Predictors of Essential Health and Nutrition Service Delivery in Bihar, India: Results From Household and Frontline Worker Surveys
Only about 35% of sample households reported receiving immunization, food supplements, pregnancy care information, or nutrition information. Monetary incentives for such product-oriented services as immunization improved performance and may have spillover effects for information-oriented services. Immunization day events and good frontline worker recordkeeping also improved service delivery.
- Establishing and Scaling-Up Clinical Social Franchise Networks: Lessons Learned From Marie Stopes International and Population Services International
Family planning social franchising has succeeded in countries with an active private sector serving low- and middle-income clients, with services provided mostly by mid-level providers, such as nurses and midwives. Key support for social franchising includes: clinical training and supportive supervision, help building sustainable businesses, marketing and demand creation, and mechanisms to make services affordable for clients. The forward agenda includes selectively introducing other priority health services, improving cost-effectiveness of the model, and promoting sustainability and health system integration.
- Engaging Communities With a Simple Tool to Help Increase Immunization Coverage
Use of a simple, publicly placed tool that monitors vaccination coverage in a community has potential to broaden program coverage by keeping both the community and the health system informed about every infant's vaccination status.