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Volume 2, Number 41
14 October 2002
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW AND POLICY
Human
Trafficking: Gender-Specific Approach Mulled at UN
Talks (news article)
More than 150 European and Asian human rights experts
opened a UN-sponsored conference last week in Bangkok
with the aim of stepping up cooperation to combat
the growing phenomenon of human trafficking. The first
day of the three-day conference was marked by calls
for gender-sensitive intervention when combating human
trafficking, as participants stressed the link between
gender inequalities and trafficking.
Prostitution
'Still Illegal' in South Africa (news article)
Prostitution in South Africa should continue to be
illegal, the country's Constitutional Court has ruled.
A lower court had earlier declared that the Sexual
Offences Act was unconstitutional because it discriminated
against women and so should be scrapped.
Indian
Supreme Court Orders Immediate Action Against Sex-Determination
Advertisements (news article)
Perturbed by the sex-determination advertisements
frequently appearing in newspapers, the Indian Supreme
Court directed all the States and Union Territories
to take action against the clinics resorting to such
kinds of publicity, which is in contravention of the
law.
The
Gambia: Government Urged to Strengthen STD Awareness
(news article)
Sheikh Omar Saho, a retired international Aids worker
for the European Working Committee, an advisory body
of the EU, has called on The Gambian government to
strengthen its public awareness on the HIV/AIDS pandemic
by establishing a national institute for the research
and study of sexually transmitted diseases.
HIV/AIDS Policies, Practices and Conditions in South African Prisons: Criticisms and Alternatives. Toward a Research Agenda (research abstract)
The level of HIV infection in South African prisoners
is unknown. However, given that 4.2 million citizens
or 20% of the adult population are infected by HIV
then the problem of infection within the prison system
would seem to be a large and a significant management
issue. This paper examines those issues of importance
to policy research on HIV/AIDS in prison.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
A
Comparison of Consensus and Nonconsensus Approaches
to Modeling Contraceptive Choice Behavior (research
abstract)
This paper develops a more general model of contraceptive
choice, taking into account a fundamental difference
between the condom and the contraceptive pill, the
two most commonly used reversible contraceptives in
the US. The pill produces a single output of pregnancy
prevention, but the condom is an input into a joint
production for both pregnancy prevention and disease
protection. Since the condom is ultimately used by
the male, and the pill by the female, noncooperative
game theory is used to model the separate male and
female utility functions.
Depression
as a Potential Causal Factor in Subsequent Miscarriage
in Recurrent Spontaneous Aborters (research abstract)
A prospective study was carried out on 61 patients
with a history of two consecutive first-trimester
miscarriages in Japan. Patients completed self-report
questionnaires before a subsequent pregnancy. Whether
or not these parameters predicted subsequent miscarriage
was investigated. The study found that baseline depressive
symptoms influenced subsequent miscarriage (P = 0.004).
Condoms
for Women Hold Promises (research update)
This article provides a summary of the female condom
history, advantages/disadvantages compared to other
methods, and a synopsis of recent research.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS
Company
Recalls Contraceptive Prefilled Syringes (news
article)
The manufacturer of the monthly injectable contraceptive
Lunelle has voluntarily withdrawn it from the market
due to concerns that some injections may not have
contained enough hormone to prevent pregnancy.
Scientists
Find Lemon Juice is an Effective Contraceptiven
(news article)
Australian scientists believe they have rediscovered
an effective use for lemon juice: as a contraceptive
and also a killer of the AIDS virus.
New
Procedure Takes Pain Out of Vasectomies (news
article)
A new advance in the vasectomy procedure being offered
in Canada eliminates the final remaining barrier for
men concerned about the surgery: the needle that applies
the anesthetic.
Voluntary
Sterilization on the Decline in Bangladesh (news
article)
The Bangladesh Health and Family Welfare Minister
said that prevalence rates for clinical methods and
sterilization have been declining since the mid eighties
and were now at extremely low levels.
China Succeeded in Family Planning, Ratio of Minors Drops
by Big Margin (news article)
With the economic and social development and successful
implementation of the family planning policy, the
ratio of China's children and juveniles has shown
a big downturn, and the environment for children's
healthy growth has witnessed a constant turn for the
better, reported an official press.
Namibia:
AIDS Activist Regrets 'Abuse' of Femidoms (news
article)
AN HIV-AIDS activist has expressed concern that some
people in the Caprivi Region are using the female
condom, the femidom, to make rings, bracelets and
necklaces.
HIV / AIDS RESEARCH
HIV-Seropositive
Individuals' Optimistic Beliefs about Prognosis and
Relation to Medication and Safe Sex Adherence
(PubMed abstract)
Seropositive individuals, including persons of color
(adjusted) as well as women and drug users (unadjusted),
self-reported optimistic beliefs about their prognosis.
Those with more optimism about their prognosis were
significantly more likely to report medication and
safe sex nonadherence.
'Before
We Were Sleeping, Now We Are Awake': Preliminary Evaluation
of the Stepping Stones Sexual Health Programme in
The Gambia (research abstract)
This paper describes a preliminary evaluation in two
villages where the intervention (a participatory STI/
HIV prevention workshop programme) was carried out
compared to two control villages.
HIV / AIDS NEWS
AIDS
Epidemic in Asia May Become the Largest in the World,
Says UNAIDS (press release)
Outside sub-Saharan Africa, Asia has more people living
with HIV/AIDS than any region on earth, warned the
head of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
Global
Fund to Fight AIDS to Begin Distributing Aid Soon
(news article)
An independent group that has raised more than US$2
billion this year to fight AIDS and other diseases
announced its first shipments of aid would reach 40
countries by the end of this year.
New
Figures Show AIDS Fight Under-Resourced (press
release)
Related
data findings 
UNAIDS and WHO released updated figures on the cost
of mounting the global response to HIV/AIDS. Revised
estimates to 2005 for prevention, care, and support
programmes in low- and middle-income countries indicate
that US$10.5 billion will be needed by 2005.
Study
Shows Why Some Immune Systems Control HIV (press
release)
Scientists are beginning to change their thinking
about why the immune systems of most people infected
with HIV cannot control the spread of the virus while
the immune systems of a rare group of individuals,
called long-term nonprogressors, can. For some time,
scientists thought that people who could not control
HIV had too few HIV-fighting white blood cells called
CD8+ T cells. However, a new study suggests the difference
is not the number but the quality of these cells:
both nonprogressors and others have about the same
number of HIV-fighting CD8+ T cells, but the cells
of nonprogressors function better.
AIDS
Seen Spur to Africa Famine; Farmers Are Left Too Weak
to Plant (news article)
AIDS has contributed heavily to southern Africa's
growing famine, killing vast numbers of agricultural
workers and leaving countless sick farmers too weak
to plant crops, according to a UN team that toured
the region.
South
Africa Plans to Almost Double AIDS Spending (news
article)
South Africa plans to almost double its HIV/AIDS spending
to $173 million in the next financial year. The move
would boost spending from about 1 billion rand now
to 1.8 billion rand.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH
Advancing
Newborn Health and Survival in Developing Countries:
A Conceptual Framework (PubMed abstract)
The study authors developed a conceptual framework
for household and community newborn and maternal care
that acknowledges the inseparability of the mother
and neonate, yet stresses elements relating to the
newborn, heretofore underemphasized in safe motherhood
and child-survival programs.
Children
at Risk of Developing Dehydration from Diarrhoea: A Case-Control
Study (research abstract)
To identify the factors related to dehydration from
diarrhoea, a hospital-based case-control study was
carried out among under-2-year-old Bangladeshi children.
In bivariate analysis, 17 factors were found to be
associated significantly with the development of dehydration.
These prognostic factors would be helpful for community
health workers to identify children at risk of developing
diarrhoea-associated dehydration.
Increasing
Use of Prenatal Care in Ladakh (India): The Roles
of Ecological and Cultural Factors (PubMed abstract)
This report illustrates widespread and increasing
usage of biomedical services for prenatal care and
birth among women in Ladakh, India, over the course
of the past 20 years. This trend is at odds with that
typical of other parts of South Asia, and can be attributed
to the unique ecological, cultural, and historical
characteristics of this region.
Socio-demographic
and Reproductive Characteristics of Mothers Delivered
at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana (research
abstract)
Analysis of the historical factors of parturients
surveyed showed a high risk load related mainly to
lack of education. Formal education of the female
child and family health education of women are recommended
to reduce the high past abortion rate and risk load.
Validation
of a Birth Weight Prediction Equation Based on Maternal
Characteristics (research article)
The purpose of this study was to validate the accuracy
of a birth weight prediction equation based on maternal
and pregnancy-specific characteristics and to assess
its value in predicting fetal macrosomia. The authors
report an equation using maternal and pregnancy-specific
characteristics can predict term birth weight in gravidas
with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies to within
±8.1 percent (±280 g). The accuracy
of the method for predicting birth weight >4,000
g is comparable to that obtained using ultrasonic
fetal biometry.
Utilisation
of Antenatal and Maternity Services by Mothers Seeking
Child Welfare Services in Mbeere District, Eastern
Province, Kenya (research abstract)
The proportion of mothers who utilised health facilities
for antenatal and maternity services was 97.5 percent
and 52 percent, respectively. Utilisation of health
facilities for maternity services was significantly
influenced by number of children and distance to health
facility in that, as number of children increased,
utilisation of maternity services reduced. Among the
reasons given by the mothers regarding dissatisfaction
with the services offered included shortage of drugs
and essential supplies, lack of commitment by staff,
poor quality of food, and lack of cleanliness in the
health facilities.
MEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Why
Men with Prostate Cancer Want Wider Access to Prostate
Specific Antigen Testing: Qualitative Study (research
article)
This qualitative study helps to explain why most men
with prostate cancer strongly advocate prostate specific
antigen testing and screening. It also shows that
many men are ill prepared for test results and for
the possible iatrogenic effects of treatment.
Monthly
Patterns of Testosterone and Behavior in Prospective
Fathers (research abstract)
Related news article: Wannabe
Fathers Ramp Up Testosterone
Men who want to become fathers adjust their testosterone
levels to make conception more likely. All the men
in the study had different patterns of testosterone
peaks and troughs over the study period, but in men
trying for a baby, peaks in testosterone levels coincided
far more often with periods of intense sexual activity.
Sexual
Transmission of KS Virus Likely in Kenya (research
summary)
Infection of the herpesvirus that causes Kaposi's
sarcoma HHV-8, was independently associated with older
age, Christian religion, being uncircumcised, and
ever having syphilis. Ever having used condoms was
associated with decreased likelihood of infection
and seropositivity was not significantly related to
other sexual behaviors characterized or to HIV-1 status.
Photodynamic
Therapy for Prostate Cancer Recurrence after Radiotherapy:
A Phase I Study (PubMed abstract)t
Related news article: Light
Therapy Helps Treat Prostate Cancer, Too
Researchers may have added prostate cancer to the
list of cancers that can benefit from photodynamic
therapy, which combines drugs and light to treat cancer
and other conditions.
Progesterone
Receptor as an Indicator of Sperm Function (research
abstract)
Expression of progesterone receptor (PR) localization
on spermatozoa was determined in men with normal and
abnormal spermiograms in India. Studies were also
carried out to evaluate the potential of PR as a marker
of sperm function. Study findings suggest that down-regulation
of PR expression in spermatozoa may be one of the
causes of male infertility and that PR expression
is a better indicator of sperm function than the hypoosmotic
swelling test.
MEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Low
Weight at Birth May Impair Man's Fertility (news
article)
Low birth weight may affect testicle size--and perhaps
fertility--later in life, results of a preliminary
study from Italy suggest.
Gene
Spells Danger for Prostate Patients (news article)
A gene could help doctors predict whether a patient
has an aggressive prostate cancer - or one which may
never threaten his life.
POPULATION RESEARCH
Population
growth and intensification of land use in India
(research abstract)
Linkages between population growth, socioeconomic
development and agricultural intensification were
examined using district-level data for India for a
40-year period: 1951-1991. Results from the cross-sectional
analysis indicated that population pressure has positive
and significant effects on each dimension of agricultural
intensification (cropping frequency, artificial irrigation
and chemical fertiliser use) for each census year.
Family
Planning Promotion, Contraceptive Use and Fertility
Decline in Ghana (research article)
Using data from the 1998 Ghana Demographic and Health
Survey, this study investigated the effects at the
individual level of exposure to family planning messages
via radio, television, and printed sources on contraceptive
use and fertility. Multilevel logistic regression
analyses showed that exposure to family planning messages
raises contraceptive use, but that, after controlling
for covariates, these effects do not translate into
substantial effects on fertility. A woman's education,
reproductive history, and urban residence were important
determinants of both her contraceptive use and her
fertility.
The
Onset of Fertility Transition in Zimbabwe: A Re-analysis
of Census and Survey Data Using Robust Demographic
Techniques (research article)
This study was designed to resolve the controversy
arising from fertility decline in Zimbabwe by conducting
a comprehensive analysis of all the fertility data
available from national censuses and surveys. The
author agrees with the view that the two DHS surveys
in Zimbabwe underestimate current fertility (a view
corroborated by earlier enquiries). Adjustment of
the data leaves unaltered the conclusion that total
period fertility has fallen by about a third.
POPULATION NEWS
Russia Begins First Census Since Soviet Union Collapse
(news article)
Russia launched its first nationwide census since
the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early
1990s.
Northern
Uganda Has fastest Population Growth(news article)
The census figures reveal that Uganda's population
is increasing faster than ever before. Between 1999
and 2002, despite the high numbers of people who died
of AIDS and other diseases, Uganda's population has
been growing by an average of 695,000 per year. This
nearly doubles the annual growth rate of 367,000 during
the preceding 10 years. Thus, Uganda's population
growth rate, which was already one of the highest
in the world when it was 2.5%, has now increased to
3.3%.
Corporate
Sector in India Launches Plan on Health and Family
Planning (news article)
In a bid to check population growth in India by 2045,
the corporate sector has launched an ambitious plan
on health and family planning to be implemented in
collaboration with central and state governments.
WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Diagnosis
and Treatment of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
(research article)
Patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a severe
form of premenstrual syndrome, often respond to treatment
with antidepressants and lifestyle changes.
Costs
and Benefits of Different Strategies to Screen for
Cervical Cancer in Less-Developed Countries (research
abstract)
Related news article: Cervical
Cancer Screening Can Be Cost-Effective in Developing
Countries
The study used a population-based simulation model
to evaluate the incremental societal costs and benefits
in Thailand of seven screening techniques, including
visual inspection of the cervix after applying acetic
acid, human papillomavirus testing, Pap smear, and
combinations of screening tests, and examined the
discounted costs per year of life saved. These cost-effectiveness
data can enhance decision-making about optimal policies
for a given setting.
DBC2,
a Candidate for a Tumor Suppressor Gene Involved in
Breast Cancer (research abstract)
Related news article: New
Breast Cancer Gene Discovered
Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the
University of Washington have discovered a new tumor
suppressor gene that is missing or inactive in as
many as 60 percent of breast cancers. The discovery
of the gene, called DBC2 (for deleted in breast cancer)
is highly significant because DBC2 is among the first
tumor suppressor genes to be clearly associated with
sporadic breast cancer.
Herpes
Simplex Virus and Risk of Cervical Cancer: A Longitudinal,
Nested Case-Control Study in the Nordic Countries
(research abstract)
The authors reevaluated the role of herpes simplex
virus type 2 (HSV-2) in this multistage process by
conducting a longitudinal, nested case-control study
using 1974-1993 data and comparing the results with
those from a meta-analysis of studies. The study finds
that previous HSV-2 infection was not associated with
any excess risk of subsequent development of cervical
carcinoma.
WOMAN'S HEALTH NEWS
Gene
Therapy May One Day Halt Breast Cancer Spread
(news article)
The British charity Cancer Research UK has patented
a new form of gene therapy it says has the potential
to block the spread of breast cancer cells through
the body.
Feds
Nix Menopause Treatment Patch (news article)
Schering AG, the No.1 maker of birth-control pills,
said last week that the US Food and Drug Administration
has rejected its application for approval of a patch
to treat menopause symptoms.
Experts
Plan Global Attack on Breast Cancer (news article)
An international group of experts is developing guidelines
for breast cancer screening and treatment to be applied
worldwide. They hope to bring the decline in breast
cancer deaths seen over the past 4 years in the United
States to the rest of the world.
Weight-Weary
Women Flock to New Pill (news article)
It may be a young woman's idea of the ultimate elixir:
a pill that will keep you from getting pregnant and
help you lose weight at the same time. Word is, it
has arrived. Gynecologists and college health services
have been surprised by an unusual number of requests
for a new birth control pill, called Yasmin, that
patients believe will help them lose, or at least
not gain, weight.
YOUTH RESEARCH
The
Correlates of Safe Sex Practices Among Rwandan Youth:
A Positive Deviance Approach (research abstract)
This paper presents the results of a 2001 sample survey
and uses an ideation model to identify the factors
affecting primary sexual abstinence and condom use
among Rwandan youth. The findings showed that urban
residence and age negatively influence primary sexual
abstinence and positively affect condom use. Living
within the same household as the father tends to protect
girls from early sexual experimentation but has no
noticeable effects on boys.
YOUTH NEWS
UNICEF
Sets Up Programme to Prevent Child Sex Abuse by Aid
Workers (news article)
Agencies working to relieve famine in southern Africa
have embarked on a comprehensive training scheme to
educate employees to avoid child abuse. This is to
prevent a repeat of the widespread sexual abuse of
children by aid workers revealed during the recent
west African refugee crisis
Singapore
Teenagers Offered Sex Education over Their Mobile
Phones (news article)
Singaporean doctor, Dr. Wei Siang Yu, launched a new
ten-day sex education campaign offering free advice
for teenagers via mobile phone text messaging. During
the "Sex in the Air" campaign, teenagers
can send text questions through their mobile phones,
and doctors from Singapore, Amsterdam, and Melbourne
will respond within two days.
Teens'
Sexual Orientation Affects Body Image: Study (news
article)
Teen boys who are gay are more likely than their heterosexual
peers to diet and exhibit certain symptoms of eating
disorders, while lesbian teens appear to be somewhat
protected from the unhealthy body concerns that often
plague heterosexual girls, US researchers report.
PROFILES / SPECIAL REPORTS
Birth
Spacing: Three to Five Saves Lives (report) (PDF)
Couples who space their births 3 to 5 years apart
increase their children's chances of survival, and
mothers are more likely to survive, too, according
to new research. Many women want to space births longer
than they currently do. Programs can do more to help
them achieve the birth intervals they want.
Improving
Compliance with Standards for Essential Obstetric
Care in Bolivia: Quality Assurance Project Case Study
(case study report)
This case study illustrates how the quality improvement
methodology, specifically rapid team problem solving,
can be used to target areas for improvement and produce
rapid, yet dramatic, improvements.
Cost-effectiveness
of Self-assessment and Peer Review in Improving Family
Planning Provider-client Communication in Indonesia
(case study report)
This case study illustrates how an analysis of cost-effectiveness
and marginal costs and benefits demon-strated the
desirability and affordability of investing in reinforcement
interventions to enhance providers' skills following
training.
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