The Pop Reporter®
– Events – Archives – Subscribe – Modify Profile – Headline Sharing Program – The Pop Reporter en Espaņol (Spanish)
Volume 3, Number 1
6 January 2003
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW AND POLICY
Nigerian
Who Fears Mutilation Wins US Deportation Stay (news article)
A US federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the deportation
of a Dallas woman who says she and her 3-year-old daughter, who
was born in the United States, would be subjected to genital mutilation
if she were forced to return to her native Nigeria.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
Unplanned
Childbearing in Kenya: The Socio-Demographic Correlates and the
Extent of Repeatability Among Women (PubMed abstract)
This paper examines the correlates of mistimed and unwanted childbearing
in Kenya. The results show that unplanned childbearing in Kenya
is associated with a number of factors, including urban/rural residence,
region, ethnicity, maternal education, maternal age, marital status,
birth order, length of preceding birth interval, family planning
practice, fertility preference and unmet need for family planning.
Social
Organization and Reproductive Behavior in Southern Ghana 
(working paper)
The focus of this paper is on the effects of social organization
on the diffusion of innovative reproductive ideas and behaviors.
The research draws on data collected in six communities in southern
Ghana. The analysis reveals a weaker than expected association between
the social organization of the communities and key reproductive
indicators. Closer examination of the six communities suggests that
the weak association is explained by the idiosyncratic histories
of several of the communities, in particular their histories of
health and family planning provision.
The
Making of a Disease: Female Sexual Dysfunction (research article)
Related news article: Drug
Firms Deny 'Creating' Female Sexual Disorder
The role of drug companies in creating new health conditions and
disorders needs more scrutiny. The medicalization of female sexuality
may help women, but also creates new markets for drugs. The author
contends that corporate sponsored definitions of "female sexual
dysfunction" are misleading and potentially dangerous. Claims
by researchers with ties to drug companies of the extent of female
sexual problems are said to be exaggerated.
Development
of a Clockwork Light Source To Enable Cervical Inspection By Village
Health Workers
(research article)
Screening can often prevent cervical cancer and it may be curable
if identified and treated in its early stages. However, 80% of new
cases occur in less-developed countries where cervical cancer screening
programs are small-scale or nonexistent. There is some evidence
that lesions may be detected by visual inspection with acetic acid
and field studies indicate that this technique is effective, safe
and acceptable to women. However, the provision of a light source
for inspection of the cervix presents a major problem in less developed
countries, where candles and torches often provide the only means
of illumination. The authors' objective was to develop a light source
based on clockwork technology that required no batteries or external
power source. They adapted the design of a commercially available
clockwork torch to provide a light source for cervical inspection.
The design is small, compact, effective and safe to use and promises
a better and more affordable means of visualizing the cervix.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS
India's
Home Minister Says Government Shocked Over Growing Numbers of Female
Fetuses Aborted (news article)
Despite a six-year ban on the use of ultrasound technology to determine
the sex of an unborn child, the government of India said that the
practice of aborting female fetuses is still growing. Data from
the 2001 census that showed there are 20 million to 40 million "missing"
girls and women in India "came as a rude shock to our consciousness,"
Deputy Prime Minister Lal K. Advani told a meeting of registrars
who record births and deaths. "This is not only illegal, but
is a crime against humanity," he said.
China:
Infertility An Increasing Problem, News Report Says (news article)
While much world attention on Chinese population issues have focused
on birth control, the country is facing an increasing problem with
infertility, as more couples find themselves unable to conceive,
Xinhua News Agency reported.
Where
Have All the Babies Gone? Infertility Hits One in Five Couples in
Singapore (news article)
One in five married couples in Singapore finds it difficult to conceive,
said a Singapore expert on fertility, revealing the extent of the
problem here for the first time. The 20 per cent figure given by
Dr Christopher Chen shows that Singapore is inching into the higher
brackets of infertility rates recorded in many developed countries,
where the range is between 15 per cent and 25 per cent.
HIV / AIDS RESEARCH
Gender
Inequalities, Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Preventive Practices:
Findings of a South African Cross-Sectional Study (PubMed abstract)
The aim of the paper is to investigate associations between a range
of markers of gender inequity, including financial, psychological
and physical violence, and two proximal practices in HIV prevention,
namely discussion of HIV between partners and the woman suggesting
condom use. The results indicate that discussion of HIV was significantly
positively associated with education, living in Mpumalanga Province,
the man being a migrant, the woman having multiple partners in the
past year and having no confidante. It was significantly negatively
associated with living in the Northern Province, the relationship
being poor and there being a substantial age difference between
partners. The woman suggesting condom use was significantly positively
associated with her education, her having multiple partners, domestic
violence prior to the past year and financial abuse. It was negatively
associated with the relationship being poor.
HIV / AIDS NEWS
Zambia:
Poor Health Services Further Hurdle for HIV-Positive Patients
(news article)
Zambia's over-stretched health facilities are inadequate at the
best of times, but the situation is especially grim for the more
than 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS.
HIV
Infections Reach 17 Percent Among Thai Teen-Agers (news article)
HIV infection rates among pregnant women in Thailand dropped by
0.1 percent last year, but infection rates among teen-agers rose
from 11 percent to 17 percent.
Swaziland
Acknowledges AIDS Infections Spiralling (news article)
The tiny African kingdom of Swaziland has acknowledged for the first
time that it has one of the highest AIDS rates in the world, with
almost 40% of Swazi adults now infected with HIV. Prime Minister
Sibusiso Dlamini, in a New Year's address, said the country's official
AIDS prevalence rate had risen to 38.6% from 34.2% in January 2002.
Annan:
"In Africa, AIDS Has a Woman's Face" (news article)
"A combination of famine and AIDS is threatening the backbone
of Africa--the women who keep African societies going and whose
work makes up the economic foundation of rural communities."
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan makes this argument in a New York
Times editorial, adding that "our work for development depends
on building a successful partnership with the African farmer and
her husband."
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH
Neighborhood
Support and the Birth Weight of Urban Infants (research abstract)
To test the hypothesis that economic and social features of urban
neighborhoods may account for the lower birth weights of infants
of African-American women, in addition to differences in maternal
characteristics, the authors conducted a household survey of 8,782
adults residing in neighborhoods of Chicago, Illinois and used US
Census data to estimate neighborhood economic disadvantage. Data
on birth weight and maternal risk factors were gathered from 95,711
birth certificates. Before statistical adjustment of the data, infants
born to African-American mothers were found to be, on average, 297
g lighter than those born to White mothers. After adjustment for
individual-level risk factors, this difference was reduced to 154
g. Adding neighborhood-level predictors to the model reduced the
adjusted White versus African-American difference in birth weight
to 124 g.
Maternal
Stress and Preterm Birth (research abstract)
This study examined a comprehensive array of psychosocial factors,
including life events, social support, depression, pregnancy-related
anxiety, perceived discrimination, and neighborhood safety in relation
to preterm birth (<37 weeks) in a prospective cohort study of
1,962 pregnant women in central North Carolina between 1996 and
2000, in which 12% delivered preterm. The prospective collection
of multiple psychosocial measures on this large population of women
indicates that a subset of these factors is associated with preterm
birth, such as having high counts of pregnancy-related anxiety,
having negative life events, and having a perception of racial discrimination.
Analgesic
Effect of Breastfeeding in Term Neonates: Randomised Controlled
Trial (research article)
Related news article: Breastfeeding
Cuts Pain for Babies
Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing the
analgesic effect of breastfeeding with that of sweet solutions combined
with pacifier and placebo in 180 term infants undergoing venepuncture.
Using two validated scales for measuring pain in infants, newborns
breastfed during the procedure had lower pain scores. During procedures
like heel lances and venepuncture, infants do feel pain, but pharmacological
treatments are avoided because of adverse effects and poor effectiveness.
Height,
Weight, and Growth in Children Born to Mothers With HIV-1 Infection
in Europe (research abstract)
Little is known about the independent long-term effect on growth
of exposure to maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
The objective of this study was to describe growth (height and weight)
patterns in infected and uninfected children who are born to HIV-infected
mothers with respect to standards from a general population and
to assess age-related differences in height and weight by infection
status, allowing for birth weight, gestational age, gender, HIV-related
clinical status, and antiretroviral therapy (ART). Of the 1587 children
enrolled, 810 were male and 777 were female; 1403 were not infected
(681 boys, 722 girls), and 184 were infected (88 boys, 96 girls).
Neither height nor weight was associated significantly with the
main effects of HIV infection status at birth, but differences between
infected and uninfected children increased with age. Uninfected
children had normal growth patterns from early ages. Infected children
were estimated to be significantly shorter and lighter than uninfected
children with growth differences increasing with age.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH NEWS
GM
Potato 'Could Improve Child Health' (news article)
A protein-rich genetically modified potato could help combat malnutrition
in India, scientists say. Its developers say the "protato"
could help tackle nutrition problems amongst the country's poorest
children. They say it could play an important part in the Indian
government's 15 year health improvement plan to provide clean water,
better food and vaccines.
Pregnancy,
Orgasm Hormone Spurs Brain Cell Boost (news article)
A hormone produced during pregnancy and after orgasm may help solidify
the bond between mom and child, and possibly between mates, new
research in mice suggests.
MEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Parental
Diabetes and Birthweight of Offspring: Intergenerational Cohort
Study (research article)
Related news article: Men
With Diabetes Father Smaller Babies
Children born to fathers with diabetes weigh less than other children,
finds this new study. Using data from a large study of British births
in 1958, researchers set out to test whether a father's non-insulin
dependent diabetes or a mother's diabetes starting after childbirth
was associated with the birth weight of their offspring. The offspring
of the fathers with diabetes weighed on average 186 g less than
other children.
Still-Births
Among the Offspring of Male Radiation Workers at the Sellafield
Nuclear Reprocessing Plant: Detailed Results and Statistical Aspects
(research abstract)
This study investigates whether there was evidence of increasing
risk of still–birth with increasing paternal exposure to ionizing
radiation received during employment at the Sellafield nuclear installation
before the child was conceived. A significant positive association
is found between the total paternal preconceptional exposure to
external ionizing radiation and the risk of still–birth after
adjustment for a number of factors.
High-intensity
Focused Ultrasound Ablation of the Epididymis in a Canine Model:
A Potential Alternative to Vasectomy (PubMed abstract)
In this study, the authors evaluated the feasibility of high-intensity
focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation of the canine epididymis as an
alternative to vasectomy. They note that HIFU ablation of the epididymis
causes injury and histologic changes associated with epididymal
occlusion, but further investigations are needed to optimize ablation
parameters and to confirm azoospermia with ejaculate studies.
POPULATION NEWS
Birthrates
in Global Decline (news article)
The global demographic story of recent years has been the rapid
fall in birthrates. Even in the developing countries, total fertility
is down from six babies per woman in 1960 to 2.9 today. Demographic
momentum, however, means that even after birthrates fall to the
replacement level of 2.1 children per woman over the course of her
life, the population keeps growing while women from the bigger families
prevalent in the past are still having babies.
Jordan's
Birth Rate Declines by Half in 25 Years (news article)
The birth rate in Jordan has dropped 50 percent over the last 25
years from an average of 7.4 children per mother in 1976 to 3.7
in 2002, according to the Department of Statistics.
In
Address to Estonians, President Calls on Citizens to Make More Babies
(news article)
Worried about a declining population, Estonia's president has urged
the country's 1.4 million residents to make more babies.
Russia:
Falling Rolls, Falling Villages (news article)
The nation's declining birth rate has been repeatedly singled out
by President Vladimir Putin as one of Russia's biggest hurdles in
the coming years. In his annual televised question and answer session
with the public, he announced that the latest census would show
the population standing at 145 million, a drop of more than 3 million
in a decade.
Record
Low Japanese Birth Rate (news article)
Japan registered a record low number of births in 2002, which also
saw a decline in marriages and an all-time high number of divorces,
according to a new government report. An estimated 1,156,000 babies
were born in Japan last year, down 15,000 from the previous year.
It marked the second consecutive annual decline.
Zambia:
Falling Life Expectancy (news article)
Life expectancy among Zambian adults is falling, according to the
findings of two new databases, raising concerns over the impact
of HIV/AIDS. The recently published Demographic Health Survey and
the 2000 Census of Population and Housing have revealed a "significant
deterioration in adult survivorship," the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) said in a report released this week. "Between 1990
and 2000, Zambian adults have lost approximately 11 years of life
expectancy. This is highly concentrated in the reproductive age
group and thought to be attributable to the HIV/AIDS pandemic,"
the report said. According to UN figures, gathered over a different
time frame, life expectancy at birth was 47.2 years between 1970-75,
falling to 40.5 between 1995-2000.
WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Cholesterol-lowering
Medication, Cholesterol Level, and Reproductive Hormones in Women:
The Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) (research abstract)
Related news article: Anti-cholesterol
Statins Do Not Reduce Reproductive Hormones in Women of Child-bearing
Age
Physicians have been concerned that relatively new prescription
medications called statins, which are being increasingly prescribed
to reduce blood cholesterol levels, might also decrease reproductive
hormone levels and cause women of child-bearing age to be less fertile.
A study headed by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in
Los Angeles, however, found that neither the use of statins nor
low blood cholesterol levels significantly affected reproductive
hormone levels in pre-, peri-, or postmenopausal women.
Diagnosis
and Subclassification of Breast Carcinoma by Fine-Needle Aspiration
Biopsy (research article)
The authors reviewed the performance of 1018 U.S. laboratories on
fine-needle aspiration biopsies of the breast with particular interest
in the ability of participants to accurately subclassify breast
carcinoma. The overall false-negative rate for laboratories was
6.2%, and the overall false-positive rate was 1.1%. Most of the
breast carcinomas were correctly identified as malignant on the
general diagnosis, but participants had more difficulty subclassifying
types of breast carcinoma. This study shows that fine-needle aspiration
biopsy of the breast is a reliable method for the diagnosis of breast
carcinoma, but difficulties still exist in the ability to determine
tumor subtype.
Infopoints:
A Web-Based System for Individualised Survival Estimation in Breast
Cancer (research article)
Clinicians want prognostic tools that not only aid prognostic classification,
but also give quantitative probabilities of survival. The authors
describe a way of generating survival estimates that uses existing
survival data and generates survival curves online dynamically.
Pseudomonas
Aeruginosa-Infected IUD Associated with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease:
A Case Report (research abstract)
The authors contend that proper treatment of PID from an infection
with Pseudomonas aeruginosa demands double coverage with appropriate
antipseudomonal agents.
WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Tanzania:
STOP FGM! A Rocky Road Ahead (news article)
A week-long survey by a newspaper in Tanzania has revealed that
despite the enactment of the Sexual Offences and Special Provisions
Act of 1998, which states that any person found guilty of this offence
is liable to a term of imprisonment of not less than 5 years, FGM
is still widely practised.
YOUTH RESEARCH
Sexual
Behaviour of Adolescents in Nigeria: Cross Sectional Survey of Secondary
School Students (research article)
A polygamous family structure is associated with early sexual activity
among adolescents in Nigeria, in part due to their higher likelihood
of marriage and history of forced sexual intercourse. Researchers
surveyed 4218 secondary school students aged 12 to 21 years to explore
the relations between family structure and sexual behavior. Forty
two per cent of adolescents from a polygamous family had had sexual
intercourse, compared with 28% of adolescents from a family with
a monogamous structure. Regardless of family structure, adolescents'
sense of connectedness to their parents was associated with a lesser
likelihood of sexual activity.
Unsafe
Sexual Behaviour in South African Youth (PubMed abstract)
This paper presents the findings of a review of research on the
factors promoting and perpetuating unsafe sexual behavior in South
African youth. The findings illustrate the powerful impact of the
proximal (interpersonal relationships and physical and organizational
environment) and distal (culture and structural factors) contexts,
and in particular, the pervasive effect of poverty and social norms
that perpetuate women's subordination within sexual relationships.
Personal factors and the proximal and distal contexts interact to
encourage HIV risk behavior in ways that are not fully captured
by social-cognitive models.
Premarital
Sex in Vietnam: Is the Current Concern with Adolescent Reproductive
Health Warranted?
(working paper)
This paper reviews the literature on adolescent sexual behavior
in Vietnam and analyzes data on premarital sex and reproductive
behavior from a 1999 survey conducted in six provinces among nearly
1,500 adolescent boys and girls. Data on other aspects of young
people's lives are summarized, in particular schooling and work,
in order to put the sexual activity data in perspective. The authors
conclude that the lack of adequate employment opportunities may
be more of a threat to adolescent reproductive health than risky
sexual behaviors per se--a situation that effective economic policies
can remedy.
Bus
Fare, Please: The Economics of Sex and Gifts Among Adolescents in
Urban South Africa
(working paper)
Using focus group discussions collected in the Durban metropolitan
area between September and December of 1999 among adolescents age
14 to 22, the authors examine the economic context of gift giving
or receiving and its relationship to patterns of risky sexual behavior
such as unsafe sex practices, and reports of sexual coercion or
force. They find that gift giving among same-age adolescents is
common and important to shaping sexual relationships. Adolescents
associate money or cash with prostitution, but do not consider gifts
as such.
Pregnant
or Positive: Adolescent Childbearing and HIV Risks in South Africa
(working paper)
In this paper, the authors analyze survey data from Kwa-Zulu-Natal
province that explores whether an association exists between pregnancy
preferences and behavioral and perceptual measures of HIV risk among
adolescents in South Africa. The authors find that educational and
employment opportunities affect fertility preferences but also that
the HIV pandemic, specifically adults' perception of HIV risk for
the young in the community and peer opinions about HIV risk, affect
fertility preferences. The analysis suggests that although individual
and structural factors remain important, for some adolescents (and
for girls more than for boys) the danger of HIV infection is becoming
part of their calculus of the desirability of pregnancy.
Sustaining
and Broadening Intervention Impact: A Longitudinal Randomized Trial
of 3 Adolescent Risk Reduction Approaches (research abstract)
The objective of the study was to determine whether the addition
of a parental monitoring intervention (Informed Parents and Children
Together [ImPACT]) alone or with "boosters" could enhance
(either broaden or sustain or both) the effect of a small group,
face-to-face adolescent risk reduction intervention Focus on Kids
(FOK). Results showed that at 6 months' follow-up, youths in families
that were assigned to FOK plus ImPACT reported significantly lower
rates of sexual intercourse, sex without a condom, alcohol use,
and cigarette use and marginally lower rates of "risky sexual
behavior" compared with youths in families that were assigned
to FOK only. At 12 months after intervention, rates of alcohol and
marijuana use were significantly lower and cigarette use and overall
risk intention were marginally lower among FOK plus ImPACT youths
compared with FOK only youths. With regard to the boosters delivered
at 7 and 10 months, 2 risk behaviors (use of crack/cocaine and drug
selling) were significantly lower among the youths who were assigned
to receive the additional boosters compared with youths without
the boosters.
Early
Age of First Drunkenness as a Factor in College Students' Unplanned
and Unprotected Sex Attributable to Drinking (research abstract)
This study explores whether first getting drunk at a younger age
is associated with a greater likelihood of college students reporting
that they had unplanned or unprotected sexual intercourse because
of their drinking. Results showed that among college students who
drink, those first drunk before age 13 compared with those never
drank until age 19 or older had a 2.0 times greater odds of having
unplanned sex and a 2.2 times greater odds of having unprotected
sex reportedly because of drinking, even after controlling for age,
race/ethnicity, marital status, parental drinking history, age of
first smoking, and marijuana use. After further controlling for
history of alcohol dependence and frequency of heavy drinking those
first drunk before age 13 had a 1.5 times greater odds of unplanned
sex and a 1.7 times greater odds of unprotected sex reportedly because
of drinking.
BOOKS / BOOK REVIEWS
Promoting
Reproductive Security in Developing Countries (book summary)
This book provides a comprehensive approach to developing and implementing
reproductive health programs in the developing world. It fills a
major gap in the literature by responding to the global need for
a detailed guide to comprehensive reproductive health services.
It furnishes an innovative conceptual model - reproductive security
- and offers an in-depth analysis of major reproductive health issues.
PROFILES / SPECIAL REPORTS
A
Commitment to Action for Expanded Access to HIV/AIDS Treatment
(report)
A new initiative has been launched to promote international cooperation
in expanding access to HIV treatments for all those that need them.
The International Treatment Access Coalition (ITAC) is a network
of NGOs, international organizations, donors, developing countries
and research institutions. It will serve as a platform for national
and international advocacy on HIV treatment access, analyze and
disseminate information and knowledge on pilot programs to guide
scale up, and pool technical expertise to support the implementation
of national programs. ITAC published this report in its effort to
boost efforts to provide access to antiretroviral drugs to the growing
number of people with HIV/AIDS in low and middle income countries.
Growing,
Evolving HIV/AIDS Pandemic Is Producing Social and Economic Fallout
(commentary)
Early into the third decade of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the virus
continues to expand its reach across the globe. Not only is the
pandemic affecting ever greater numbers of peoplean estimated 42
million are now infected worldwideit is also evolving such that
for the first time since the disease emerged in the early 1980s,
about half the people living with HIV are now women.
Best
Practices in Client-Provider Interactions in Reproductive Health
Services: A Review of the Literature
(research article)
This paper summarizes recommendations on the process and content
of family planning related client-provider interactions (CPI), based
on research and programmatic experience, and cites analyses of the
policy, management, and training support needed to make better CPI
a reality.
CBNRM
and AIDS in Bushbuckridge, Northern Province, South Africa: An exploratory
geographic analysis
(report)
From the summary: "A study of the intersection of HIV/AIDS
and community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) was carried
out in early 2002 in the Bushbuckridge area, South Africa, for USAID’s
Africa Bureau. The study, which involved a 2 * week visit to the
area, explored the possibility of using geographic analysis and
GIS tools to reveal spatial patterns of the two themes. It was expected
that the results could assist in responding to the planning needs
of CBNRM projects near the Kruger National Park being fostered by
USAID’s Transboundary Natural Resource Management Initiative."
When you click on any link, your Internet browser will access a Web site not connected to "The Pop Reporter.®" Information accessed through these links and contained in this issue of "The Pop Reporter®" does not necessarily state or reflect the views of the Population Information Program, Johns Hopkins University, or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
All links were verified at the date of posting. Your computer and/or network configuration regarding Java script, cookies, and other security issues may not allow you to view certain Web sites. Consult your computer technician if you are having problems.
Information & Knowledge for Optimal Health (INFO) Project
111 Market Place Suite 310, Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: 410-659-6300 Fax: 410-659-6266 Security & Privacy Policy