6867 research outputs found
Sort by
How climate change is shaping young people’s livelihoods and educational opportunities
Get PDFThe climate crisis is threatening global access to education and the creation of livelihood and/or economic opportunities for adolescents and young people (AYP). Climate change prevents more than 12.5 million girls from completing their education each year, and this is projected to increase. The Population Council and Women Deliver conducted participatory, AYP co-led focus group discussions in three countries (Bangladesh, Guatemala, and Nigeria). In each country, a participant in the Women Deliver Young Leaders program teamed up with Council researchers to talk to AYP (ages 12–25 years) about how climate change is affecting their lives, from health to education to ways that young people are taking action. Each country added a focus group to talk to marginalized subgroups (for example, trans AYP in Bangladesh and Indigenous AYP in Guatemala). A total of 196 AYP were interviewed. Focus groups covered a range of topics on how climate change is affecting their lives and futures. This brief summarizes responses from participants regarding how climate change is harming access to school, contributing to dropout, and causing loss of livelihood opportunities
Evaluating a scalable ARCHES (Addressing Reproductive Coercion in Health Settings) model in government health facilities in Uasin Gishu county, Kenya: Study protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial
No full textBackground: Since 2013, the World Health Organization has recommended that reproductive coercion (RC) and intimate partner violence (IPV) be addressed within reproductive health services and, in 2018, the Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights found that RC and IPV were significant contributors to unmet need for family planning (FP) and unintended pregnancy. In Kenya, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has made reduction of unintended pregnancy and gender-based violence a primary objective. Despite this need and guidance, no clinic-based intervention models outside of the U.S. (apart from the one described here) have demonstrated efficacy to improve FP use and reduce IPV or RC thereby reducing unintended pregnancy. ARCHES (Addressing Reproductive Coercion in Health Settings) is a brief, clinic-based intervention delivered by existing FP providers aiming to: (1) Increase women’s ability to use FP without interference, (2) Provide a safe and supportive environment for IPV disclosure and referral to support services, and (3) Improve quality of FP counseling, including addressing RC and IPV. The objective of this study is to generate evidence on scaling integrated FP services (including FP, RC, and IPV) in public sector health facilities in Uasin Gishu county, Kenya via adaptation and implementation of ARCHES in partnership with the Kenya MOH. Methods: A cluster-randomized controlled trial paired with concurrent implementation science assessments will test effectiveness of the ARCHES model, adapted for scale by the Kenya MOH, in reducing unintended pregnancy. Female FP clients aged 15–49 years at selected sites will complete baseline surveys (immediately prior to receiving care), immediately post-visit exit surveys, and 6-month follow-up surveys. Provider surveys will assess changes in gender-equitable attitudes and self-efficacy to address violence reported by their clients. Costs associated with scaling ARCHES will be tracked and utilized in combination with results of the effectiveness trial to assess costs and cost-effectiveness relative to the standard of care. Discussion: This study will provide evidence of the effectiveness of a facility-based intervention to address RC and IPV within public sector FP services at scale, as adapted and implemented in Uasin Gishu county, Kenya. Trial registration: Trial registered on 28 September 2023 with clinicaltrials.gov NCT06059196
Revitalizing and expanding commitment to family planning: Summary of the FP2030 Anglophone Africa Workshop, June 2023
Get PDFIn June 2023, Population Council, Kenya was a delegate at the first FP2030 Anglophone Africa Focal Point workshop in Kampala, Uganda, which was convened by the FP2030 East and Southern Africa Hub. The theme of the workshop was to call on partners and country family planning (FP) focal points to review and strengthen their country’s commitments toward achieving their FP2030 goals of expanding access and uptake of FP across the region. This brief summarizes the workshop and its outcomes
Provider Behavior Change: Social and Behavior Change Approaches to Quality of Care in Family Planning—Slide deck
Get PDFBreakthrough RESEARCH, USAID’s flagship social and behavior change (SBC) research and evaluation project to drive the generation, packaging, and use of innovative SBC research to inform programming, held its first of four interactive legacy and learning events on 31 January 2023.
To kick off the series, the first event on provider behavior change (PBC) highlighted evidence, insights, and learnings over the life of the project to advance PBC programming and fill critical PBC evidence gaps. PBC, an SBC approach to improving quality of care in family planning, addresses behavioral antecedents and has the potential to result in multiple impacts at individual, community, and system levels.
During the webinar, presenters and attendees: Explored key PBC insights from Breakthrough RESEARCH Learned about some of the state-of-the-art PBC evidence Breakthrough RESEARCH has generated Discovered tools that can be used to strengthen PBC programming and measurement Found calls to action to continue to advance evidence-based PBC programming
This is the slide deck for the webinar
Webinar—Provider Behavior Change: Social and Behavior Change Approaches to Quality of Care in Family Planning
Get PDFBreakthrough RESEARCH, USAID’s flagship social and behavior change (SBC) research and evaluation project to drive the generation, packaging, and use of innovative SBC research to inform programming, held its first of four interactive legacy and learning events on 31 January 2023.
To kick off the series, the first event on provider behavior change (PBC) highlighted evidence, insights, and learnings over the life of the project to advance PBC programming and fill critical PBC evidence gaps. PBC, an SBC approach to improving quality of care in family planning, addresses behavioral antecedents and has the potential to result in multiple impacts at individual, community, and system levels.
During the webinar, presenters and attendees: Explored key PBC insights from Breakthrough RESEARCH Learned about some of the state-of-the-art PBC evidence Breakthrough RESEARCH has generated Discovered tools that can be used to strengthen PBC programming and measurement Found calls to action to continue to advance evidence-based PBC programmin
Deep eutectic solvents for subcutaneous delivery of protein therapeutics
No full textProteins are among the most common therapeutics for the treatment of diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and metabolic diseases, among others. Despite their common use, current protein therapies, most of which are injectables, have several limitations. Large proteins such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) suffer from poor absorption after subcutaneous injections, thus forcing their administration by intravenous injections. Even small proteins such as insulin suffer from slow pharmacokinetics which poses limitations in effective management of diabetes. Here, a deep eutectic-based delivery strategy is used to offer a generalized approach for improving protein absorption after subcutaneous injections. The lead formulation enhances absorption of mAbs after subcutaneous injections by ≈200%. The same composition also improves systemic absorption of subcutaneously injected insulin faster than Humalog, the current gold-standard of rapid acting insulin. Mechanistic studies reveal that the beneficial effect of deep eutectics on subcutaneous absorption is mediated by their ability to reduce the interactions of proteins with the subcutaneous matrix, especially collagen. Studies also confirm that these deep eutectics are safe for subcutaneous injections. Deep eutectic-based formulations described here open new possibilities for subcutaneous injections of therapeutic proteins
The mental health of Asian American adolescents and young adults amid the rise of anti-Asian racism
No full textObjectives: We describe the perceptions and experiences of anti-Asian racism and violence and depression severity prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic among a sample of Asian American (AA) adolescents and young adults. Methods: We used data from the Young Asian American Health Survey (YAAHS), an online-recruited sample of AA adolescents (ages 13–17) and young adults (ages 18–29 years) conducted during May 2021 to March 2022. We presented descriptive statistics examining the univariate distribution and bivariate relationships of depression severity, sociodemographic characteristics, and experiences and perceptions of anti-Asian violence. Results: Our sample (n = 176) comprised AA adolescents and young adults from 17 Asian ethnicities. A quarter said that the frequency and/or severity of their personal experiences of anti-Asian harassment had increased since the pandemic started. 76% indicated feeling less safe now than before the pandemic. Two-thirds reported that their depressive symptoms have increased since the pandemic started. Participants who reported feeling less safe now than before the pandemic were more likely to report increased personal experiences with anti-Asian harassment and increased depression severity since the pandemic started than those who reported feeling as safe or safer before the pandemic (p \u3c 0.01 for both). Discussion: Findings illustrate AA adolescent and young adults are experiencing multiple health and social crises stemming from increased anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. We urge policymakers to strengthen data systems that connect racial discrimination and mental health and to institute prevention measures and anti-racist mental health services that are age- and culturally-appropriate for AA adolescent and young adults
Growth failure among children of adolescent mothers at ages 0–5 and 6–12 years in India
No full textAdolescent motherhood has been linked with poor health outcomes at birth for children, including high neonatal mortality, low birthweight, and small-for-gestational-age rates. However, longer-term growth outcomes in the children of adolescent mothers in low-resource settings remain inadequately studied. We used longitudinal data from the India Human Development Surveys, 2004–2005 and 2011–2012 (n = 12,182) and employed regression and propensity score matching analysis to compare the following growth indicators of children born to adolescent mothers (ages 19 years or below) with those born to older mothers. Growth indicators included height and weight during ages 0–5 years and 6–12 years and change in height and weight between the two periods. In regression-based estimates, children born to adolescent mothers were 0.01 m shorter and weighed 0.2 kg less than children of older mothers at ages 0–5 years. At ages 6–12 years, those born to adolescent mothers were 0.02 m shorter and weighed 0.97 kg less. The height difference between the two groups increased by 0.01 m and the weight difference grew by 0.77 kg over time. Height and weight difference between the two groups worsened among boys over time, while for girls, only the weight gap worsened. The results were similar when using propensity score matching methods. Public policies for reducing child marriage, combined with targeted health, nutrition, and well-being programs for adolescent mothers, are essential for both preventing adolescent childbearing and reducing its impact on growth failure among children in India
Neonatal and perinatal mortality in the urban continuum: A geospatial analysis of the household survey, satellite imagery and travel time data in Tanzania
No full textIntroduction: Recent studies suggest that the urban advantage of lower neonatal mortality in urban compared with rural areas may be reversing, but methodological challenges include misclassification of neonatal deaths and stillbirths, and oversimplification of the variation in urban environments. We address these challenges and assess the association between urban residence and neonatal/perinatal mortality in Tanzania. Methods: The Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2015–2016 was used to assess birth outcomes for 8915 pregnancies among 6156 women of reproductive age, by urban or rural categorisation in the DHS and based on satellite imagery. The coordinates of 527 DHS clusters were spatially overlaid with the 2015 Global Human Settlement Layer, showing the degree of urbanisation based on built environment and population density. A three-category urbanicity measure (core urban, semi-urban and rural) was defined and compared with the binary DHS measure. Travel time to the nearest hospital was modelled using least-cost path algorithm for each cluster. Bivariate and multilevel multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to explore associations between urbanicity and neonatal/perinatal deaths. Results: Both neonatal and perinatal mortality rates were highest in core urban and lowest in rural clusters. Bivariate models showed higher odds of neonatal death (OR=1.85; 95% CI 1.12 to 3.08) and perinatal death (OR=1.60; 95% CI 1.12 to 2.30) in core urban compared with rural clusters. In multivariable models, these associations had the same direction and size, but were no longer statistically significant. Travel time to the nearest hospital was not associated with neonatal or perinatal mortality. Conclusion: Addressing high rates of neonatal and perinatal mortality in densely populated urban areas is critical for Tanzania to meet national and global reduction targets. Urban populations are diverse, and certain neighbourhoods or subgroups may be disproportionately affected by poor birth outcomes. Research must capture, understand and minimise risks specific to urban settings