Suchergebnisse

The recent female literacy and fertility levels in Kerala state are examined using the 2011 census data. Arriaga's approach for estimation of age-specific fertility rates is undertaken to show the particularities of Kerala state and the best practices which made this state an example for other states in India as well as other places in the world, particularly developing countries. Women's empowerment gets as much credit as physical facilities and family planning programs; this empowerment level of women is also related to their level of education.

Reliance on traditional methods of birth control causes psychological tension in couples because the fear of unwanted pregnancy bars them from experiencing a healthy sexual life. However, in Assam, half of all contraceptive users depend on traditional methods of birth control. The current study used National Family Health Survey 2005–2006 data. Out of 3840 sample women in the age group 15–49 years, 1286 women are filtered for the present study. Most of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of traditional method users fall between those of modern spacing method users and terminal method users. Thus, the burden of unwanted fertility is highest among the traditional method users.

At the end of 2007, India had an estimated 2.31 million people living with HIV, and an HIV prevalence of 0.34 percent. Despite the low HIV prevalence, these statistics place India among countries with a large number of people living with HIV (PLHIV). To address the care and support needs of PLHIV, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, initiated a national program in 2004 to provide free antiretroviral therapy (ART) for PLHIV. By March 2009, there were 211 functioning Antiretroviral Treatment Centers and 254 Community Care Centers across the country, and to date 217,781 individuals are receiving ART. A major challenge for the health system has been to increase utilization of ART services and enrollment into the program. The Population Council, with support from the National AIDS Control Organization, undertook a multisite study in four high-HIV-preva¬lence and three low-HIV-prevalence-states. This document describes the context and factors that influence the uptake of ART services in those states.

AbstractWomen's contraceptive decision‐making control is crucial for reproductive autonomy, but research largely relies on the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) measure which asks who is involved with decision‐making. In India, this typically assesses joint decision‐making or male engagement. Newer measures emphasize female agency. We examined three measures of contraceptive decision‐making, the DHS and two agency‐focused measures, to assess their associations with marital contraceptive communication and use in rural Maharashtra, India. We analyzed follow‐up survey data from women participating in the CHARM2 study (n = 1088), collected in June–December 2020. The survey included the DHS (measure 1), Reproductive Decision‐Making Agency (measure 2), and Contraceptive Final Decision‐Maker measures (measure 3). Only Measure 1 was significantly associated with contraceptive communication (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.75, 95 percent confidence interval [CI]: 1.69–4.49) and use (AOR: 1.73, 95 percent CI: 1.14–2.63). However, each measure was associated with different types of contraceptive use: Measure 1 with condom (adjusted relative risk ratio [aRRR]: 1.99, 95 percent CI: 1.12–3.51) and intrauterine device (IUD) (aRRR: 4.76, 95 percent CI: 1.80–12.59), Measure 2 with IUD (aRRR: 1.64, 95 percent CI: 1.04–2.60), and Measure 3 with pill (aRRR: 2.00, 95 percent CI: 1.14—3.52). Among married women in Maharashtra, India, male engagement in decision‐making may be a stronger predictor of contraceptive communication and use than women's agency, but agency may be predictive of types of contraceptives used.

AbstractWe assess the effect of CHARM, a gender equity and family planning counseling intervention for husbands in rural India, on men's gender ideology. We used a two‐armed cluster randomized control trial design and collected survey data from husbands (n=1081) at baseline, 9 months, and 18 months. We used a continuous measure of support for gender equity and a dichotomous measure of equitable attitudes toward women's role in household decision‐making. To assess differences on these outcomes, we used generalized linear mixed models. After controlling for socio‐demographic factors, men who received the CHARM intervention were significantly more likely than men in the control group to have equitable attitudes toward household decision‐making at 9‐months follow‐up; there was a non‐significant difference between the groups for the measure of support for gender equity. For household decision‐making, differences were not sustained at 18‐months follow‐up. Given the role of husbands' gender ideology in women's contraceptive use, the CHARM intervention represents a promising approach for challenging root causes of women's unmet need for contraception.