Intimate partner violence (IPV) and reproductive coercion (RC)-largely in the form of pressuring pregnancy-appear to contribute to low use of contraceptives in India; however, little is known about ...the extent to which these experiences differentially affect use of specific contraceptive methods. The current study assessed the association of IPV and RC with specific contraceptive methods (Intrauterine Devices IUDs, pills, condoms) among a large population-based sample of currently married women (15-49 years, n = 1424) living in Uttar Pradesh. Outcomes variables included past year modern contraceptive use and type of contraceptive used. Primary independent variables included lifetime experience of RC by current husband or in-laws, and lifetime experiences of physical IPV and sexual IPV by current husband. Multivariate logistic regression models were developed to determine the effect of each form of abuse on women's contraceptive use. Approximately 1 in 7 women (15.1%) reported experiencing RC from their current husband or in-laws ever in their lifetime, 37.4% reported experience of physical IPV and 8.3% reported experience of sexual IPV by their current husband ever in their lifetime. Women experiencing RC were less likely to use any modern contraceptive (AOR: 0.18; 95% CI: 0.9-0.36). Such women also less likely to report pill and condom use but were more likely to report IUD use. Neither form of IPV were associated with either overall or method specific contraceptive use. Study findings highlight that RC may influence contraceptive use differently based on type of contraceptive, with less detectable, female-controlled contraceptives such as IUD preferred in the context of women facing RC. Unfortunately, IUD uptake remains low in India. Increased access and support for use, particularly for women contending with RC, may be important for improving women's control over contraceptive use and reducing unintended pregnancy.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health, human rights, and development issue. While existing evidence posits that addressing social norms is key to IPV prevention, successful ...IPV interventions that include a norms approach are limited in number and methodological rigor and rarely include a formal investigation of the diffusion of intervention impact. We contribute novel findings to this intellectual and programmatic space with evidence on a social and behavior change communication (SBCC) intervention (Change Starts at Home) in Nepal designed to prevent IPV and shift social norms towards greater gender equity.
Participants included 442 married women across 13 communities assessed at three timepoints: before intervention (baseline), at the completion of the core couple's curriculum and edutainment (midline), and at the conclusion of the diffusion curriculum (endline). Generalized estimating equations with propensity-score adjustments were used to determine change in outcomes at midline and endline for two intervention conditions (direct beneficiary, N = 173; and resident of the intervention community, (N = 178) relative to control (N = 91).
IPV victimization significantly decreased in both intervention conditions at midline, with larger reductions in direct beneficiaries. At endline, direct beneficiaries had sustained reduction in IPV relative to control participants. Positive injunctive norms also significantly improved by midline for both intervention groups, whereas improvements in descriptive norms for intervention groups were matched by improvements in the control group at both midline and endline. Several secondary outcomes showed significant improvements for both intervention groups at midline and/or endline, including in-law violence, financial decision-making, communication, and relationship quality, with additional improvements for the direct beneficiaries in attitudes, leadership, GBV advocacy, and diffusion.
This study sheds light on the effectiveness of the Change intervention, the role of addressing social norms in IPV prevention efforts, and the benefits of organized diffusion.
•This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the Change intervention to prevent IPV.•The diffusion intervention extended impact beyond those most intensively exposed.•The intervention spurred community-organizing to sustain the programming.•The diffusion curriculum can be adapted to other pressing social and health needs.
Niger has the highest rate of adolescent fertility in the world, with early marriage, early childbearing and high gender inequity. This study assesses the impact of Reaching Married Adolescents ...(RMA), a gender-synchronized social behavioral intervention designed to improve modern contraceptive use and reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) among married adolescent couples in rural Niger.
We conducted a four-armed cluster-randomized trial in 48 villages across three districts in Dosso region, Niger. Married adolescent girls (ages 13-19) and their husbands were recruited within selected villages. Intervention arms included home visits by gender-matched community health workers (CHWs) (Arm 1), gender-segregated, group discussion sessions (Arm 2), and both approaches (Arm 3). We used multilevel mixed-effects Poisson regression models to assess intervention effects for our primary outcome, current modern contraceptive use, and our secondary outcome, past year IPV.
Baseline and 24-month follow-up data were collected April-June 2016 and April-June 2018. At baseline, 1072 adolescent wives were interviewed (88% participation), with 90% retention at follow-up; 1080 husbands were interviewed (88% participation), with 72% retention at follow-up. Adolescent wives had higher likelihood of modern contraceptive use at follow-up relative to controls in Arm 1 (aIRR 3.65, 95% CI 1.41-8.78) and Arm 3 (aIRR 2.99, 95% CI 1.68-5.32); no Arm 2 effects were observed. Relative to those in the control arm, Arm 2 and Arm 3 participants were significantly less likely to report past year IPV (aIRR 0.40, 95% CI 0.18-0.88 for Arm 2; aIRR 0.46, 95% CI 0.21-1.01 for Arm 3). No Arm 1 effects were observed.
The RMA approach blending home visits by CHWs and gender-segregated group discussion sessions is the optimal format for increasing modern contraceptive use and decreasing IPV among married adolescents in Niger. Trial registration This trial is retrospectively registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier NCT03226730.
Son preference, an ongoing concern in India, is a known driver of ideal family size preferences and contraceptive use among couples. These associations can vary substantially with parity and can ...influence men and women differently. This study assesses the association of sex composition of children by parity and a) men's higher ideal family size preference relative to women and b) use of modern contraceptives by couples.
We used the Couples Recode dataset from National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015-16 and identified couples who had at least one child and had complete responses for variables used in the study (N = 56,731 couples). We developed multivariable linear and logistic regression models to study the association between sex composition of children by parity and our dependent variables.
Our findings indicate that the sex composition of children is associated with men's higher ideal family size preference, relative to women, among couples with four or more children. We also find that couples with less than four children are less likely to use modern contraceptives when they have an equal or a greater number of daughters than sons compared to those who have no daughters. Findings suggest that couples with four or more children are more likely to use modern contraceptives when they have at least one son and one daughter and are less likely to use contraceptives when they have all daughters and no sons, than couples who have no daughters.
This study contributes to existing research on the relationship between sex composition of children with ideal family size preferences and contraceptive use by highlighting meaningful differences between higher and lower parity couples. Findings from the study can be used by family planning programs in India to customize family planning counselling messages by both sex composition and parity.
•Men do not have a higher ideal family size preference, relative to women among couples with less than four children.•Men's higher ideal family size preferenceobserved only among couples with four or more children.•Couples with less than four children are less likely to use modern contraceptives when they have more daughters than sons.•Couples with four or more children are less likely to use contraceptives if they have all daughters and no sons.
A child is future of nation. Malnutrition is a big public health problem in India as it can be attributed for more than half (54 percent) of all under five mortality in India.
To assess prevalence of ...malnutrition among urban and rural population of Haryana using newly developed WHO growth standards.
A community based cross-sectional survey was conducted in children of 3-60 months age living in the urban and rural field practice areas of Department of Community Medicine MMIMSR, Mullana, Ambala during January 2012 to December 2012.
Seven hundred and fifty children, aged 3-60 months, were studied for nutritional status, socio-demographic measures were obtained from structured questionnaire and followed by anthropometric assessment using standards methods. Z score for Anthropometric data was calculated by WHO Anthro 2010 software (beta version).
Descriptive statistics as well as simple proportion were calculated with SPSS 20.
We found that 41.3% children were underweight and 14% were severe underweight. Female children were more nutritionally deprived than males. Among sociodemographic factors maternal educational and working status as well as SES class and rural background of family had greater impact on nutritional status of child.
We found that almost half of our under five children are underweight, girl child being affected more. For attainment of best possible nutrition and growth in children, targeted short-term strategies addressing underlying risk factors and more long-term poverty alleviation strategies may be needed.
Child marriage is associated with multiple adverse health and social outcomes. Although evidence suggests that child marriage is associated with reduced participation in personal and household ...decisions for women, less is known about the association between age at marriage and decision-making among married adolescent girls. This study assesses associations between adolescents' age at marriage and two dimensions of decision-making (participation and satisfaction) in the high early marriage prevalence settings of Niger.
Cross-sectional data from a cluster-randomized control trial of a community-level program to increase the use of modern contraceptives among married adolescents in the Dosso region of Niger were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression models were used to determine the association of age at marriage with married girls' participation in and satisfaction with decision-making processes.
More than half of married adolescents (N = 796) were married before reaching the age of 15 years. Older age at marriage was associated with adolescents' increased participation in decisions related to economics (adjusted odds ratio: 1.23; 95% confidence interval: 1.05–1.43) and health-care access (adjusted odds ratio: 1.18; 95% confidence interval: 1.01–1.40), but not with greater reported satisfaction with their control over these decisions.
The study suggests that marrying as a very young adolescent places girls in even more disadvantaged positions regarding decision-making. These findings indicate the need to design programs targeted at addressing inequitable gender norms to reduce early child marriage and increase participation in decision-making. Further study of satisfaction with participation in decision-making is recommended, including consideration of whether it is related to gender norms for participation in decisions rather than actual participation.
Objective
To evaluate the sustained impact of community‐based family planning (FP) interventions on current modern contraceptive and long‐acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) use among married ...adolescent girls in rural Niger.
Methods
We used a cluster randomized controlled trial design following married adolescent girls and their husbands over 3 years. Villages were randomized to one of four arms: household visits, small group discussions, combined intervention, or control. For 1.5 years, couples were exposed to one intervention activity per month and 1.5 years after implementation ended, we used a multi‐level mixed effects logistic regression model to evaluate changes in key FP outcomes.
Results
We analyzed survey data from 404 married adolescent girls with data at baseline and endline. Small group discussions (+35.6%; adjusted odds ratio aOR 7.94, P < 0.001) and the combined intervention (+17.9%: aOR 4.53, P = 0.005) led to statistically significant increases in the odds of using modern contraceptives at endline compared with the control. The combined intervention (+14.2%; aOR 7.98, P < 0.001) and home visits (+12.6%; aOR 8.09, P < 0.001) led to statistically significant increases in odds of using LARC methods at endline compared with the control. Increase in LARC use was driven by implant use across all intervention groups.
Conclusion
This study contributes to the empirical evidence base on the sustained impact of community‐based interventions on increases in FP use among married adolescent girls in low‐ and middle‐income countries.
Synopsis
Community‐based family planning interventions were associated with increased modern contraceptive and LARC use among married adolescent girls in rural Niger compared with a control group.
Uttar Pradesh (UP) accounts for the largest number of neonatal deaths in India. This study explores potential socio-economic inequities in household-level contacts by community health workers (CHWs) ...and whether the effects of such household-level contacts on receipt of health services differ across populations in this state.
A multistage sampling design identified live births in the last 12 months across the 25 highest-risk districts of UP (N = 4912). Regression models described the relations between household demographics (caste, religion, wealth, literacy) and CHW contact, and interactions of demographics and CHW contact in predicting health service utilization (> = 4 antenatal care (ANC) visits, facility delivery, modern contraceptive use).
No differences were found in likelihood of CHW contact based on caste, religion, wealth or literacy. Associations of CHW contact with receipt of ANC and facility delivery were significantly affected by religion, wealth and literacy. CHW contact increased the odds of 4 or more ANC visits only among non-Muslim women, increased the odds of both four or more ANC visits and facility delivery only among lower wealth women, increased the odds of facility delivery to a greater degree among illiterate vs. literate women.
CHW visits play a vital role in promoting utilization of critical maternal health services in UP. However, significant social inequities exist in associations of CHW visits with such service utilization. Research to clarify these inequities, as well as training for CHWs to address potential biases in the qualities or quantity of their visits based on household socio-economic characteristics is recommended.