FRONTIERS Projects | Interregional | Development and Coordination of the Three Global Agenda Studies

FRONTIERS PROJECT
Development and Coordination of the Three Global Agenda Studies

From 1999 to 2004 FRONTIERS conducted a coordinated set of operations research (OR) studies, collectively referred to as the Global Agenda. Its goal was to carry out comparable studies in diverse settings to answer important policy questions with global, rather than local, relevance. By asking the same questions, testing the same hypotheses, applying similar designs, and using core indicators and instruments, it was expected that more comprehensive answers to the original questions would be reached than if a single study were done in one setting. The three core sets of studies selected were:

Improving the Reproductive Health of Youth (Bangladesh, Kenya, Mexico, Senegal)
Involving Males in their Partners’ Antenatal and Postpartum Care: Impact on Family Planning Use and the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections at Six Months Postpartum (India and South Africa)
Impact of Improved Client–Provider Interaction on Women’s Achievement of Fertility Goals (Egypt, Peru, Uganda)

Overall these studies demonstrated that it is feasible to investigate the same questions in different locations. While application of a common research design across countries was possible, the components of the interventions varied. Differences in sites, implementation of interventions, and variations in the interventions render the study findings not directly comparable on all key variables. It is possible to generalize about the findings from the studies; each may be viewed as a cluster of similar, but not identical, efforts to test interventions on a common theme. All of the studies faced challenges stemming from complexities in local conditions, external influences, and, because multiple agencies were working in the project regions, varying degrees of contamination.

However, positive findings from several studies led to expansion of the pilot projects or use of the pilot approaches, tools, materials, and curriculums within and beyond the pilot areas. These include:

Location

Interregional

Duration

January 1999–September 2004

Non-Council collaborator

Susan Adamchak (Family Health International)

Donor

US Agency for International Development

Publications/Resources
Council researchers' names appear in boldface type.

2005
Adamchak, Susan. "Lessons learned from the global agenda of the Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program," FRONTIERS Final Report. Washington, DC: Population Council. (PDF, 1.45 MB)

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