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GENDER AND FAMILY DYNAMICS This global study, undertaken by Frontiers researchers in India and South Africa, seeks to involve male partners in health services during the antenatal period, with the goal of improving postpartum family planning care and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). At the same time the study aims to develop an acceptable expanded antenatal and postpartum care program to include both men and women. In India the study surveyed couples attending the antenatal clinic at the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), the largest social insurance program in India catering to industrial workers in urban and semiurban areas that provides health care through hospitals and clinics in New Delhi. The study sought to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of incorporating men as active partners in their wives' antenatal and postnatal care. The effect of shifting the health care sector's focus from women exclusively to couples was investigated through measurement of selected male and female reproductive health and infant health indicators. Results suggest that involving men in the antenatal care of their partners in India is both acceptable and affordable for both clients and providers. Nearly three-quarters of men in the study joined their wives during antenatal visits and postnatal consultations. The results also show that it is feasible to integrate other services to serve men and women's reproductive health needs. For example, male physicians trained in STIs/HIV are now managing not only antenatal clients' husbands with complaints, but also other dispensary clients who present with RTI/STI symptoms. Previously all symptomatic clients were referred to hospitals, and no follow-up, partner treatment, or prevention education was provided at dispensaries. ESIC's medical commissioner has requested that the Council provide technical assistance to scale up services from the three study clinics to 10 additional clinics in New Delhi and strengthen institutional training capacity, informational material production, management information systems and data use in service improvement, and supportive supervision monitoring. In KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the study focused on the impact of involving male partners in women's antenatal and postnatal care. Because South Africa is struggling to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic researchers also were interested in testing the feasibility of improving STI management and the integration of services in the public health sector. The study was carried out in six clinics and another six clinics served as a control. Data analysis of this study is ongoing. Additional study activities include continued monitoring; technical assistance and information exchange between the two countries; preparation and dissemination of papers based on the comparative data as they become available; and review of the baseline and final reports. See Also
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