Population Council Research that makes a difference

A total of 17 HPI fellows were supported through the program—seven during the first year (2004), five during the second year (2005), and five during the third and final year of the program (2006).

The seven fellows supported in 2004 focused on wide-ranging issues, including:

• developing new strategies to enable seasonal migrants in Nashik, Maharashtra, to access health care;
• developing culturally sensitive modules to enhance the development of gender egalitarian norms among rural adolescents in Karnataka;
• implementing and evaluating a program intended to build community support for safe motherhood in rural Andhra Pradesh;
• documenting the lives of HIV-positive women and the obstacles they face in exercising their rights in Tamil Nadu;
• undertaking research on the informed consent experiences of women undergoing tubal ligation, intrauterine device insertion, and abortion in Chennai, Tamil Nadu;
• documenting the experience of sexual harassment in the workplace, with reference to the health sector in Kolkata, West Bengal; and
• understanding the role of husbands as supportive partners during pregnancy and childbirth in Mumbai.
  
  

The five fellows supported in 2005 implemented a range of projects, including:

• developing communications materials that will enhance awareness of the reproductive rights of Muslim women;
• examining the impact of visual media on adolescents;
• describing links between injecting drug use and risky sexual practices among young females; and
• investigating youth sexual behavior in the face of changing forces, notably among college students on the one hand and youth employed in business process outsourcing services on the other.
  
  

The five fellows supported in 2006 focused on:

• understanding the health and mental health needs of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals;
• examining trends in public spending on health care, notably primary health care related to maternal and child health care, and, more specifically, examining patterns of resource allocation on health care in two socioeconomically diverse districts in the state of Orissa;
• implementing training programs intended to develop alternate and positive models of masculinity among low-income, young, college-going men, especially with regard to violence against and abuse of women;
• promoting awareness of the active management of the third stage of labor among all providers of obstetric services in a rural community in Tamil Nadu; facilitating the translation of this awareness into practice; empowering local communities, especially women, to demand safe delivery, including skilled attendance at every birth and active management of the third stage of labor; and training community-based lay providers of health care about the active management of the third stage and the initial management of obstetric emergencies; and
• implementing and testing a training package on human sexuality development and gender issues among nursing students in Karnataka, with the ultimate aim of enhancing the skills and abilities of nursing students in their late adolescent period.
  
  

Capacity-building efforts included workshops intended to hone and finalize proposals; develop study instruments (for those undertaking research); develop project updates; and analyze data. Significant efforts were undertaken to sharpen writing skills so that final reports were of high quality and ready for peer review. To provide capacity building, Council staff members met and engaged in electronic communication with the fellows on a regular basis.

Four reports were published as Council working papers; findings also were disseminated at various meetings and workshops and through the media. Program-level influences also were evident—for example, in making facilities available to migrant communities, in committing to implementing improved consent procedures for clients, and in recognizing the gaps in implementing laws protecting women in the workplace from sexual harassment. In addition, fellows took advantage of the fellowship’s mandate to provide for professional development activities, including exposure to academic programs, visits to other organizations, and so forth.

Fellows' projects highlighted the situation of underserved populations; demonstrated how services and interventions can be structured to be responsive to the social, cultural, and economic constraints faced by women and young people; and made efforts to bring evidence into practice. At the same time, the program built stronger capacity among fellows in a variety of areas—notably research, advocacy and policy dialogue, dissemination, communication, networking, and the ability to develop and test new models.

Most importantly, the program resulted in the development of a cadre of young people who will exercise leadership in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights in India.

Public expenditure on health care in Orissa: Focus on reproductive and child health services (PDF) 
Kumar Rout,Sarit
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Program Working Paper (no. 12)
Publication date: 2010


BEING (Becoming Empowered in Nursing Growth): Training guide for nursing students on sexuality and gender (PDF) 
Washington,Maryann
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme training guide
Publication date: 2009


Exploring the lives of youth in the BPO sector: Findings from a study in Gurgaon (PDF) 
Vaid,Monisha
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 10)
Publication date: 2009


Medical response to male same-sex sexuality in western India: An exploration of 'conversion treatments' for homosexuality (PDF) 
Ranade,Ketki
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 8)
Publication date: 2009


Premarital sexual behaviour among unmarried college students of Gujarat, India (PDF) 
Sujay,Rachna
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 9)
Publication date: 2009


Translating medical evidence into practice: Working with communities and providers to promote active management of the third stage of labour (PDF) 
Subha Sri,B.
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 11)
Publication date: 2009


Empowering communities to make pregnancy safer: An intervention in rural Andhra Pradesh (PDF) 
Sinha,Dipa
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 5)
Publication date: 2008


Exploring positive women's lives in Namakkal District, India (PDF) 
Kousalya,P.; Ganju,Deepika
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 7)
Publication date: 2008


Exploring the links between drug use and sexual vulnerability among young female injecting drug users in Manipur (PDF) 
Oinam,Archana
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 6)
Publication date: 2008


Addressing the needs of seasonal migrants in Nashik, Maharashtra (PDF) 
Borhade,Anjali B.
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 2)
Publication date: 2007


Informed consent in sterilisation services: Evidence from public and private health care institutions in Chennai (PDF) 
Rajalakshmi
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 4)
Publication date: 2007


Provider perspectives on informed consent in female sterilisation services: Findings from a facility-based study in Chennai (PDF) 
Rajalakshmi
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 3)
Publication date: 2007


Sexual harassment in the workplace: Experiences of women in the health sector (PDF) 
Chaudhuri,Paramita
Health and Population Innovation Fellowship Programme Working Paper (no. 1)
Publication date: 2006