Population Council Research that makes a difference

Research and Intervention in Sexual Health: Theory to Action (RISHTA; an acronym meaning ‘‘relationship’’ in Hindi and Urdu) was funded from 2002 to 2007 by the US National Institutes of Health and was a collaboration of the Center for International Community Health Studies (CICHS) at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, the Institute for Community Research (ICR), and the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS).

The project focused on married men 21–40 years old in three economically marginal areas (known in India as ‘‘slum communities’’) in Mumbai. The focus on this age range and marital status was the result of preliminary research that indicated most men in these communities became sexually active at or just before the onset of marriage and that this age range best covers those men involved in sexually risky activities outside of marriage.

A range of activities at the community level and provider levels were carried out under the project. Community members' awareness of STIs and HIV was raised, and local medical practitioners were trained to diagnose and treat STIs. The project data indicate a drop in the incidence of gonorrhoea—one of the STIs measured—from 3.9 percent to 1.7 percent and a drop in the practice of extramarital relationships from 12.9 percent to 2.9 percent.

The second phase of the project, currently in progress, is on preventing transmission of STIs and HIV among married women. It is a culturally appropriate, theory-driven, health facility–based intervention that provides enhanced women’s health services and interventions with couples to promote primary prevention of HIV and other STIs among married women ages 18–40 who live in an urban poor community in Mumbai.