 Sharon Ghuman is Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan, Population Studies Center, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. E-mail: sharongu@isr.umich.edu.
This study examines attitudes concerning sexual relations outside marriage and levels of marital sexual activity using data from married individuals from Hai Duong Province collected in 2001. Among individuals who live in urban areas, have more schooling, and were married after the late 1980s, acceptance is growing concerning intimate behavior without marital commitment and having sex with a future spouse. Schooling, urban residence, and recent marriage have stronger associations with less conservative attitudes among men than among women. Even among younger and better educated respondents, acceptance of premarital and extramarital sex generally remains below a majority. The reported level of premarital sex is higher among men than among women, and lower than available estimates from other parts of Asia and the developing world. The reported level of sexual activity within marriage in Hai Duong Province is similar to that observed elsewhere, including Thailand and the United States. The incidence of sexual activity declines with age, and at all ages men are more likely than women to report having sex with their spouse. The implications of these gender differences in sexual attitudes and behavior are considered. (Studies in Family Planning 2005; 36[2]: 95–106)
- Does Audio-CASI Improve Reports of Risky Behavior? Evidence from a Randomized Field Trial Among Young Urban Men in India
At the time this article was written, Rukmini Potdar was Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow and Michael A. Koenig is Associate Professor, Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Correspondence should be addressed to Rukmini Potdar, 420 Westminster Road, Reisterstown, MD 21136. E-mail: rpotdar@jhsph.edu. This study compares the effectiveness of audio computer-assisted self interviewing (Audio-CASI) with face-to-face interviews and self-administered questionnaires in collecting sensitive information on risky sexual and other behaviors among young men in urban India. A randomized study design compared data collected from 900 male college students using the three data-collection approaches and from 600 young men residing in slums using Audio-CASI and face-to-face interviews. Among the college students, the reported prevalence of risky behaviors was generally higher for young men interviewed through the Audio-CASI approach than with face-to-face interviews; self-administered questionnaires failed to yield significantly higher estimates than face-to-face interviews. Among the slum residents, the results were more mixed; the Audio-CASI approach failed to yield consistently higher responses for many risky behaviors compared with the face-to-face interview mode. The results demonstrate that although Audio-CASI appears to yield higher estimates of risky behavior among college-educated, computer-literate populations of young men, the efficacy of this approach among less-educated and less computer-literate populations appears more doubtful. (Studies in Family Planning 2005; 36[2]: 107–116)
- Providers’ Compliance with the Balanced Counseling Strategy in Guatemala (PDF)
At the time this study was conducted, Federico R. León and Carlos Brambila were Program Associates, and Marisela de la Cruz was Project Coordinator, Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program, Population Council. Julio García Colindres was Director, Carlos Morales was Family Planning Specialist, and Benedicto Vásquez was Chief of Family Planning, Reproductive Health Division of the Guatemalan Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare. Correspondence should be directed to Federico R. León, Avenida Javier Prado 7427, Lima 3, Peru. E-mail: frleon@amauta.rcp.net.pe. Requests for the job aids and administration manual of the strategy can be sent to the Frontiers in Reproductive Health program, Population Council, 4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 280, Washington, DC 20008. E-mail: English: lraney@popcouncil.org; Spanish: tmartin@popcouncil.org.mx. The balanced counseling strategy developed in Peru improved family planning care and clients’ knowledge of their contraceptive method choice, but few providers adopted it. To expand its use, an algorithm was introduced and training, job aids, and reinforcement were supplied to Ministry of Health providers, most of whom were paraprofessionals, from two areas (40 clinics) in Guatemala. Mystery clients made pretest and post-test visits to these clinics and to providers from a nonequivalent control group (40 clinics). The results showed that the strategy was used in 85 percent of the controlled consultations at the experimental clinics. Use of the strategy improved quality of care regardless of the provider’s performance at baseline and regardless of ethnic or regional differences. Counseling session length increased by nine minutes, but real-client load did not change. Guatemalan clients can be expected to benefit from the strategy. The increased session length has not yet caused problems, but it may pose policy dilemmas in the future. (Studies in Family Planning 2005; 36[2]: 117–126)
- The Changing Discourse on Population and Development: Toward a New Political Demography
Stan Bernstein The Millennium Development Goals Minus Reproductive Health: An Unfortunate, but Not Disastrous, Omission
Alaka Malwade Basu The Reproductive Health Community: A Valuable Asset for Achieving the MDGs
Mahmoud F. Fathalla Reproductive Health and the MDGs: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
Adrienne Germain and Ruth Dixon-Mueller Keeping Sexual and Reproductive Health at the Forefront of Global Efforts to Reduce Poverty
Steven W. Sinding
Excerpts from UN Millennium Project Reports Millennium Development Goals • The Poverty-Demography Trap • Sexual and
Reproductive Health—Essential for Reaching the Goals • Guarantee Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
- Ghana 2003: Results from the Demographic and Health Survey
- Kenya 2003: Results from the Demographic and Health Survey
Book Review - Rebecca J. Cook, Bernard M. Dickens, and Mahmoud F. Fathalla, Reproductive Health and Human Rights: Integrating Medicine, Ethics and the Law
Carmen Barroso is Regional Director, International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region.
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