Contraceptive decision-making and its association with contraceptive use among married adolescent girls in Niger.

Objective: Niger has among the highest rates of child marriage and lowest rates of modern contraceptive use in the world. This study analyzes the association between contraceptive decision-making and contraceptive use among married adolescent girls in rural Niger, including multiple assessments of decision-making and consideration of overt vs. covert contraceptive use.

Are men's gender equality beliefs associated with self-reported intimate partner violence perpetration? A state-level analysis of California men.

Objectives: To assess the association between gender equality beliefs and self-reported intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration among California men.

Methods: We analyzed men's data (N = 3609) from three waves (2021, 2022, and 2023) of cross-sectional data from a statewide sample of California adults. We assessed gender equality beliefs using a three-item measure adapted from the World Values Survey, with higher scores representing more gender unequal beliefs (e.

Patriarchy, Fertility and Excess Female Child Mortality in India.

Research investigating association between patriarchy and demographic behavior is limited in India. The only study on this subject utilized 1981 Indian Census data to examine associations between patriarchy and fertility. We examined the association of patriarchy, measured using India Patriarchy Index (IPI), with total fertility rate (TFR) and excess female child mortality in India.

Are Households Affected by Intimate Partner Violence Less Likely to Enroll Children into Early Education in India: Findings from the Fifth National Family Health Survey, 2019 to 2021.

Studies largely from high-income countries show that children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) face potential adverse health and developmental outcomes. Limited research has focused on whether IPV exposure affects children's early education participation, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where early education is gaining traction. This study examines whether young children aged 3 to 5 years, living in households affected by IPV, are less likely to be enrolled in school using nationally representative data from India.

Validation of a family planning self-efficacy measure with married women in Bihar, India: Findings from the Bihar Integrated Family Planning Survey.

Objectives: Adapting and testing a novel measure of family planning self-efficacy (FPSE) and examining its association with fertility intention and contraceptive use in India.

Study Design: Data were analyzed from 13,901 non-sterilized, currently married women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in the Bihar Integrated Family Planning Survey (BIFS) 2021. We adapted an FP Self Efficacy measure comprising women's agency to overcome barriers to accessing, discussing and using contraception, regardless of family pressure and social judgment.

Rapid surveys on violence against women in crisis contexts: decision-making guidance based on the UN Women Rapid Gender Assessment surveys on violence against women during COVID-19.

Rapid surveys or assessments offer the possibility to collect data in contexts where classic data collection is not feasible (such as health, humanitarian, or climate crises) and when evidence-based urgent action is needed to mitigate the effects of the crisis. Until the past 5 years, rapid surveys were not widely used by practitioners, researchers, or policy makers to measure the effect of crises on violence against women due to a paucity of empirical evidence on their safety and likely utility in such contexts. In recent years, and particularly during the COVID-19 global pandemic, UN Women led the piloting and implementation of such surveys in various countries.

Physical, Sexual, and Intimate Partner Violence Among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Individuals.

Importance: Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) communities experience disproportionate levels of violence, yet due to limitations in measuring TGD identity, few state-representative estimates are available.

Objective: To assess gender identity differences in experiences of violence among adults.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cross-sectional data from the 2023 California Violence Experiences (CalVEX) survey, weighted to provide state-representative estimates, was used to assess associations between gender identity and past-year experiences of violence among adults 18 years and older.

The EMERGE framework to measure empowerment for health and development.

Rationale: Women's empowerment is a UN Sustainable Development Goal and a focus of global health and development but survey measures and data on gender empowerment remain weak. Existing indicators are often disconnected from theory; stronger operationalization is needed.

Objective: We present the EMERGE Framework to Measure Empowerment, a framework to strengthen empowerment measures for global health and development.

Assessing the impact of CHARM2, a family planning program on gender attitudes, intimate partner violence, reproductive coercion, and marital quality in India.

Using a two-armed cluster randomised controlled trial, CHARM2 (Counselling Husbands to Achieve Reproductive health and Marital equity), a 5-session gender equity and family planning intervention for couples in rural India, showed an impact on family planning outcomes in primary trial analyses. This study examines its effects on gender-equitable attitudes, intimate partner violence, reproductive coercion, and marital quality. We used multilevel mixed-effects models to assess the intervention impact on each outcome.

Examining the association between men's gender equitable attitudes and contraceptive outcomes in rural Maharashtra, India.

Background: Previous literature suggests that men reporting more gender-equitable attitudes are more likely to use condoms, but there is a paucity of data evaluating whether these attitudes are associated with contraceptive communication and use. The objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that men reporting more gender-equitable attitudes will be more likely to (a) engage in contraceptive communication with their wives and (b) that they and/or their wives will be more likely to use all forms of family planning, compared to men with less equitable attitudes.

Methods: Using cross-sectional dyadic survey data from young married couples from rural Maharashtra, India ( = 989), we assessed the associations between men's gender role attitudes and a) spousal contraceptive communication and b) contraceptive use by type (none, traditional, condoms, pills, or IUD).

"Nobody has written the book about what non-binary people should put forward in relationships": Exploring gender equity in relationships of queer, trans, and non-monogamous young women and non-binary youth in British Columbia, Canada.

Understanding the unique ways in which queer, trans, and non-monogamous young women and non-binary youth navigate and negotiate equitable intimate relationships is a first step toward strong research, programs/resources, and policies to support healthy relationship dynamics across the life course. Using a youth-engaged collaborative Reflexive Thematic Analysis, we aimed to explore how youth of diverse genders and relationship experiences understand gender equity in their relationships. Thirty cis- and transgender inclusive young women (46.

Preliminary Validation of Two Brief Measures of Masculine and Feminine Honor Endorsement.

Researchers have developed numerous individual differences measures to assess people's endorsement of honor ideology (i.e., beliefs regarding the importance of honor and reputation) with most ranging from 12-36 items in length.

Climate and Gender: Association Between Droughts and Intimate Partner Violence in India.

Extreme climate events are related to women's exposure to different forms of violence. We examined the relationship between droughts and physical, sexual, and emotional intimate partner violence (IPV) in India by using 2 different definitions of drought: precipitation-based drought and socioeconomic drought. We analyzed data from 2 rounds of a nationally representative survey, the National Family Health Survey, where married women were asked about their experiences of IPV in the previous year (2015-2016 and 2019-2021; n = 122,696).

Violence against women on Twitter in India: Testing a taxonomy for online misogyny and measuring its prevalence during COVID-19.

Background: Online misogyny is a violation of women's digital rights. Empirical studies on this topic are however lacking, particularly in low- and middle- income countries. The current study aimed to estimate whether prevalence of online misogyny on Twitter in India changed since the pandemic.

Is parental engagement associated with subsequent delayed marriage and marital choices of adolescent girls? Evidence from the Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) survey in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India.

Objective: This study examines the association between parental engagement and subsequent delayed marriage of adolescent girls and, secondarily, to assess whether parental engagement is positively associated with girls' involvement in marital decision-making regarding husband selection.

Methods: The study used longitudinal survey data from the Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. We analysed 6168 unmarried adolescent girls aged 15-19 years at wave 1 (2015-16) who were interviewed in wave 2 (2018-19).

The Association Between Self-Managed versus Clinician-Managed Abortion and Self-Reported Abortion Complications: A Cross-Sectional Analysis in India.

Purpose: To examine the association between self-managed abortion and the self-reported experience of abortion complications in India, a country with a high incidence of self-managed abortion.

Patients And Methods: The study used a cross-sectional multivariable logistic regression analysis of data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) of 2015-2016 to compare the odds of self-reported complications experienced during abortion between self-managed and clinician-managed abortions in India.

Results: On average, self-managed abortions occurred earlier in gestation than clinician-managed abortions, 7.

Spatial heterogeneity in intimate partner violence across the 640 districts of India: a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional, population-based survey by use of model-based small-area estimation.

Background: Although intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a substantial challenge in India, response is limited by little evidence on substate prevalence. District-level IPV estimates are essential in targeted response and prevention efforts, but cannot be directly calculated from the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS), which is the main source of nationally representative IPV estimates in India. We aimed to use small-area estimation techniques to derive reliable estimates of physical, emotional, and sexual IPV for the 640 districts of India.

Rapid access to antiretroviral therapy, receipt of naltrexone, and strengths-based case management versus standard of care for HIV viral load suppression in people with HIV who inject drugs in Russia (LINC-II): an open-label, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage in Russia is low for people with HIV who inject drugs. HIV and addiction treatment in Russia are not well integrated. We aimed to evaluate an intervention to link people with HIV in addiction treatment to HIV care to achieve HIV viral load suppression.

Provider-patient experiences and HIV care utilization among people living with HIV who inject drugs in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Providers' disrespect and abuse of patients is a recognized but understudied issue affecting quality of care and likely affecting healthcare utilization. Little research has examined this issue among people living with HIV (PWH) who inject drugs, despite high stigmatization of this population. No research has examined this issue in the context of Russia.

Relationship impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions on young women and men in Durban and Soweto, South Africa.

To deepen our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intimate and/or sexual relationships, we conducted a qualitative study among 26 South African women and men aged 21-30 years in Durban and Soweto between September 2020 and March 2021. Overall, 13 women and 12 men who had been in an intimate and/or sexual relationship since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic were asked about the impact of COVID-19 on their relationships with their current or most recent primary partners. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Understanding feasibility and acceptability of implementation of linking delivery of family planning and infant vaccination care in rural Maharashtra, India: a qualitative study.

Background: Linking family planning with infant vaccination care has the potential to increase contraceptive use among postpartum women in rural settings. We explored the multilevel factors that can facilitate or impede uptake of contraception at the time of infant vaccination among postpartum women and couples in rural Maharashtra, India.

Methods: We conducted 60 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders including: postpartum married women (n = 20), husbands (n = 10), and mothers-in-law (n = 10) of postpartum women, frontline healthcare workers (auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), (n = 10), and community leaders (physician medical officers and village panchayat leaders) (n = 10).

Adolescent alcohol use: use of social network analysis and cross-classified multilevel modeling to examine peer group, school, and neighborhood-level influences.

Neighborhood-, school-, and peer-contexts play an important role in adolescent alcohol use behaviors. Methodological advances permit simultaneous modeling of these contexts to understand their relative and joint importance. Few empirical studies include these contexts, and studies that do typically: examine each context separately; include contexts for the sole purpose of accounting for clustering in the data; or do not disaggregate by sex.