Costs and financing of routine immunization: Approach and selected findings of a multi-country study (EPIC).

Background: Few detailed facility-based costing studies of routine immunization (RI) programs have been conducted in recent years, with planners, managers and donors relying on older information or data from planning tools. To fill gaps and improve quality of information, a multi-country study on costing and financing of routine immunization and new vaccines (EPIC) was conducted in Benin, Ghana, Honduras, Moldova, Uganda and Zambia.

Methods: This paper provides the rationale for the launch of the EPIC study, as well as outlines methods used in a Common Approach on facility sampling, data collection, cost and financial flow estimation for both the routine program and new vaccine introduction.

Social determinants of syphilis in South China: the effect of sibling position on syphilis and sexual risk behaviours.

Objective: This study evaluated the relationship between sibling position and sexual risk based on behavioural and syphilis infection data from sexually transmitted infection (STI) patients in South China.

Design: A cross-sectional study examining sexual behaviours and syphilis infection.

Setting: 4 STI clinics in the Pearl River Delta of South China.

HIV testing and management: findings from a national sample of Asian/Pacific islander men who have sex with men.

Objectives: We examined reasons for and barriers to participating in HIV voluntary counseling and testing for Asian/Pacific Islander (A/PI) men who have sex with men (MSM) in the U.S.

Methods: We collected data between June 2007 and September 2009 in a study known as Men of Asia Testing for HIV, using a cross-sectional community-based participatory design.

Prior HIV testing among STD patients in Guangdong Province, China: opportunities for expanding detection of sexually transmitted HIV infection.

Background: Expanding HIV testing is important among individuals at increased risk for sexual HIV transmission in China, but little is known about prior HIV testing experiences among sexually transmitted disease (STD) patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study of 1792 outpatients from 6 public STD clinics in Guangdong Province recorded detailed information about ever having been tested for HIV infection in addition to sociodemographic variables, health seeking, clinical STD history, and HIV stigma using a validated survey instrument.

Results: A total of 456 (25.

Development and implementation of a collaborative, multistakeholder research and practice model on HIV prevention targeting Asian/Pacific Islander men in the United States who have sex with men.

We describe lessons learned from a national HIV prevention research program grounded in community-based participatory research, the Men of Asia Testing for HIV (MATH) Study, which targeted self-identified Asian/Pacific Islander men in the United States who have sex with men. We discuss the genesis of and impetus for the study and then describe its various facets, including accomplishments, challenges, and unanticipated consequences. We conclude with a discussion about the real-world practice of community-based participatory research with respect to the MATH Study in particular and similar research in general.

Intimate partner violence, depression, and alcohol use among a sample of foreign-born Southeast Asian women in an urban setting in the United States.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious global public health issue. At least one in three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused during her lifetime. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than three women in the United States die every day from physical abuse suffered at the hands of an intimate partner.

STIs and HIV among men having sex with men in China: a ticking time bomb?

Over the past 10 years, HIV infection rate has increased annually from 30% to 40% in China, resulting in over 700,000 Chinese living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2007. The Chinese National Medium and Long-Term Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS Control and Prevention (1998-2010) identifies the men who have sex with men (MSM) population as a high-risk group for HIV infection. The latest statistics show that MSM account for 11.

Beyond medical insurance: delayed or forgone care among children in Chinese immigrant families.

While Asian Americans are less likely than most Americans to use health services, little is known about their barriers to pediatric care. This study seeks to describe the prevalence of delayed/forgone pediatric care and its association with parental acculturation status in recent-immigrant Chinese families. Survey data were obtained from 76 families across two community services sites.

HIV risks among two types of male migrants in Shanghai, China: money boys vs. general male migrants.

Objectives: To examine HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours among 'money boys' and general male migrants in Shanghai, China.

Design: A quantitative cross-sectional design with self-administered paper-and-pencil instruments was used.

Methods: A total of 239 money boys were enrolled using community popular opinion leader and respondent-driven sampling methods, and 100 general male migrants were enrolled through venue-based sampling.