Low use of contraceptives among rural women in Maitha, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Low contraceptive utilisation and high fertility in rural Uttar Pradesh (UP), India, is a major concern for the world's second most populous country. The association between reasons for low contraceptive utilisation and maternal factors has been inadequately researched. Data from the 'morbidity and performance assessment' study were analysed to explore reasons for low contraceptive utilisation and their association with maternal factors among 308 women in Maitha, rural UP, India.

Contribution of health care coverage in cervical cancer screening follow-up: findings from a cross-sectional study in Colombia.

Objective: To determine the role of health care coverage (HCC) in follow-up of cervical cancer screening (seeking Papanicolaou test results and follow-up when abnormal results were found) among Colombian women.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study of 24,717 women, using the 2005 Colombian Demographic and Health Survey, was conducted.

Results: Nearly 4% of women screened did not seek their results.

Caste and maternal health care service use among rural Hindu women in Maitha, Uttar Pradesh, India.

The objective of this study was to examine the association between caste and maternal health care service use among rural Hindu women in India. We analyzed data from the Morbidity and Performance Assessment, a population-based cross-sectional study, for 482 Hindu women who were pregnant during January 1998 to January 1999 in Maitha, Uttar Pradesh, India. Maternal health care service use among both upper and lower caste women was very low.

Contraceptive knowledge and use among low-income Hispanic immigrant women and non-Hispanic women.

Background: With the rising influx of Hispanics to the United States, there is an ongoing need to promote health and wellness care to this non-English-speaking, minority population group. Programs, specifically developed to address the unique cultural mores of Hispanics, need to focus on increasing knowledge about health issues, particularly in the area of reproductive health. A study was conducted in Memphis, TN, to examine the differences between low-income Hispanic immigrants' and low-income non-Hispanics' (1) contraceptive use; (2) reproduction and contraception knowledge; as well as (3) the demographic and knowledge factors associated with their choice of contraceptive, in order to better formulate successful educational programs for area Hispanics.

Lifetime prevalence of learning disability among US children.

Objective: Our goal was to examine the lifetime prevalence of learning disability by sociodemographic and family-functioning characteristics in US children, with particular attention paid to the children with special health care needs.

Methods: By using data from the National Survey of Children's Health, we calculated lifetime prevalence of learning disability using a question that asked whether a doctor or other health care or school professional ever told the survey respondent that the child had a learning disability. Children with and those without special health care needs were classified on the basis of how many of 5 definitional criteria for children with special health care needs they met (0-5).