Background: Mobile phones for health (mHealth) hold promise for delivering behavioral interventions. We evaluated the effect of automated interactive voice messages promoting contraceptive use with a focus on long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) among women in Bangladesh who had undergone menstrual regulation (MR), a procedure to "regulate the menstrual cycle when menstruation is absent for a short duration."
Methods: We recruited MR clients from 41 public- and private-sector clinics immediately after MR.
Background: Annually, there are approximately 25 million unsafe abortions, and this remains a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. In settings where abortion is restricted, women are increasingly able to self-manage abortions by purchasing abortion medications such as misoprostol and mifepristone (RU-486) from pharmacies or other drug sellers. Better availability of these drugs has been shown to be associated with reductions in complications from unsafe abortions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobally, reproductive health research among female sex workers (FSWs) often focuses on pregnancy prevention, but many women who sell sex aspire to have children in the future. In Bangladesh, where early marriage and parenthood is the norm, we examine reproductive histories and childbearing desires of young women who sell sex in brothels. We interviewed 1061 FSWs aged 18 to 24 in eight brothels in three Bangladesh divisions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Working with health providers to reduce HIV stigma in the healthcare setting is an important strategy to improve service utilization and quality of care, especially for young people who are sexually active before marriage, are sexual minorities, or who sell sex. A stigma reduction training program for health providers in Bangladesh was evaluated.
Methods: A cohort of 300 healthcare providers were given a self-administered questionnaire, then attended a 2-day HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights training (including a 90-minute session on stigma issues).
Purpose: Dhaka City is home to thousands of migrants from Bangladesh's rural areas who often live in the streets. Prior studies examine street youth's practice of selling sex as a survival mechanism. We assess their less-studied practice of paying for sex and its association with sexual risk behaviors and outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn spite of wide availability of menstrual regulation services, women often resort to a variety of medicines for inducing abortion. The Bangladeshi Government is now supporting attempts to investigate the introduction of medical menstrual regulation in the public sector. This study examined the acceptability of medical menstrual regulation in public sector urban-based clinics, public sector rural-based clinics and urban-based clinics run by Marie Stopes, a non-governmental organization.
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