Socio-economic factors associated with cancer stigma among apparently healthy women in two selected municipalities Nepal.

Introduction: Cancer is the primary cause of death globally, and despite the significant advancements in treatment and survival rates, it is still stigmatized in many parts of the world. However, there is limited public health research on cancer stigma among the general female population in Nepal. Therefore, this study aims to determine the prevalence of cancer stigma and its associated factors in this group.

Gender-Transformative Interventions for Young Adolescents: What Have We Learned and Where Should We Go?

Purpose: To identify the key facilitators and barriers to implementing gender-transformative interventions among young adolescents (ages 10-14 years) in low- and middle-income countries and provide recommendations for guiding the next generation of intervention approaches.

Methods: A scoping review of the literature was first conducted to identify articles that contained the following inclusion criteria: (1) included 10- to 14-year-olds as a target population; (2) addressed gender inequality as a pathway to improved health; (3) implemented in a low- and middle-income country context; and (4) published between 2010 and 2023. Two databases, Scopus and PubMed, were searched as well as the gray literature.

Transactional sex in humanitarian settings: A comparative analysis of livelihood and demographic predictors.

Millions of people have been displaced within or outside their countries. Disruptions associated with displacement often lead to transactional sex with dire social, sexual and reproductive health implications. A common driver of transactional sex is food insecurity among refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), yet IDP/refugee settings offer an opportunity for females to challenge and renegotiate gender norms and exercise greater control over their lives and sexuality.

Positive masculinity programmes and attitudes towards nonconforming gender identities among young males in urban Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Rwanda.

Implementing programmes on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in sub-Saharan Africa often involves promoting inclusive sexual identity/orientation. However, whether and how the programmes are changing gender norms in the target populations have not been established. This study was designed to determine whether participation in Positive Masculinity (PM) programmes can change attitudes associated with prevailing gender norms.

Gender and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights in West and Central Africa: New evidence and emerging gaps.

The West and Central Africa (WCA) region is a natural resource-rich, 24-country, contiguous area with a population of nearly 500 million people. The median age for the region is currently 18 years and approximately one-third of its population is aged between 10 and 24 years. If current demographic trends in the region persist, its population will reach 1.

A Mixed Methods Exploration of Young Women's Agency and Mental Health during COVID-19 in Low-Income Communities in Mumbai, India.

Introduction: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in India face additional health inequities compared to their male peers, as gender norms constrain agency for prevention and self-care. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns deepened health inequities and often worsened mental health, but the impacts on agency are unclear. This exploratory sequential mixed methods paper examined mental health and COVID-19 elements that exacerbated or mitigated adverse consequences for AGYW in low-income communities in Mumbai.

The persistence of high rates of child marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia: A scoping review.

While there is evidence that child marriage (CM) is reducing globally, rates in many contexts remain far too high. To understand the persistence of high rates of CM, we searched multiple databases for peer-reviewed, English language articles published between 2000 and 2023. High CM rates are continuing in circumstances of tenacious unequal gender norms, widespread poverty, limited schooling and economic prospects for girls, and weak awareness and enforcement of CM laws.

Legislation for advancing women's leadership in the health sector in India and Kenya: a 'law cube' approach to identify ways to strengthen legal environments for gender equality.

Objectives: This paper examines the availability of legal provisions, or the lack thereof, that support women to progress equitably into leadership positions within the health workforce in India and Kenya.

Methods: We adapted the World Bank's framework of legal domains relevant to gender equality in the workplace and applied a 'law cube' to analyse the comprehensiveness, accountability and equity and human rights considerations of 27 relevant statutes in India and 11 in Kenya that apply to people in formal employment within the health sector. We assessed those laws against 30 research-validated good practice measures across five legal domains: (1) pay; (2) workplace protections; (3) pensions; (4) care, family life and work-life balance; and (5) reproductive rights.

Comparing priority received by global health issues: a measurement framework applied to tuberculosis, malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and dengue fever.

Introduction: The relative priority received by issues in global health agendas is subjected to impressionistic claims in the absence of objective methods of assessment of priority. To build an approach for conducting structured assessments of comparative priority health issues receive, we expand the public arenas model (2021) and offer a framework for future assessments of health issue priority in global and national health agendas.

Methods: We aimed to develop a more comprehensive set of measures for conducting multiyear priority comparisons of health issues in six agenda-setting arenas by identifying possible measures and data sources, selecting indicators based on feasibility and comparability of measures and gathering the data on selected indicators.

Does a school-based intervention increase girls' sexual and reproductive health attitudes and intentions? Results from a mixed-methods cluster-randomized trial in Burkina Faso.

Adolescent girls in Burkina Faso face unintended pregnancy risk due to a lack of contraceptive use. The (re)solve project was designed to address contraceptive misperceptions and increase girls' perceptions of their pregnancy risk, primarily through a participatory game and a health passport aimed at easing health facility access. The intervention components were implemented for girls in private and public school in grades 4ème and 3ème (grades 9 and 10) in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

Provision and uptake of sexual and reproductive health services during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Mali.

A qualitative study assessed the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on Malian sexual and reproductive health services. Sexual and reproductive health (SRHR) providers in 25 purposively selected public health facilities in urban Bamako, rural Kita (western Mali) and Koutiala (southeast Mali) were interviewed. Disruptions within SRH supply, staffing, the prioritization of SRHR services, and patients' ability to seek, obtain and pay for services were reported across urban and rural settings at all levels of public health care, and by all cadres of SRHR providers.

Contraceptive use, menstrual resumption, and experience of pregnancy and birth among girls and young women in an internally displaced persons camp in Northeastern Nigeria.

In Northeastern Nigeria 600,000 internally displaced girls and women need sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services. We examined the relationships between contraceptive use, menstrual resumption, and pregnancy and birth experiences among girls (ages 15-19) and young women (ages 20-24) in an IDP camp. Data are from a cross-sectional survey collected using three-stage cluster sampling; the analytic sample is 480.

Women's empowerment and attitudes towards female genital mutilation abandonment in Nigeria: A cross-sectional analysis of the Nigeria demographic health survey.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a human rights violation that impacts the social, physical, psychological, sexual, and gynecological wellbeing of women and girls. Even so, FGM persists in many Nigerian communities. Using data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, we investigated the association between women's empowerment and attitudes towards FGM abandonment.

Identifying and addressing barriers to contraception uptake among adolescent girls in urban Burkina Faso: Evidence from a qualitative study.

Several barriers drive low uptake of contseraception among adolescents. This study investigates the effectiveness of (re)solve, a school-based program in Burka Faso, to overcome barriers to contraception uptake and facilitate the development of intention to use it. This paper presents qualitative endline findings from a mixed-methods longitudinal study conducted between 2019 and 2020 in two urban sites using in-depth interviews with girl participants and implementers, and key informant interviews with local stakeholders.

Strengthening local capacity for abortion-related research in contexts with highly restrictive abortion laws: The case of STARS in Mali.

Strong local abortion research capacity is missing in many African countries. We report on the Strengthening Abortion Research Capacity in sub-Saharan Africa (STARS) program, an ongoing initiative to strengthen local capacity for abortion research in Mali, West Africa. We highlight the background, context, and methodology of the initiative as well as its achievements, challenges, and emerging lessons.

Association between cancer stigma and cervical cancer screening uptake among women of Dhulikhel and Banepa, Nepal.

Background: Cervical cancer ranks as the most common cancer among Nepalese women with a high incidence and mortality. Despite evidence that effective screening programs reduce disease burden, screening services are under-utilized. Cancer stigma can be a major barrier to cervical cancer screening uptake among Nepalese women.

A Scoping Review of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Across Asia.

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (GBV) is a pervasive issue. Yet, most research focuses on high-income countries and few studies comprehensively summarize its prevalence, manifestations, and implications in the Global South. This scoping review sought to examine technology-facilitated GBV in low- and middle-income countries across Asia, specifically focusing on trends, common behaviors, and characteristics of perpetrators and survivors.