The Population Council's Reproductive Health program strives to improve sexual and reproductive health, especially for vulnerable people in developing countries. We help individuals to achieve their family planning and reproductive health goals through improvements in technologies and services. We work to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity and to improve equity and quality in the delivery of care.
Submissions from 2021
Abortion self-care: A forward-looking solution to inequitable access, Lucía Vázquez Quesada, Ankita Shukla, Isabel Vieitez Martínez, Rajib Acharya, and Saumya RamaRao
Addressing contraceptive needs exacerbated by COVID-19: A call for increasing choice and access to self-managed methods, Lisa Haddad, Saumya RamaRao, Avishek Hazra, Harriet Birungi, and James Sailer
Assessing the performance of community health workers in Haiti: Key findings from a mixed-methods study, Frontline Health Project and Zanmi Lasante
Community-based postnatal care services for women and newborns in Kenya: An opportunity to improve quality and access?, Brady Zieman, Timothy Abuya, Daniel Mwanga, John Wanyungu, Charlotte E. Warren, and Pooja Sripad
COVID-19 pandemic: A call to action, a time to respond, Saumya RamaRao
Development and validation of a multi-dimensional scale to assess community health worker motivation, Ann Gottert, Tracy McClair, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Sina Pascal Dakouo, Timothy Abuya, Karen Kirk, Benjamin Bellows, Smisha Agarwal, Sarah Kennedy, Charlotte E. Warren, and Pooja Sripad
Drivers of teenage pregnancy: A qualitative assessment, Michael Mbizvo, Nelly-Claire Muntalima, Nachela Chelwa, Kondwani Kasonda, Edith S. Namukonda, Chifundo Phiri, Natasha Okpara, Ronald Mungoni, and Nancy Choka
Editorial: Advancing community health measurement, policy, and practice, Benjamin Bellows and Charlotte E. Warren
"Eternally restarting" or "a branch line of continuity"? Exploring consequences of external shocks on community health systems in Haiti, Pooja Sripad, Alain Casseus, Sarah Kennedy, Benito Isaac, Kenia Vissieres, Charlotte E. Warren, and Ralph Ternier
Evaluating changes in the prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting among 0-14 years old girls in Nigeria using data from multiple surveys: A novel Bayesian hierarchical spatio-temporal model, Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, Glory Atilola, Paul Komba, Lubanzadio Mavatikua, Zhuzhi Moore, Dennis Matanda, Otibho Obianwu, and Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala
Évaluation de la performance des agents de santé communautaires en Haïti: principales conclusions d’une étude à méthodologie mixte, Frontline Health Project and Zanmi Lasante
Improving primary health care delivery in Bihar, India: Learning from piloting and statewide scale-up of Ananya, Gary L. Darmstadt, Kevin T. Pepper, Victoria C. Ward, Sridhar Srikantiah, Tanmay Mahapatra, Usha Kiran Tarigopula, Debarshi Bhattacharya, Laili Irani, Janine Schooley, Indrajit Chaudhuri, Priyanka Dutt, Padmapriya Sastry, Radharani Mitra, Sara Chamberlain, Sophia Monaghan, Priya Nanda, Yamini Atmavilas, Niranjan Saggurti, Evan Borkum, Anu Rangarajan, Kala M. Mehta, Safa Abdalla, Jess Wilhelm, Yingjie Weng, Suzan L. Carmichael, Hina Raheel, Jason Bentley, Wolfgang Munar, Andreea A. Creanga, Shamik Trehan, Dilys Walker, and Hemant Shah
Introduction of digital reporting platform to integrate community-level data into health information systems is feasible and acceptable among various community health stakeholders: A mixed-methods pilot study in Mopti, Mali, Karen Kirk, Tracy McClair, Sina Pascal Dakouo, Timothy Abuya, and Pooja Sripad
Lessons from Ghana to inform DMPA-SC safe storage and disposal, Elizabeth Tobey, Katey Peck, Dela Nai, Leah Jarvis, and Michelle J. Hindin
Measuring client trust in community health workers: A multi-country validation study, Pooja Sripad, Tracy McClair, Alain Casseus, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Timothy Abuya, and Ann Gottert
Measuring quality of care at the community level using the contraceptive method information index plus and client reported experience metrics in Bangladesh, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Pooja Sripad, Brady Zieman, Shongkour Roy, Sarah Kennedy, Md. Irfan Hossain, and Benjamin Bellows
Muslim men's perceptions and attitudes on family planning: A qualitative study in Wajir and Lamu counties in Kenya, Batula Abdi, Jerry Okal, Gamal I. Serour, and Marleen Temmerman
Pathways to service access for pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in rural Bangladesh: Exploring women's care-seeking, Amy Dempsey, Pooja Sripad, Kanij Sultana, Karen Kirk, Sharif M.I. Hossain, and Charlotte E. Warren
Plurality of beliefs about female genital mutilation amidst decades of intervention programming in Narok and Kisii Counties, Kenya, Dennis Matanda, Caroline W. Kabiru, Chantalle Okondo, and Bettina Shell-Duncan
Potential of organizing unmarried adolescent girls and young women into self-help groups for a better transition to adulthood: Findings from a cross-sectional study in India, Jaleel Ahmad, Avishek Hazra, Kumudha Aruldas, Arima Singh, and Niranjan Saggurti
Preferred incentives for improving Ugandan community health worker job satisfaction and retention, Frontline Health Project
Research in forced displacement: Guidance for a feminist and decolonial approach, Neha S. Singh, Michelle Lokot, Chi-Chi Undie, Monica A. Onyango, Rosemary Morgan, Anne Harmer, Jane Freedman, and Shirin Heidari
Strength in diversity: Integrating community in primary health care to advance universal health coverage, Charlotte E. Warren, Benjamin Bellows, Rachel Marcus, Jordan Downey, Sarah Kennedy, and Nazo Kureshy
The Client Empowerment in Community Health Systems Scale: Development and validation in three countries, Tracy McClair, Pooja Sripad, Alain Casseus, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Timothy Abuya, and Ann Gottert
The knowledge of danger signs of obstetric complications among women in rural India: Evaluating an integrated microfinance and health literacy program, Danish Ahmad, Itismita Mohanty, Avishek Hazra, and Theo Niyonsenga
The role of unintended pregnancy in internalized stigma among women living with HIV in Kenya, Sara Chace Dwyer, Aparna Jain, Wilson Liambila, and Charlotte E. Warren
The validity of women's reports of family planning service quality in Cambodia and Kenya, Ann K. Blanc, Katharine McCarthy, Charlotte E. Warren, Ashish Bajracharya, and Benjamin Bellows
Understanding community health worker incentive preferences in Uganda using a discrete choice experiment, Smisha Agarwal, Timothy Abuya, Richard Kintu, Daniel Mwanga, Melvin Obadha, Shivani Pandya, and Charlotte E. Warren
Using evidence to advocate for the professional growth of community health workers in Bangladesh, Frontline Health Project
Waist Circumference, Waist-to-Height Ratio and BMI percentiles in children aged 5 to 19 years in India: A population-based study, Avina Sarna, Akash Porwal, Rajib Acharya, Sana Ashraf, Sowmya Ramesh, Nizamuddin Khan, Sikha Sinha, and H.P.S. Sachdev
Webinar: Community health measurement, learning, policy and practice, Frontline Health Project
Submissions from 2020
Abortion service provision in South Asia: A comparative study of four countries, Susheela Singh, Aparna Sundaram, Altaf Hossain, Mahesh Puri, Zeba Sathar, Chander Shekhar, Marjorie Crowell, and Ann M. Moore
Adaptation and validation of social accountability measures in the context of contraceptive services in Ghana and Tanzania, Victoria Boydell, Petrus S. Steyn, Joanna Paula Cordero, Ndema Habib, My Huong Nguyen, Dela Nai, and Donat Shamba
A diagnostic assessment of the health system’s response to female genital mutilation/cutting management and prevention in Kenya, Samuel Kimani and Chantalle Okondo
A diagnostic assessment of the health system's response to FGM/C management and prevention in Nigeria, Osasuyi Dirisu, Adetayo Adetunji, Mayokun Adediran, and Otibho Obianwu
A diagnostic assessment of the health system's response to FGM/C management and prevention in Nigeria—Brief, Osasuyi Dirisu, Adetayo Adetunji, Mayokun Adediran, and Otibho Obianwu
Adolescent fertility Is lower than expected in rural areas: Results from 10 African HDSS, Clementine Rossier, Bruno Schoumaker, Valérie Delaunay, Donatien Beguy, Aparna Jain, Martin Bangha, Alemseged Aregay, Baptiste Beck, Karim Derra, Modeste Millogo, Albert Dube, Kone Siaka, Marylene Wamukoya, and Pascal Zabre
Appendices—Female genital mutilation/cutting: A review of laws and policies in Kenya and Nigeria, Samuel Kimani and Otibho Obianwu
A primary health care model for managing pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in low- and middle- income countries, Charlotte E. Warren, Sharif M.I. Hossain, Salisu Mohammed Ishaku, Deborah Armbruster, and Emily Hillman
Asking and telling: An assessment of the feasibility of screening children for sexual violence in Kenyan school and health facility contexts, Chi-Chi Undie and Margaret Mak'anyengo
Assessing the role of law in reducing the practise of FGM/C in Kenya, Agnes K. Meroka-Mutua, Daniel Mwanga, and Charles Owuor Olungah
Association between modern contraceptive use and child mortality in India: A calendar data analysis of the National Family Health Survey (2015–16), Ankita Shukla, Abhishek Kumar, Arupendra Mozumdar, Kumudha Aruldas, Rajib Acharya, F. Ram, and Niranjan Saggurti
Associations between female genital mutilation/cutting and early/child marriage: A multi-country DHS/MICS analysis, Jamlick Karumbi and David Gathara
Availability, practices and acceptance of postabortion contraceptive services in health facilities: A study in six states of India, Harihar Sahoo, Melissa Stillman, Jennifer J. Frost, Rajib Acharya, and Rubina Hussain
Barriers to provision of respectful maternity care in Zambia: Results from a qualitative study through the lens of behavioral science, Jana Smith, Rachel Banay, Emily Zimmerman, Vivien Caetano, Maurice Musheke, and Ameck Kamanga
Best Bets: Additional Funding for Family Planning—International evidence on financing of family planning, Zeba Sathar
Best Bets for Accelerating Family Planning in Pakistan: Inducting men, sharing responsibility, Kiren Khan and Zeba Sathar
Best Bets for Accelerating Family Planning in Pakistan: Invest in community health workers, Ali M. Mir and Kiren Khan
Best Bets for Accelerating Family Planning in Pakistan: The case for engaging family physicians and the for-profit private sector, Ashfaq Rehman and Anam Malkani
Best Bets: Vouchers for Rights-based, Voluntary Family Planning—International evidence on financing of family planning, Benjamin Bellows, Moazzam Ali, and Ali M. Mir
Beyond wifehood: Harnessing local gender ideologies to inform public health interventions in Africa, Chi-Chi Undie and Chimaraoke O. Izugbara
Challenges and opportunities for effective contraceptive counselling in a low-resource setting: Insights from a qualitative study in western Kenya, Francis Obare, George Odwe, and John C. Cleland
Challenges and prospects for implementation of community health volunteers’ digital health solutions in Kenya: A qualitative study, Pauline Bakibinga, Eva Kamande, Lyagamula Kisia, Milka Omuya, Dennis Matanda, and Catherine Kyobutungi
Challenges experienced by clients undergoing assisted reproductive technology in Ghana: An exploratory descriptive study, Josephine M. Kyei, Abubakar Manu, Agnes M. Kotoh, Salima Meherali, and Augustine Ankomah
Characterisation of the types of anaemia prevalent among children and adolescents aged 1–19 years in India: A population-based study, Avina Sarna, Akash Porwal, Sowmya Ramesh, Praween Kumar Agrawal, Rajib Acharya, Robert Johnston, Nizamuddin Khan, H.P.S. Sachdev, K. Madhavan Nair, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, Ransi Abraham, Sila Deb, Ajay Khera, and Renu Saxena
Choosing and using the progesterone vaginal ring: Women’s lived experiences in three African cities, Chi-Chi Undie, Saumya RamaRao, and Fatou Mbow
Classroom, club or collective? Three types of community-based group intervention and why they matter for health, Lu Gram, Sapna Desai, and Audrey Prost
Client-provider interaction: Understanding client experience with family planning service providers through the mystery client approach in India, Ankita Shukla, Rajib Acharya, Abhishek Kumar, Arupendra Mozumdar, Kumudha Aruldas, and Niranjan Saggurti
Clinical presentation and outcomes of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia at a national hospital, Kenya: A retrospective cohort study, Charity Ndwiga, George Odwe, Pooja Sripad, Omondi Ogutu, Alfred Osoti, and Charlotte E. Warren
Commentary on research to improve contraceptive and multipurpose prevention technologies, J. Joseph Speidel, John Townsend, Elspeth Williams, Jamie Quam, and Kirsten M.J. Thompson
Commentary: Using law more effectively towards abandonment of FGM/C in Kenya, Agnes K. Meroka-Mutua
Community interventions with women’s groups to improve women’s and children’s health in India: A mixed-methods systematic review of effects, enablers and barriers, Sapna Desai, Madhavi Misra, Aikantika Das, Roopal Jyoti Singh, Mrignyani Sehgal, Lu Gram, Neha Kumar, and Audrey Prost
Considerations for collecting and documenting FGM/C data by health care providers, Dennis Matanda
Contraceptive technologies for global health: Ethically getting to safe, effective and acceptable options for women and men, John Townsend, Régine Sitruk-Ware, Saumya RamaRao, and James Sailer
Contraceptive use and its effect on Indian women's empowerment: Evidence from the National Family Health Survey-4, Biplab Dhak, Niranjan Saggurti, and Faujdar Ram
Contraceptive use dynamics in India: A prospective cohort study of modern reversible contraceptive users, Arupendra Mozumdar, Elizabeth Tobey, Kumudha Aruldas, Rajib Acharya, and Aparna Jain
Data collection and COVID-19: What’s gender got to do with it?, Chi-Chi Undie, Nicole Haberland, Sanyukta Mathur, Isabel Vieitez Martínez, and Julie Pulerwitz
Determinants of low birth weight in India: An investigation from the National Family Health Survey, Nizamuddin Khan, Arupendra Mozumdar, and Supreet Kaur
Developing an SMS text message intervention on sexual and reproductive health with adolescents and youth in Peru, Fiorella Guerrero, Nora Lucar, Mijail Garvich Claux, Marina Chiappe, Jose Perez-Lu, Michelle J. Hindin, Lianne Gonsalves, and Angela M. Bayer
Development and validation of the Sexual and Reproductive Empowerment Scale for Adolescents and Young Adults, Ushma D. Upadhyay, Phoebe Y. Danza, Torsten B. Neilands, Jessica D. Gipson, Claire D. Brindis, Michelle J. Hindin, Diana Greene Foster, and Shari L. Dworkin
Do Indian women receive adequate information about contraception?, Md. Juel Rana and Anrudh K. Jain
Effect of sharing health messages on antenatal care behavior among women involved in microfinance-based self-help groups in Bihar India, Monika Walia, Laili Irani, Indrajit Chaudhuri, Yamini Atmavilas, and Niranjan Saggurti
End of Programme Webinar Series: Using research to understand and accelerate abandonment of FGM/C, Bettina Shell-Duncan, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan, Agnes K. Meroka-Mutua, Samuel Kimani, and Flavia Mwangovya
Examining user fee reductions in public primary healthcare facilities in Kenya, 1997–2012: Effects on the use and content of antenatal care, Mardieh Dennis, Lenka Benova, Catherine Goodman, Edwine Barasa, Timothy Abuya, and Oona M.R. Campbell
Exploring barriers to seeking health care among Kenyan Somali women with female genital mutilation: A qualitative study, Samuel Kimani, Caroline W. Kabiru, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan, and Jaldesa Guyo
Exploring changes in female genital mutilation/cutting: Shifting norms and practices among communities in Fafan and West Arsi zones, Ethiopia, Getaneh Mehari, Asabneh Molla, Ayantu Mamo, and Dennis Matanda
Exploring communities’ perceptions of the etiology of illnesses in newborns and young infants 0–59 days old in 4 counties in Kenya, George Odwe, Charity Ndwiga, Chantalle Okondo, Pooja Sripad, Timothy Abuya, and Charlotte E. Warren
Exploring the capacity of the Somaliland healthcare system to manage female genital mutilation/cutting-related complications and prevent the medicalization of the practice: A cross-sectional study, Mohamed Yussuf, Dennis Matanda, and Richard A. Powell
Exploring the demand‐side factors associated with the use of implants in Kenya, Francis Obare, Joyce Mumah, George Odwe, Kazuyo Machiyama, and John C. Cleland
Exploring the nature and extent of normative change in FGM/C in Somaliland, Richard A. Powell, Mohamed Yussuf, Bettina Shell-Duncan, and Caroline W. Kabiru
Facing COVID-19: Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and challenges of healthcare providers, Population Council
Factors influencing women's decisions regarding birth planning in a rural setting in Kenya and their implications for family planning programmes, Francis Obare, George Odwe, and John C. Cleland
Female clients' gender preferences for frontline health workers who provide maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) services at primary health care level in Nigeria, Ekechi Okereke, Godwin Unumeri, Akinwumi Akinola, George I. Eluwa, and Sylvia Adebajo
Female genital mutilation/cutting: A review of laws and policies in Kenya and Nigeria, Samuel Kimani and Otibho Obianwu
Female genital mutilation/cutting: Emerging factors sustaining medicalization related changes in selected Kenyan communities, Samuel Kimani, Caroline W. Kabiru, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan, and Jaldesa Guyo
Female genital mutilation/cutting in Nigeria: Is the practice declining? A descriptive analysis of successive demographic and health surveys and multiple indicator cluster surveys (2003–2017), Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala, Glory Atilola, Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, Emmanuel Ogundimu, Lubanzadio Mavatikua, Paul Komba, Zhuzhi Moore, and Dennis Matanda
Female genital mutilation/cutting in Senegal: Is the practice declining? Descriptive analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys, 2005–2017, Dennis Matanda, Glory Atilola, Zhuzhi Moore, Paul Komba, Lubanzadio Mavatikua, Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, and Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala
Fertility preferences and behaviors among younger cohorts in Egypt: Recent trends, correlates, and prospects for change, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Shadia Attia, Nourhan Bader, Rania Roushdy, Shatha El-Nakib, and Doaa Oraby
Final evaluation results: Expanding access to secondary school education for teenage mothers in Homa Bay County, Chi-Chi Undie, Harriet Birungi, George Odwe, and Francis Obare
Frontline Health: Harmonizing metrics, advancing evidence, accelerating policy—Project overview brief, Frontline Health Project
Health care providers' and mothers' perceptions about the medicalization of female genital mutilation or cutting in Egypt: A cross-sectional qualitative study [Arabic], Omaima El-Gibaly and Mirette Aziz
Health systems software factors and their effect on the integration of sexual and reproductive health and HIV services, Susannah H. Mayhew, Charlotte E. Warren, Charity Ndwiga, Manjulaa Narasimhan, Rose Wilcher, Richard Mutemwa, Timothy Abuya, and Manuela Colombini
Health workers' outreach and intention to use contraceptives among married women in India, Abhishek Kumar, Anrudh K. Jain, Faujdar Ram, Rajib Acharya, Ankita Shukla, Arupendra Mozumdar, and Niranjan Saggurti
Health workforce demography: A framework to improve understanding of the health workforce and support achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, Sylvia Szabo, Andrea Nove, Zoe Matthews, Ashish Bajracharya, Ibadat Dhillon, Devendra Raj Singh, Aurora Saares, and James Campbell
High blood pressure: Pregnant and postpartum women face hidden danger, Charlotte E. Warren and Pooja Sripad
High Impact Practices—Detecting and managing hypertension in the extended postnatal period: Preventing postnatal pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, Charlotte E. Warren
Implementation process brief: Integrated family planning and HIV services at the community level in Kenya, Wilson Liambila, Sara Chace Dwyer, Charlotte E. Warren, Aparna Jain, Melsa Lutomia, Jane Loech, and Elizabeth Washika