The Value of Big Data for Family Planning

The Value of Big Data for Family Planning

by kb330@duke.eduNo Comments
While the use of modern methods of contraception are now commonplace in many countries, one-third of women in developing countries who begin using a modern method of contraception quit within the first year and half quit within two years[i]. Most discontinuation occurs among women who want to avoid pregnancy putting them at risk for unwanted pregnancies, maternal morbidity and mortality[ii]. Traditional measures of contraceptive use are collected retrospectively from population representative surveys conducted only every five years which are not well-suited to measuring contemporary trends in contraceptive discontinuation. This is problematic because advocates and health ministries cannot address concerns in a reasonable amount of time to impact widespread change. "Big Data" can supplement these static sources by providing dynamic, real time tracking of the reasons women discontinue using contraceptives and open up possibilities to prevent discontinuation or help facilitate switching between methods. So what exactly is "Big Data" and how can it supplement traditional reproductive health data? Big data is commonly thought...
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Big Data for Reproductive Health

Big Data for Reproductive Health

by kb330@duke.eduNo Comments
"Curious about contraceptive discontinuation?  Intrigued by intersections of technology and sexual health?  Apply to join the Data+ “Big Data for Reproductive Health” team! This summer, participants will collaborate with Duke Global Health Institute reproductive health investigators, producing a digital resource that repackages basic Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) information on contraceptive discontinuation as actionable intelligence for family planning organizations. During the 10-week program, students will also seek feedback from RTI researchers and determine appropriate distribution tactics for their social media-integrated platform. Like other Data+ programs, this project is interdisciplinary, combining the fields of computer science, global health, gender, sexuality and feminist studies, public policy and, of course, data.  To find out more and apply, click here."...
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Indonesian Military Continues Virginity Tests

Indonesian Military Continues Virginity Tests

by kb330@duke.eduNo Comments
In a concerning violation of female soldiers’ reproductive and human rights, Indonesia’s military reportedly continues to conduct invasive “virginity tests” on women recruits, despite a 2014 statement by the World Health Organization that such examinations have “no scientific validity.”  Human Rights Watch made the allegation in a Nov. 23 special report, citing “senior military and police officers with knowledge of the ‘virginity testing’ policy.” Indonesian officials purport a “two-finger test” that assesses a woman’s hymen can accurately indicate whether she is a virgin, if she is pregnant and how mentally sound she is.  As Fuad Basya, a spokesman for the military, said in 2015, “If they are no longer virgins, if they are naughty, it means their mentality is not good.” Such attitudes, which equate virginity with morality, may foster a toxic culture surrounding sexuality.  Indeed, an August editorial VICE editorial chronicles the challenges of obtaining emergency contraception as an unmarried woman in Indonesia, including “slut-shaming pharmacists, slow-a** clinics, and weird WhatsApp...
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World Vasectomy Day

World Vasectomy Day

by kb330@duke.eduNo Comments
Too often, conversations about reproductive health target women without also assigning responsibility to their male partners.  World Vasectomy Day seeks to confront this issue, encouraging men to adopt active roles in family planning. “A celebration of men around the world who are stepping up for their partners, their families and their future,” the program is “the largest male-focused family planning event in history,” according to its website. Headquartered in Mexico City for 2017, World Vasectomy Day activities have previously taken place in Nairobi, Kenya, and Bali, Indonesia. Organizers held a “Vasectomiathon” Nov. 16-17 which included, through digital communication, about 1,200 health practitioners in more than 50 nations. Their campaign re-frames an often-stigmatized and private reproductive health choice as a public and “heroic decision [men can make] to care for their families, communities and our planet.” Organizers advertised live vasectomies and film screenings at both the Vasectomiathon and the actual World Vasectomy Day celebration on Nov. 19. The public can attend Sunday's event in...
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A Win for Reproductive Health in the Philippines

A Win for Reproductive Health in the Philippines

by kb330@duke.eduNo Comments
Reproductive health activists in the Philippines have to cause to celebrate, as the country has dissolved a major impediment to women exercising autonomy over their bodies.  A Nov. 10 advisory from the Philippine Food and Drug Administration verified 51 contraceptives as “non-abortifacient” after backlash from pro-life organizations prompted a governmental review. In a momentous win for women, the country’s 2012 Reproductive Health Law ensured those "living in the deeply Catholic and densely populated nation universal access to contraception, fertility control and maternal care, and mandated sex education in schools,” according to the New York Times. However, allegations equating contraceptives with abortifacients prompted the Supreme Court to impose partial restrictions on the law in 2015, effectively revoking crucial rights the Reproductive Health Law afforded women. A July ruling required FDA clearance of the contraceptives to lift the restraining order. The administration's list, published Sunday, includes injectables, intrauterine devices and pills, as well as implants, of which the Philippine health department has more than 200,000...
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Notes from the Field: Uganda

Notes from the Field: Uganda

by kb330@duke.eduNo Comments
This summer, after a long, solo trip across the world, I arrived in East Africa for the first time. As a Master of Science in Global Health student at Duke University, I spent my first year paired with a mentor, Dr. Megan Huchko, working as a research assistant. During that time we worked together to design a research study which I would conduct the following summer in Kenya. Dr. Huchko and I chose to interview HPV positive women from her ongoing cluster-randomized trial to find ways to reduce the substantial loss to follow up seen with a two-visit screen and treat strategy.  Upon entering this program, I knew I wanted to work in women’s reproductive health. Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer in women in Africa, so having the opportunity to have a hand in research being conducted to reduce that burden is a privilege. Our goal was to improve treatment acquisition among HPV positive women, to reduce...
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Contraception offered in Rohingya Camps

Contraception offered in Rohingya Camps

by kb330@duke.eduNo Comments
Over 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar, and are currently living in crowded and under-resourced refugee camps. Reproductive health services are often non-existent or severely limited in refugee camps, yet these services are desperately needed by women and girls living in the camps. Bangladesh has begun to offer birth control pills, injectables, and condoms in the camps, and is hiring more staff to offer reproductive health services, including family planning counseling. This is not a service that should be optional in refugee camps, and we hope services continue as long as they are needed....
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#notwithoutrepro

#notwithoutrepro

by kb330@duke.eduNo Comments
On Thursday November 2nd, Ivanka Trump traveled to Japan to speak at the World Assembly of Women. In her remarks, Trump commented on the importance of shaping a more realistic picture of women who work (be it in the home, outside, or a combination of both), and that women need to be afforded the same opportunities as their male peers. As she talked about her daughter, she said: "It is my hope that by the time my daughter Arabella grows into a woman, she will not be defined by whether she works inside or outside the home. She will simply be a woman afforded the same opportunities as her male peers and equipped with the education and support she needs to fulfill her unique potential." For her daughter, or girls around the world to do this? They need access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare. Without the ability to decide and control their reproductive futures, girls choices are taken away from them. They will...
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Let’s Talk About Sex: Peer-Led Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Rural Kenya

Let’s Talk About Sex: Peer-Led Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Rural Kenya

by kb330@duke.eduNo Comments
What is the function of the clitoris? Before I began teaching comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) at WISER Girls’, a secondary school located in Muhuru Bay, Kenya, I never imagined that this would be the most frequently asked question. Especially among a class of female third-year high school students. When I was first asked, I gave a cursory – and yes, somewhat bashful – reply, explaining the clitoris as the “anatomical source of sexual pleasure in females.” But this answer did not satisfy the students, and they probed for more information. As we engaged in a discussion, I learned that many weren’t familiar with an external representation of the female genitalia – especially one with a “non-reproductive” function. As my answers became more justificatory about the significance of the clitoris, I realized that my attitudes about legitimized female sexuality had begun to leak into my responses. While I tried to remove any bias from my answers, I struggled with leaving my...
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