The MOM Project: delivering maternal health services among internally displaced populations in eastern Burma.
Abstract: Alternative strategies to increase access to reproductive health services among internally displaced populations are urgently needed. In eastern Burma, continuing conflict and lack of functioning health systems render the emphasis on facility-based delivery with skilled attendants unfeasible. Along the Thailand-Burma border, local organisations have implemented an innovative pilot,...

HEALTH CARE NEEDS FOR OLDER ADULTS.
INTRODUCTION The increasing longevity of people in the industrialised world has generated a substantial body of new theoretical, policy-oriented and research writing, and there may well be a policy revolution required to deal with consequent societal changes (Markwick 1995, Banks and Fossel 1997, Wetle 1997). There is...

Sexual practices, risk perception and knowledge of sexually transmitted disease risk among lesbian and bisexual women.
In the United States, where an estimated 2.3 million women describe themselves as lesbian, (1) transmission of common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)-including trichomoniasis, genital herpes, human papillomavirus and HIV--between female sex partners has been reported. (2) In the few studies that have examined this topic, sexual practices involving digital-vaginal...

Adolescent pregnancy in Argentina: evidence-based recommendations for public policies.
Abstract: In Argentina adolescent pregnancy is still regarded as a public health problem or a "social epidemic': However, it is necessary to ask from which perspective and for whom it is a problem, and what type of problem. This article presents the findings of a large quantitative and qualitative...

Maternal mortality and morbidity: is pregnancy getting safer for women?
THIS year is the 20th anniversary of the WHO Safe Motherhood Initiative, which was launched in Nairobi in 1987. As RHM's contribution to the knowledge base to inform safe motherhood programmes in future, we asked whether pregnancy is getting safer for women. The answer in the papers published here...

Global progress in PMTCT and paediatric HIV care and treatment in low- and middle-income countries in 2004-2005.
Abstract: A growing number of countries are moving to scale up interventions for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in maternal and child health services. Similarly, many are working to improve access to paediatric HIV treatment. This paper reviews national programme data for 2004-2005 from low- and middle-income...

Seizing the big missed opportunity: linking HIV and maternity care services in sub-Saharan Africa.
Abstract: This paper draws on two reviews commissioned by the UK Department for International Development in 2006-2007 that explore progress in linking HIV prevention and maternity services in sub-Saharan Africa. Although pilot and demonstration projects have been successful, progress in scaling up PMTCT has been slow, reaching just 17%...

Recent evaluations of the peer-led approach in adolescent sexual health education: a systematic review.
The sexual health o f adolescents is a growing global public health issue. In developing countries, approximately 60% of new HIV infections occur among 15-24-year-olds, (1) and a similar proportion of pregnancies and births to adolescents are unintended. (2) In industrialized countries, the incidence of STDs among youth is...

Prevalence and public-health significance of HIV infection and anaemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in South-eastern Nigeria.
ABSTRACT HIV infection and anaemia are major public-health problems in Africa and are important factors associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of HIV infection and anaemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in south-eastern...

Recent evaluations of the peer-led approach in adolescent sexual health education: a systematic review.
At the time this article was written, Caron R. Kim was a graduate student at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London. Caroline Free is a clinical lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. CONTEXT: Peer-led interventions have become a popular method...