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Journal Article

The Ahfad journal

Ahfad J.

Jun

4

1

12

30

LR: 20091119; JID: 101084491; OID: IND: 8011020; OID: PIP: 057730; OID: POP: 00184012; OTO: PIP; GN: PIP: TJ: AHFAD JOURNAL; ppublish

SUDAN

0255-4070; 0255-4070

PMID: 12342258

eng

Journal Article; J

Unknown(0)

12342258

PIP: The Sudan Community-Based Health Project, initiated by the University of Khartoum in cooperation with the Ministry of Health in 1980, sought to test the proposition that government-trained village midwives could provide maternal-child health and birth spacing services in addition to their ongoing obstetrical duties. The project area encompassed 92,000 people in 93 villages. The 120 midwives serving the project area received training in 4 interventions -- oral rehydration therapy, maternal and child nutrition, immunization, and birth spacing -- and introduced these services by means of 3 rounds of household visits over a 5-month period. Comparison of pre- and post-intervention survey data indicates that village midwives can indeed be used successfully to promote not only contraceptive use, but also health attitudes and practices that are positively associated with fertility regulation. Between the 2 surveys, the percentage of women who ever used contraception increased from 22% to 28%, while the percentage of current users rose from 10% to 13%. Parity was significantly related to current use; each child born multiplied the likelihood of contraceptive acceptance (by a factor of 0.76 in the post-intervention sample). Maternal education was the socioeconomic variable that most enhanced receptivity to contraceptive acceptance after the project's interventions. In terms of community-level variables, village location along the Nile and proximity to a paved road were significant correlates of contraceptive use. When variables related to the project itself were analyzed, women with vaccinated children were found to be twice as likely to contracept as those with nonvaccinated children and women who believed breast feeding should be continued during diarrhea episodes were 1.5 times more likely to use birth spacing than those who did not. Although midwives did not specifically emphasize contraceptive use, it appears women who were encouraged by midwives to take positive steps in the area of child health were also likely to become more innovative in terms of fertility regulation.

Africa, Africa, Northern, Birth Intervals, Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Contraception, Contraception Behavior, Delivery of Health Care, Demography, Developing Countries, Economics, Education, Educational Status, Evaluation Studies as Topic, Family Planning Services, Fertility, Fluid Therapy, Health, Health Personnel, Health Planning, Health Services, Immunization, Maternal-Child Health Centers, Medicine, Middle East, Midwifery, Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Organization and Administration, Population, Population Dynamics, Primary Health Care, Program Evaluation, Sexual Behavior, Social Class, Socioeconomic Factors, Sudan, Teaching, Therapeutics, Arab Countries, Birth Spacing, Child Nutrition, Contraceptive Usage--determinants, Demographic Factors, Economic Factors, Educational Status--women, Evaluation, Evaluation Report, Family Planning, Family Planning Program Evaluation, Family Planning Programs, Intermediate Variables, Maternal Nutrition, Maternal-child Health Services, Midwives, Northern Africa, Nutrition, Oral Rehydration, Programs, Reproductive Behavior, Socioeconomic Status, Training Activities, Training Programs, Treatment

El Tom,A. R., Farah,A. A., Lauro,D., Fenn,T.