OBJECTIVE To ascertain the perspectives of family-planning service providers in eight sites in China on the provision of sexual and reproductive health services to unmarried young people. METHODS Data were drawn from a survey of 1927 family-planning workers and 16 focus group discussions conducted in eight sites in China in 1998-99. FINDINGS Family-planning workers recognized the need to pr...

After nearly a century of failed or incomplete legislative efforts, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), enacted by Congress in March 2010, establishes the principle that every American is entitled to affordable and effective health insurance coverage regardless of income or health status. Although many aspects of the act have received broad attention, its impact on reproduct...

BACKGROUND A range of formal and informal close-to-community (CTC) health service providers operate in an increasingly urbanized Bangladesh. Informal CTC health service providers play a key role in Bangladesh's pluralistic health system, yet the reasons for their popularity and their interactions with formal providers and the community are poorly understood. This paper aims to understand the fa...

BACKGROUND Inequity of accessibility to and utilization of reproductive health (RH) services among youths is a global concern, especially in resource-limited areas. The level of inequity also varies by cultural and socio-economic contexts. To tailor RH services to the needs of youths, relevant solutions are required. This study aimed to assess baseline information on access to and utilization o...

Background Utilizations of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services among young people is vital in reducing sexual and reproductive health problems. This study investigated young people's perceptions and barriers towards the use of sexual and reproductive health services in Southwest Ethiopia. Methods A cross sectional study was employed to collect data from 1,262 in-school youths. Simpl...

BACKGROUND Adolescents in South Africa remain vulnerable to HIV. Therefore, it is crucial to provide accessible adolescent-friendly HIV prevention interventions that are sensitive to their needs. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of HIV counsellors and other youth-serving professionals about the barriers to providing adolescent youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health service...

This article examines data from a study on garment-factory workers in Bangladesh to explore the implications of work for the early socialization of young women. For the first time, large numbers of young Bangladeshi women are being given an alternative to lives in which they move directly from childhood to adulthood through early marriage and childbearing. Employment creates a period of transit...

The intent of the ethical guidelines and regulations, developed over time, that govern research on human subjects is to ensure that research participants are well-informed volunteers, protected from harm, ensured potential benefit, and enrolled in an egalitarian fashion. This study discusses ethical issues that researchers and program planners grapple with in the area of sexual and reproductive...

This paper provides an overview of the extent and nature of gender-based violence and its health consequences, particularly on sexual and reproductive health.