Religious affiliation and extramarital sex among men in Brazil.

CONTEXT: Since 1990, HIV infection in Brazil has spread among the heterosexual population, particularly in the north. Containment of the epidemic can be informed by a better understanding of men's sexual risk behavior. METHODS: Logistic, Poisson and multilevel logit models were applied to data on married and cohabiting men who had participated in the 1996 Brazilian Demographic and Health Survey. RESULTS: Twelve percent of married or cohabiting men reported having had at least one extramarital partner in the previous 12 months; half of these had had two or more. The majority (77%) of partners were described as friends or lovers; 4% had been prostitutes and 15% strangers. Among men who had had sex with an extramarital partner in the last year, 40% reported having used condoms during last extramarital sex. Compared with members of evangelical religions, other men were significantly more likely to report having had an extramarital partner (odds ratios, 3.0-4.7) and unprotected extramarital sex in the last 12 months (3.4-7.9). Region of residence was also strongly correlated with extramarital sex: Compared with men in southern or central Brazil, those in the north had more than three times the odds of having had extramarital sex and unprotected extramarital sex in the last year (3.1-3.8). CONCLUSION: In Brazil, religious affiliation and region of residence exert a major influence on risk behavior

Measuring coverage in MNCH: indicators for global tracking of newborn care.

Neonatal mortality accounts for 43% of under-five mortality. Consequently, improving newborn survival is a global priority. However, although there is increasing consensus on the packages and specific interventions that need to be scaled up to reduce neonatal mortality, there is a lack of clarity on the indicators needed to measure progress. In 2008, in an effort to improve newborn survival, the Newborn Indicators Technical Working Group (TWG) was convened by the Saving Newborn Lives program at Save the Children to provide a forum to develop the indicators and standard measurement tools that are needed to measure coverage of key newborn interventions. The TWG, which included evaluation and measurement experts, researchers, individuals from United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, and donors, prioritized improved consistency of measurement of postnatal care for women and newborns and of immediate care behaviors and practices for newborns. In addition, the TWG promoted increased data availability through inclusion of additional questions in nationally representative surveys, such as the United States Agency for International Development-supported Demographic and Health Surveys and the United Nations Children's Fund-supported Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Several studies have been undertaken that have informed revisions of indicators and survey tools, and global postnatal care coverage indicators have been finalized. Consensus has been achieved on three additional indicators for care of the newborn after birth (drying, delayed bathing, and cutting the cord with a clean instrument), and on testing two further indicators (immediate skin-to-skin care and applications to the umbilical cord). Finally, important measurement gaps have been identified regarding coverage data for evidence-based interventions, such as Kangaroo Mother Care and care seeking for newborn infection

Recommended indicators for care behaviors and practices for newborns.

<p>Surveys will vary in period of recall. Typically, DHS surveys use a recall period of five years, while MICS surveys use a two-year period. Interviewer records all substances put on the cord from cutting until it falls off. Harmful substances are determined locally and split out during analysis.</p

Postnatal care indicator: measurement issues and advances.

<p>Postnatal care indicator: measurement issues and advances.</p

Proportion of home births for which women and babies received postnatal care within two days of delivery, DHS survey data 2005–2011 [<b>18</b>].

<p>Proportion of home births for which women and babies received postnatal care within two days of delivery, DHS survey data 2005–2011 <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001415#pmed.1001415-MEASURE1" target="_blank">[<b>18</b>]</a>.</p

Standard questionnaire for measuring coverage of immediate newborn care.

<p>Standard questionnaire for measuring coverage of immediate newborn care.</p

Proportion of women who received postnatal care within two days of delivery by time of first visit, DHS survey data 2005–2011 [<b>18</b>].

<p>Proportion of women who received postnatal care within two days of delivery by time of first visit, DHS survey data 2005–2011 <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001415#pmed.1001415-MEASURE1" target="_blank">[<b>18</b>]</a>.</p