Improving Women's Health through Universal Health Coverage

Jonathan Quick and colleagues discuss how women's health world-wide can be improved through universal health coverage. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summar

Integrating Health Care to Meet the Needs of the Mother–Infant Pair: A Call for Papers for Year 3 of the Maternal Health Task Force–PLOS Collection

The Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) and PLOS Medicine issue the call for papers for Year 3 of the MHTF-PLOS Collection: Integrating Health Care to Meet the Needs of the Mother–Infant Pair. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summar

Online allies and tricky freelancers: understanding the differences in the role of social media in the campaigns for the Scottish Independence Referendum

Using the 2014 Scottish independence referendum as a case study, this article asks first, to what extent is the use of digital communications technologies, in particular social media, associated with fundamental changes to campaign organizations, specifically to the command and control model? Second, under what conditions are challenges to the model more likely to emerge? Using mixed methods, our analysis of the case demonstrates that radical organizational or strategic change is not inevitable, nor is there a one-size-fits-all approach. Technologies are not ‘just tools’ that any campaign with enough resources will adopt in similar ways. Instead, depending on a number of interdependent factors (i.e. context, resources, strategy, organizational structure and culture), some campaigns – like Better Together – selectively adopt digital tools that fit with the command and control model; in other cases – like Yes Scotland – the application of digital communications technologies and the dynamics created by linking to other (digital-enabled) grassroots organizations can have transformative effects

Health Systems Integration of Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Study

Objective: Both sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and HIV programs in sub-Saharan Africa are typically delivered vertically, operating parallel to national health systems. The objective of this study was to map the evidence on national and international strategies for integration of SRH and HIV services in sub-Saharan Africa and to develop a research agenda for future health systems integration. Methods: We examined the literature on national and international strategies to integrate SRH and HIV services using a scoping study methodology. Current policy frameworks, national HIV strategies and research, and gray literature on integration were mapped. Five countries in sub-Saharan Africa with experience of integrating SRH and HIV services were purposively sampled for detailed thematic analysis, according to the health systems functions of governance, policy and planning, financing, health workforce organization, service organization, and monitoring and evaluation. Results: The major international health policies and donor guidance now support integration. Most integration research has focused on linkages of SRH and HIV front-line services. Yet, the common problems with implementation are related to delayed or incomplete integration of higher level health systems functions: lack of coordinated leadership and unified national integration policies; separate financing streams for SRH and HIV services and inadequate health worker training, supervision and retention. Conclusions: Rigorous health systems research on the integration of SRH and HIV services is urgently needed. Priority research areas include integration impact, performance, and economic evaluation to inform the planning, financing, and coordination of integrated service delivery

Ebola crisis: the unequal impact on women and children's health

There seems to be no biological sex difference regarding vulnerability to Ebola virus disease, yet many sociocultural and health-care-related factors increase the risks for women in the Ebola outbreak in west Africa

Maternal Health Is Women's Health: A Call for Papers for Year 2 of the Maternal Health Task Force–PLOS Collection

The PLOS Medicine editors and the Maternal Health Task Force announce a new call for papers on the theme of “maternal health is women's health.

Towards Comprehensive Women's Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing Intersections Between HIV, Reproductive and Maternal Health

Abstract: This themed supplement to JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes focuses on the critical intersections between HIV, reproductive, and maternal health services in the health systems of sub-Saharan Africa. The epidemiology of HIV among women of reproductive age on the sub-continent demands a holistic conceptualization and comprehensive approaches to ensure that HIV, reproductive, and maternal health are optimally addressed. Yet, in many instances, the national and global responses to these health issues remain siloed. Women's health needs and new global and national guidelines for HIV treatment raise important policy, programmatic, and operational questions regarding service integration, scale-up, and health systems functioning. In June 2013, the Maternal Health Task Force at the Harvard School of Public Health, the United States Agency for International Development, and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened an international technical meeting of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to discuss the existing evidence base about the interconnections between HIV, reproductive, and maternal health and identify the most important knowledge gaps and research priorities. The articles in this special issue deepen and expand on those discussions by (1) providing empirical evidence about challenges, (2) identifying how improving clinical care and models of service delivery, strengthening health systems, and addressing social dynamics can contribute to better outcomes, and (3) mapping future research directions. Together, these articles underscore that new policy frameworks and integrated approaches are necessary but not sufficient to address health system challenges. Addressing the multiple needs of women of reproductive age who are living with HIV or are at risk of acquiring HIV is a complex undertaking that requires improved access to, utilization and quality of comprehensive women's healthcare. Continued evaluation and knowledge generation are needed to ensure that potential health gains are actualized

Exploring the campaign space of non-party activism in the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections

In recent years there has been an increase in election-focused activity undertaken by non-party organisations. This activism concerns issues such as political education, cross-party collaboration, voter registration, and voter advice. Using the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections as case studies, we take a strategic action field approach to analyse how this campaign space is developing. We demonstrate the existence of competing logics of activism associated with the fields of social movements, electioneering, and ‘civic tech’. This leads to conflicts related to ethos, time, organisational hybridity, activism, funding and regulation, with such issues frequently shaped by the affordances offered by digital technology. Our findings contribute towards better understandings of how these actors operate in, and attempt to influence, the contemporary electoral landscape

Young Adult Sexual Behavior in South Africa: How Important is Parental Social Support?

Risky sexual behavior exposes young adults to poor reproductive health outcomes. Parental social support is associated with reduced incidence of risky sexual behavior, but this association has not been adequately investigated in South Africa. We used data from Waves 1 and 3 of the Cape Area Panel Study (a longitudinal study of adolescents and young adults aged 14-22 years and living in the Cape Town metropolitan area) to investigate the associations between parental social support and young adult risky sexual behavior in South Africa. We conducted multivariable logistic regression analyses to assess whether lack of specific categories of parental social supports at wave 1 (baseline) are associated with higher risky sexual behaviors by young adults at wave 3 (follow-up). We found that young adults who never ate meals with their mothers and those who never discussed personal matters with their fathers had increased risks of multiple sexual partnerships. Also, young adults who never got pocket money or money for gifts from their mothers had increased risk to engage in unprotected sex during their first sexual encounter. Our findings suggest that eating family meals, discussing personal matters with youth, and providing them with pocket money, may protect young adults in South Africa from risky sexual behavior. Keywords: Young Adults, Sexual Debut, Multiple Partners, Unprotected Sex, Parents, and Social Support, South Afric