Situation analysis of the integration of family planning services in postpartum, postabortion and prevention of mother to child transmission programs in the Dominican Republic

A diagnostic study of the provision and use of contraception in postpartum, postabortion, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs in the Dominican Republic was conducted with funding from USAID. The objectives of the study were to assess the contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of providers and clients; the degree to which information, counseling, and delivery are implemented in postpartum, postabortion, and PMTCT services; the quality of these services; and the readiness of postpartum, postabortion, and PMTCT services to offer contraceptive services. The report finds that family planning services are linked to antenatal, delivery, and postpartum care in most of the health units visited and, to a lesser degree, to the integral care provided for persons living with HIV. These and other key findings were shared with the MOH directors of maternal and child health services and other stakeholders. Based on this project’s findings, the report lists key recommendations to improve postpartum and postabortion family planning services in the Dominican Republic

Couple-oriented prenatal HIV counseling for HIV primary prevention: an acceptability study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A large proportion of the 2.5 million new adult HIV infections that occurred worldwide in 2007 were in stable couples. Feasible and acceptable strategies to improve HIV prevention in a conjugal context are scarce. In the preparatory phase of the ANRS 12127 Prenahtest multi-site HIV prevention trial, we assessed the acceptability of couple-oriented post-test HIV counseling (COC) and men's involvement within prenatal care services, among pregnant women, male partners and health care workers in Cameroon, Dominican Republic, Georgia and India.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used: direct observations of health services; in-depth interviews with women, men and health care workers; monitoring of the COC intervention and exit interviews with COC participants.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In-depth interviews conducted with 92 key informants across the four sites indicated that men rarely participated in antenatal care (ANC) services, mainly because these are traditionally and programmatically a woman's domain. However men's involvement was reported to be acceptable and needed in order to improve ANC and HIV prevention services. COC was considered by the respondents to be a feasible and acceptable strategy to actively encourage men to participate in prenatal HIV counseling and testing and overall in reproductive health services.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>One of the keys to men's involvement within prenatal HIV counseling and testing is the better understanding of couple relationships, attitudes and communication patterns between men and women, in terms of HIV and sexual and reproductive health; this conjugal context should be taken into account in the provision of quality prenatal HIV counseling, which aims at integrated PMTCT and primary prevention of HIV.</p

Microsociología del estigma: el papel de las leyendas contemporáneas en la construcción social del VIH y el SIDA en la República Dominicana

El estigma social, entendido como “un atributo profundamente desacreditador” (Goffman, 1963/1986), ha sido reconocido como un elemento que “contribuye dramáticamente a la expansión de la epidemia” (De Moya et al., 1998a) del VIH en la República Dominicana, impactando negativamente tanto la Respuesta Nacional como la calidad de vida de personas que viven con esta condición de salud. Estudios previos (Miric, 2005) sugieren el análisis de leyendas contemporáneas como un elemento clave para la comprensión del estigma social vinculado al VIH y al SIDA y de los mecanismos a través de los cuales este fenómeno se construye y se mantiene en la sociedad Dominicana. Partiendo de lo anterior, se llevó a cabo un estudio observacional, descriptivo y transversal, enfocado en el análisis de las leyendas contemporáneas sobre el VIH y al SIDA y su relación con el fenómeno de estigma social vinculado a esta condición de salud en la República Dominicana desde una perspectiva microsociológica. El estudio se fundamenta en el concepto de marcos organizativos de Erving Goffman (1974) y su trabajo pionero en la conceptualización del estigma social, como un enfoque teórico fértil y, a la vez, poco explorado en el análisis del papel desempeñado por las leyendas contemporáneas en la construcción social del VIH y el SIDA en la sociedad dominicana..

Prevalence of risk factors among women with osteoporosis

© 2017, University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Science. All rights reserved. Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disorder that can be influenced by many different factors. A cross-sectional study has been conducted with the aim to assess the prevalence of risk factors as well as to identify the possible causes of improvement of the disease. Th e study population consisted of 97 women older than 35 who had previously been diagnosed with osteoporosis. Dualenergy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scan was used to determine bone mineral density (BMD) in order to assess the current state of the disease. The participants were asked to complete a standardized IOF (International Osteoporosis Foundation) questionnaire. According to BMD measurements, 24.7% of women had normal bone density while 18.6% had T-score lower than -2.5. There was a statistically significant correlation between T-score and the history of previous bone fractures. Besides, a relatively high prevalence of certain risk factors (such as underweight, early menopause, oophorectomy, thyroid and parathyroid disorders etc.) was observed in woman with osteoporosis

Prevalence of Risk Factors Among Women With Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disorder that can be influenced by many different factors. A cross-sectional study has been conducted with the aim to assess the prevalence of risk factors as well as to identify the possible causes of improvement of the disease. Th e study population consisted of 97 women older than 35 who had previously been diagnosed with osteoporosis. Dualenergy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scan was used to determine bone mineral density (BMD) in order to assess the current state of the disease. Th e participants were asked to complete a standardized IOF (International Osteoporosis Foundation) questionnaire. According to BMD measurements, 24.7% of women had normal bone density while 18.6% had T-score lower than -2.5. Th ere was a statistically significant correlation between T-score and the history of previous bone fractures. Besides, a relatively high prevalence of certain risk factors (such as underweight, early menopause, oophorectomy, thyroid and parathyroid disorders etc.) was observed in woman with osteoporosi

Couples HIV counselling and couple relationships in India, Georgia and the Dominican Republic

Abstract Background Couples HIV counseling and testing is essential for combination HIV prevention, but its uptake remains very low. We aimed to evaluate factors associated with couples HIV counseling uptake in India, Georgia and the Dominican Republic, as part of the ANRS 12127 Prenahtest intervention trial. Methods Pregnant women ≥15 years, attending their first antenatal care (ANC) session between March and September 2009, self-reporting a stable partner, and having received couple-oriented post-test HIV counseling (trial intervention) were included. Individuals and couple characteristics associated with the acceptability of couples HIV counseling were assessed using multivariable logistic regression for each study site. Results Among 711 women included (232, 240 and 239 in the Dominican Republic, Georgia and India, respectively), the uptake of couples HIV counseling was 9.1% in the Dominican Republic, 13.8% in Georgia and 36.8% in India. The uptake of couples HIV counseling was associated with women having been accompanied by their partner to ANC, and never having used a condom with their partner in the Dominican Republic; with women having been accompanied by their partner to ANC in India; with women having a higher educational level than their partner and having ever discussed HIV with their partner in Georgia. Conclusion Couple HIV counseling uptake was overall low. Strategies adapted to local socio-cultural contexts, aiming at improving women’s education level, or tackling gender norms to facilitate the presence of men in reproductive health services, should be considered. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01494961 . Registered December 15, 2011. (Retrospectively registered)

Perceptions of Occupational Cancer Risk and Prevention among Dominican Republic Firefighters

Characterize occupational cancer risk perceptions and attitudes toward cancer prevention practices among firefighters in the Dominican Republic.Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted in June 2019 among firefighters from three fire departments. Themes were inductively created using a qualitative descriptive approach.Thirty-seven firefighters were interviewed with a group mean age of 36.2 ± 10.3 years, of which 97.3% were male, and 37.1% worked at least 10 years. Six themes emerged: 1) availability of personal protective equipment (PPE); 2) toxic exposure during fire suppression; 3) work-related stress; 4) lack of workplace health promotion activities; 5) Dominican culture impacts medical checkups; and 6) expensive medical copays limits healthcare access.Dominican firefighters are willing to adopt cancer prevention practices, however organizational barriers (ie, PPE availability, cultural barriers, and health promotion practices) limit engagement

Perceptions of Occupational Cancer Risk and Prevention Among Dominican Republic Firefighters: A Qualitative Study

Characterize occupational cancer risk perceptions and attitudes toward cancer prevention practices among firefighters in the Dominican Republic. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted in June 2019 among firefighters from three fire departments. Themes were inductively created using a qualitative descriptive approach. Thirty-seven firefighters were interviewed with a group mean age of 36.2 ± 10.3 years, of which 97.3% were male, and 37.1% worked at least 10 years. Six themes emerged: 1) availability of personal protective equipment (PPE); 2) toxic exposure during fire suppression; 3) work-related stress; 4) lack of workplace health promotion activities; 5) Dominican culture impacts medical checkups; and 6) expensive medical copays limits healthcare access. Dominican firefighters are willing to adopt cancer prevention practices, however organizational barriers (ie, PPE availability, cultural barriers, and health promotion practices) limit engagement

Objective Measurement of Carcinogens Among Dominican Republic Firefighters Using Silicone-Based Wristbands

OBJECTIVE: Characterize objective measurements of carcinogenic exposure using passive sampling silicone-based wristbands among Dominican firefighters. METHODS: Firefighters from a metropolitan fire service in the Dominican Republic were asked to wear a silicone-based wristband during one typical 24-hour shift. A pre- and post-shift survey collected work shift characteristics. Wristbands were processed for the type and quantity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a family of known carcinogenic compounds. RESULTS: Fifteen firefighters wore a wristband, of which 73.3 responded to a fire with an average of 3.7 calls during the shift. Total PAH exposure was significantly higher among firefighters who responded to a fire versus firefighters with no fire during their shift (261 parts per billion ppb vs 117�ppb, P�=�0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Silicone-based wristbands as objective passive samplers documented exposure to carcinogenic compounds during a typical 24-hour firefighter shift