A study of costs and behavioral outcomes of menstrual regulation services in Bangladesh

Understanding reproductive health challenges during a flood: insights from Belkuchi Upazila, Bangladesh

Background: Bangladesh is exposed to natural hazards such as floods, cyclones and droughts. As such, its health systems and health infrastructure are exposed to recurrent disasters. Research studying the impacts of natural disasters on reproductive health in particular is lacking. This research contributes to this knowledge gap by studying the challenges related to menstrual regulation and post-abortion care at both the facility and community levels, and the care-seeking patterns of pregnant women during the 2016 flood in Belkuchi, Bangladesh. Methods: Six government-run primary health care facilities were assessed using a structured assessment tool prior to the flood of 2016. In total, 370 structured interviews were conducted with women in three unions of Belkuchi (Belkuchi Sadar, Daulatpur and Bhangabari) 4 months after the 2016 flood. Results: The main challenges at the facility level are a lack of services and a shortage of medicines, equipment and trained health workers. The main challenges at the community level are displacement, high rates of self-diagnosed spontaneous abortion and a lack of treatment for post-abortion complications. A majority of the interviewed women (48%) sought menstrual regulation from the residence of a nurse or family welfare visitor. In total, 73.2% of the women who experienced post-abortion complications sought medical care. Conclusion: To overcome the challenges at the facility level, it is important to construct flood-resistant health infrastructure and train health workers in menstrual regulation and post-abortion care, so that these services can be made available during a flood. At the community level, more research is required to understand the reasons for spontaneous abortions so that these, and the subsequent chronic conditions/complications women experience, may be avoided. Context specific interventions that can overcome local challenges (both at the community and facility levels) are required to promote disaster resilience at primary health care facilities.

Understanding reproductive health challenges during a flood: insights from Belkuchi Upazila, Bangladesh

Background: Bangladesh is exposed to natural hazards such as floods, cyclones and droughts. As such, its health systems and health infrastructure are exposed to recurrent disasters. Research studying the impacts of natural disasters on reproductive health in particular is lacking. This research contributes to this knowledge gap by studying the challenges related to menstrual regulation and post-abortion care at both the facility and community levels, and the care-seeking patterns of pregnant women during the 2016 flood in Belkuchi, Bangladesh. Methods: Six government-run primary health care facilities were assessed using a structured assessment tool prior to the flood of 2016. In total, 370 structured interviews were conducted with women in three unions of Belkuchi (Belkuchi Sadar, Daulatpur and Bhangabari) 4 months after the 2016 flood. Results: The main challenges at the facility level are a lack of services and a shortage of medicines, equipment and trained health workers. The main challenges at the community level are displacement, high rates of self-diagnosed spontaneous abortion and a lack of treatment for post-abortion complications. A majority of the interviewed women (48%) sought menstrual regulation from the residence of a nurse or family welfare visitor. In total, 73.2% of the women who experienced post-abortion complications sought medical care. Conclusion: To overcome the challenges at the facility level, it is important to construct flood-resistant health infrastructure and train health workers in menstrual regulation and post-abortion care, so that these services can be made available during a flood. At the community level, more research is required to understand the reasons for spontaneous abortions so that these, and the subsequent chronic conditions/complications women experience, may be avoided. Context specific interventions that can overcome local challenges (both at the community and facility levels) are required to promote disaster resilience at primary health care facilities.

Psychology in Developing Countries: Reassessing its Impact

The last global review of the role of psychology in developing countries was edited by Sinha and Holtzman in 1984. This paper evaluates journal publications appearing in the Psychlit database in the decadefollowing Sinha and Holtzman's review, focusing on studies which contain scientific evidence of practical out come. There are three categories of such research, namely, social/organisational, health/welfare, and educational/developmental, with clear evidence of reliability, validity, and utility in each category, but largely in health and welfare. Despite this relative imbalance however; there are signs of what Sinha has defined as true indigenisation, namely, progressing beyond assimilation of, and anti-conformity against, the so-called "mainstream ", towards a more pluralistic search for a psy chology that works.

[Use of manual vacuum aspiration in reducing cost and duration of hospitalization due to incomplete abortion in an urban area of northeastern Brazil]

INTRODUCTION

In most developed countries vacuum aspiration has been shown to be safer and less costly than sharp curettage (SC) for uterine evacuation. In many of the developing countries, including Brazil, sharp curettage (SC) is the most commonly used technique for treating cases of incomplete abortion admitted to hospital. The procedure often involves light to heavy sedation for pain control and an overnight hospital stay for patient recuperation and monitoring. Two hypotheses are examined: the first, that the use of manual vacuum aspiration (MVA)--a variation of the vacuum aspiration, would be less costly than SC for the treatment of cases of incomplete abortion admitted to hospital; and the second, that the treatment of incomplete abortion with MVA would substantially reduce the length of hospital stay.

METHODOLOGY

Thirty women with diagnosis of first trimester incomplete abortion were randomly allocated to the SC or MVA group. Rapid-assessment data collection techniques were used to identify factors that contributed to cost reduction and hospital stay.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

The results of the study show that, overall, patients treated for incomplete abortion with MVA spent 77% less time in the hospital and consumed 41% fewer resources than similarly diagnosed patients treated with SC. Recommendations are made as to the need of certain changes in patient management. Particularly necessary is information regarding cultural perception and concepts of abortion treatment.

Costs and resource utilization for the treatment of incomplete abortion in Kenya and Mexico

In much of the developing world, sharp curettage (SC) is the most commonly used technique for treating incomplete abortion. The procedure is usually performed in a hospital setting where physicians and operating theatres are available; it often involves light to heavy sedation for pain control and an overnight hospital stay for patient recuperation and monitoring. This study examined the hypothesis that use of manual vacuum aspiration (MVA)--a variation of vacuum aspiration (VA)--would be less costly than SC and thus be advantageous to healthcare systems with limited resources. The purpose of the study was to identify and, where possible, to explain the factors that contributed to cost differences between MVA and SC for treatment of incomplete abortion. To achieve this objective, researchers observed patient management and documented resource use at hospital sites in Kenya and Mexico. The results of the study support the researchers' hypothesis that, in most cases, treatment with MVA required a shorter patient stay and fewer hospital resources than SC, as the two techniques were practiced at the various study sites. The policy decision to adopt MVA, supported by procurement of instruments and incorporation of training in its use, is the basic prerequisite to achieving reduced levels of resource use. The study results also suggest that the full advantages of MVA can be realized only if it is introduced in conjunction with certain changes in patient management, such as offering outpatient treatment for incomplete abortion.

RU 486/prostaglandin: considerations for appropriate use in low-resource settings

Antiprogestins represent a new class of promising drugs in fertility regulation, especially in early termination of pregnancy. RU 486 (mifepristone), manufactured by Roussel-Uclaf and marketed under the international trade name Mifegyne, is an antiprogestin tablet that is used sequentially with a prostaglandin for non-surgical termination of pregnancy. It has been chosen as a pregnancy termination method by over 100,000 women in France since its regulatory approval there in 1988. In addition, RU 486/prostaglandin was approved in July 1991 for use in the United Kingdom and an application for approval is being considered in Sweden. In Western Europe, it seems, RU 486/prostaglandin is increasingly accepted by medical experts, regulatory officials and women as an alternative to vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage (D&C) for early pregnancy termination.

As the use of RU 486/prostaglandin becomes more established, health practitioners and women's health advocates are beginning to consider the feasibility of using this method for pregnancy termination in low-resource settings.

Abortion policy and women's health in developing countries

The World Health Organization estimates that almost half a million women in developing countries die in pregnancy and childbirth every year. Unsafe induced abortion is responsible for perhaps one-quarter of these deaths. In this article, the author reviews the legal, medical, and social contexts in which women in developing countries resort to clandestine abortion. Despite intensified international concern with reducing high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, national policy makers and participants at international conferences on maternal health--with a few important exceptions--have not recommended that safe, legal services for terminating unwanted pregnancies be offered as an essential element of basic reproductive health care. United States international policy on funding abortion-related activities in maternal health and family planning programs is especially restrictive. A new policy approach is clearly needed if unacceptably high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality in many countries are to be reduced.