YouthNet is conducting research on three aspects of access to health services by young people.
YouthNet researchers are documenting and assessing the effectiveness of different models of voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services to help policy-makers determine which models of youth-friendly VCT services to promote. This research is being conducted in Tanzania and Haiti. VCT can be an effective means of promoting HIV prevention among young people.
The second area involves assessing the content of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services to identify and evaluate the services adolescents receive regarding HIV and reproductive health. The study is being done in Kenya.
Third, in order to improve counseling for post-abortion care (PAC) clients (with an emphasis on meeting the needs of young PAC clients), an intervention has been designed and will be implemented to increase contraceptive use and STI/HIV referral in four small public sector hospitals in the Dominican Republic.
Study: Tanzania and Haiti: Voluntary Counseling and Testing for Youth and Linkages to Other Reproductive Health Services
An increasing number of youth desire VCT services and many service delivery approaches exist to attract youth. Because services set up exclusively for youth are likely to be more costly than services for the general population, it is important to understand whether at-risk youth prefer these specialized services and to assess the quality of services offered to them. Youth who seek VCT services need other reproductive health services, regardless of their HIV status, so access or referral for such services is part of the evaluation.
Through this study:
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Policymakers and program managers will have an increased understanding of how VCT can attract at-risk youth and how linkages with other RH services can be created or enhanced.
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The effectiveness of various models of VCT services for youth will be assessed.
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The costs of various models of VCT services for youth will be examined (Tanzania only).
For more information on youth and VCT services:
1. The HIV Counseling and Testing for Youth: A Manual for Providers is now available.
2. YouthLens 3. HIV: Voluntary Counseling and Testing also explores VCT and youth issues.
3. View the presentation Voluntary Counseling and Testing for Youth and Linkages to Other Reproductive Health Programs in Tanzania.
4. Additional resources on VCT and youth are located in YouthNet Program Areas.
Little is known about the reproductive health messages and services adolescents receive during PMTCT. This study assesses the content of PMTCT services that youth receive and the extent to which broader reproductive health needs of adolescents, particularly for contraception, are addressed within PMTCT services. It also explores youth's fertility desires in the context of HIV, identifies factors that influence use of PMTCT services, and documents the pattern of use of PMTCT services by adolescents as compared to older women.
Through this study:
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Improved understanding will be available for policy-makers and program managers regarding differences in the use of PMTCT services by adolescents and older women.
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Recommendations will be made, depending on the research findings, that policy-makers and program managers can use to improve services for adolescents.
For more information on adolescents and maternal health:
1. View the slideshow Adolescents' Use of Maternal and Child Health Services in Developing Countries.
Study: Dominican Republic: Assessing and Improving Post-Abortion Care (PAC) Counseling for Young Women
In order to improve counseling for post-abortion care (PAC) clients, with an emphasis on meeting the needs of young PAC clients, an intervention has been designed and will be implemented to increase contraceptive uptake and STI/HIV referral through improved counseling in four small public sector hospitals in the Dominican Republic. Baseline provider interviews were conducted to assess contraceptive counseling and STI/HIV information currently given to PAC patients in the four intervention hospitals. Six months has been allotted for the intervention activities to be institutionalized into the service delivery systems of the four hospitals. Interviews with providers and clients will be conducted six months after the intervention is initiated to evaluate its impact. A final round of data will be collected from clients and providers 12 months after the intervention is initiated to evaluate the sustainability of the intervention.
Through this study:
