Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #115871

Manal Eid, Nagwa Samir, MD, MObgyn, and Mohamed Afifi, MD, MSc. TAHSEEN/CATALYST, 53 Manial, 4th Floor, Cairo, 11451, Egypt, (20)2-532-5065, manale@tahseen.org

Global best practices research provides evidence that male involvement is crucial to better family planning and reproductive health outcomes. Research conducted in Egypt indicated that religious leaders, literacy facilitators, agricultural extension workers, and media professionals are trusted sources of health information by men. In response, the TAHSEEN/CATALYST Project developed a multi-sectoral approach to promoting male involvement in FP/RH with an emphasis on the optimal birth spacing interval (OBSI). Partners included local representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Health and Population, the General Authority for Literacy and Adult Education, NGOs, and media professionals.

TAHSEEN/CATALYST approaches men by supporting and encouraging activities that improve FP/RH and OBSI knowledge and increase male involvement in achieving positive FP/RH outcomes. These activities are supported by training male champions from these sectors in advocacy and community mobilization. The outcome of these trainings has been the active male participation and the distribution of FP/RH and OBSI information in numerous religious sermons, literacy classes, agricultural education activities, and media broadcasts. For instance, a religious leader's seminar increased the percentage of men who correctly identified the OBSI from 56% to 96%. Literacy teachers' knowledge increased from 15% to 75% on OBSI, 22% to 100% on AIDS transmission, and 45% to 95% on pregnancy danger signs. Among farmers, knowledge of OBSI gained from agricultural extension workers increased from 27% to 96% after the intervention. This multi-sectoral approach is worthy of replication in other countries.

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