Women's Health in Africa Issues, Challenges and Opportunities

This edited book includes new policy-relevant research on women’s health issues in Africa. Scholars explore critical topics from different disciplinary traditions using a variety of research methodologies and data sources. The contributors include African scholars with in-depth knowledge of their home contexts, who can furnish nuanced interpretations of local health issues and trends; international researchers who bring vigorous comparative viewpoints; emerging scholars adding to scientific knowledge; and more established researchers with a deep global knowledge of women’s health issues. The range of women’s health issues is vast, including the HIV epidemic and its impacts; domestic violence; the persistence of homebirths; and abortion. In addition, the book investigates emerging health concerns such as CVDs and cancers. Readers will learn that, while old health issues have persisted and assumed new dimensions, newer concerns have materialized and are now gaining momentum. The inability of health systems to tackle these issues complicates matters in Africa, creating a sense of desperation that can only be successfully confronted through strong political will and strategic planning, grounded in further research. The chapters in this book were originally published in the journal Health Care for Women International.

1. Introduction: Research on Women's Health in Africa: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities Chimaraoke O. Izugbara and Eleanor Krassen Covan 2. The Whales Beneath the Surface: The Muddled Story of Doing Research with Poor Mothers in a Developing Country Lou-Marie Kruger Part I: HIV Conflict 3. Gender Differences in the Experiences of HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma: A Qualitative Study in Ghana Gladys B. Asiedu and Karen S. Myers-Bowman 4. Management of Conflicts Arising From Disclosure of HIV Status Among Married Women in Southwest Nigeria Oladapo T. Okareh, Onoja M. Akpa, John O. Okunlola and Titilayo A. Okoror 5. Universal Access to HIV Treatment in the Context of Vulnerability: Female Farm Workers in Zimbabwe Sandra Bhatasara and Manase Kudzai Chiweshe 6. Stories of African HIV+ Women Living in Poverty Samaya VanTyler and Laurene Sheilds 7. Experiences of Emotional Abuse Among Women Living With HIV and AIDS in Malawi Winnie Chilemba, Neltjie van Wyk and Ronell Leech 8. Association Between Domestic Violence and HIV Serostatus Among Married and Formerly Married Women in Kenya Elijah O. Onsomu, Benta A. Abuya, Irene N. Okech, David L. Rosen, Vanessa Duren-Winfield and Amber C. Simmons Part II: Family Violence 9. Risk for Family Rejection and Associated Mental Health Outcomes Among Conflict-Affected Adult Women Living in Rural Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo Anjalee Kohli, Nancy A. Perrin, Remy Mitima Mpanano, Luke C. Mullany, Clovis Mitima Murhula, Arsène Kajabika Binkurhorhwa, Alfred Bacikengi Mirindi, Jean Heri Banywesize, Nadine Mwinja Bufole, Eric Mpanano Ntwali and Nancy Glass 10. Intimate Partner Violence and the Utilization of Maternal Health Care Services in Nigeria Dorothy Ngozi Ononokpono and Ezinwanne Christiana Azfredrick 11. Relationship Difficulties Postrape: Being a Male Intimate Partner of a Female Rape Victim in Cape Town, South Africa Evalina van Wijk and Tracie C. Harrison Part III: Evidence-Based Practice: Birth 12. The Place of Birth in Kafa Zone, Ethiopia Ruth Jackson 13. Women's Health in Women's Hands: A Pilot Study Assessing the Feasibility of Providing Women with Medications to Reduce Postpartum Hemorrhage and Sepsis in Rural Tanzania Gail C. Webber and Bwire Chirangi 14. What Are the Factors That Interplay From Normal Pregnancy to Near Miss Maternal Morbidity in a Nigerian Tertiary Healthcare Facility? Ikeola A. Adeoye, Omotade O. Ijarotimi and Adesegun O. Fatusi 15. Comparison Between an Independent Midwifery Program and a District Hospital in Rural Tanzania: Observations Regarding the Treatment of Female Patients Kathleen Miller & Michael McLoughlin 16. Food Beliefs and Practices During Pregnancy in Ghana: Implications for Maternal Health Interventions Ama de-Graft Aikins 17. Occupational Types and Antenatal Care Attendance Among Women in Ghana Emmanuel Banchani and Eric Y. Tenkorang Part IV: Evidence-Based Policy 18. Modernization and Development: Impact on Health Care Decision-Making in Uganda Debra Anne Kaur Singh, Jaya Earnest and May Lample 19. Policy Strategies to Improve Maternal Health Services Delivery and Outcomes in Anambra State, Nigeria Mabel Ezeonwu 20. Gender Equality as a Means to Improve Maternal and Child Health in Africa Kavita Singh, Shelah Bloom and Paul Brodish 21. Rethinking How to Promote Maternity Care-Seeking: Factors Associated With Institutional Delivery in Guinea Ellen Brazier, Renée Fiorentino, Saidou Barry, Yaya Kasse and Sita Millimono Part V: Adolescent Issues 22. Teenage Sexuality, HIV Risk, and the Politics of Being "Duted": Perceptions and Dynamics in a South African Township Nokuthula Hlabangane 23. Emotional and Psychosocial Aspects of Menstrual Poverty in Resource-Poor Settings: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Adolescent Girls in an Informal Settlement in Nairobi Joanna Crichton, Jerry Okal, Caroline W. Kabiru and Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu 24. Effects of a Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Program in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Myra Taylor, Champak Jinabhai, Siyabonga Dlamini, Reshma Sathiparsad, Matthijs S. Eggers and Hein de Vries Part VI: Child Bearing Age: Cancer Screening 25. Breast Cancer Screening Among Women of Child-Bearing Age Daphne Munyaradzi, James January and Julita Maradzika 26. Cervical Cancer in Developing Countries: Effective Screening and Preventive Strategies With an Application in Rwanda Immaculee Mukakalisa, Ruth Bindler, Carol Allen and Joann Dotson Part VII: Child Bearing Age: Family Planning 27. South African Mothers’ Coping With an Unplanned Caesarean Section Samantha van Reenen and Esmé van Rensburg 28. "I May Not Say We Really Have a Method, It Is Gambling Work": Knowledge and Acceptability of Safer Conception Methods Among Providers and HIV Clients in Uganda Sarah Finocchario-Kessler, Rhoda Wanyenze, Deborah Mindry, Jolly Beyeza-Kashesya, Kathy Goggin, Christine Nabiryo and Glenn Wagner 29. "Abortion—It Is My Own Body": Women's Narratives About Influences on Their Abortion Decisions in Ghana Georgina Yaa Oduro and Mercy Nana Akua Otsin 30. "He Doesn't Love Me Less. He Loves Me More": Perceptions of Women Living With HIV/AIDS of Partner Support in Childbearing Decision-Making Yewande Sofolahan-Oladeinde and Collins O. Airhihenbuwa 31. "Our Hands Are Tied Up": Current State of Safer Conception Services Suggests the Need for an Integrated Care Model Kathy Goggin, Deborah Mindry, Jolly Beyeza-Kashesya, Sarah Finocchario-Kessler, Rhoda Wanyenze, Christine Nabiryo and Glenn Wagner Part VIII: Aging Issues 32. "My Legs Affect Me a Lot. … I Can No Longer Walk to the Forest to Fetch Firewood": Challenges Related to Health and the Performance of Daily Tasks for Older Women in a High HIV Context Enid Schatz and Leah Gilbert 33. Grandparents Fostering Orphans: Influences of Protective Factors on Their Health and Well-Being Magen Mhaka-Mutepfa, Robert Cumming & Elias Mpofu

Chimaraoke O. Izugbara is Director of the Research Capacity Strengthening Division and Head of Population Dynamics and Reproductive Health at the African Population and Health Research Centre, Nairobi, Kenya. Eleanor Krassen Covan is Professor Emerita in the School of Health and Applied Human Sciences at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Health Care for Women International. Elizabeth Fugate-Whitlock is Interim Coordinator of the Gerontology Program at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA. She is the Managing Editor of Health Care for Women International.