Main description:

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.

Contents:

1. Introduction: Research on Women's Health in Africa: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities 2. The Whales Beneath the Surface: The Muddled Story of Doing Research with Poor Mothers in a Developing Country Part I: HIV Conflict 3. Gender Differences in the Experiences of HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma: A Qualitative Study in Ghana 4. Management of Conflicts Arising From Disclosure of HIV Status Among Married Women in Southwest Nigeria 5. Universal Access to HIV Treatment in the Context of Vulnerability: Female Farm Workers in Zimbabwe 6. Stories of African HIV+ Women Living in Poverty 7. Experiences of Emotional Abuse Among Women Living With HIV and AIDS in Malawi 8. Association Between Domestic Violence and HIV Serostatus Among Married and Formerly Married Women in Kenya 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 10. Intimate Partner Violence and the Utilization of Maternal Health Care Services in Nigeria 11. Relationship Difficulties Postrape: Being a Male Intimate Partner of a Female Rape Victim in Cape Town, South Africa Part III: Evidence-Based Practice: Birth 12. The Place of Birth in Kafa Zone, Ethiopia 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 14. What Are the Factors That Interplay From Normal Pregnancy to Near Miss Maternal Morbidity in a Nigerian Tertiary Healthcare Facility? 15. Comparison Between an Independent Midwifery Program and a District Hospital in Rural Tanzania: Observations Regarding the Treatment of Female Patients 16. Food Beliefs and Practices During Pregnancy in Ghana: Implications for Maternal Health Interventions 17. Occupational Types and Antenatal Care Attendance Among Women in Ghana Part IV: Evidence-Based Policy 18. Modernization and Development: Impact on Health Care Decision-Making in Uganda 19. Policy Strategies to Improve Maternal Health Services Delivery and Outcomes in Anambra State, Nigeria 20. Gender Equality as a Means to Improve Maternal and Child Health in Africa 21. Rethinking How to Promote Maternity Care-Seeking: Factors Associated With Institutional Delivery in Guinea Part V: Adolescent Issues 22. Teenage Sexuality, HIV Risk, and the Politics of Being "Duted": Perceptions and Dynamics in a South African Township 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 24. Effects of a Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Program in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Part VI: Child Bearing Age: Cancer Screening 25. Breast Cancer Screening Among Women of Child-Bearing Age 26. Cervical Cancer in Developing Countries: Effective Screening and Preventive Strategies With an Application in Rwanda Part VII: Child Bearing Age: Family Planning 27. South African Mothers' Coping With an Unplanned Caesarean Section 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 29. "Abortion-It Is My Own Body": Women's Narratives About Influences on Their Abortion Decisions in Ghana 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 31. "Our Hands Are Tied Up": Current State of Safer Conception Services Suggests the Need for an Integrated Care Model 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 33. Grandparents Fostering Orphans: Influences of Protective Factors on Their Health and Well-Being