"This paper is an attempt to construct cause-deleted life tables [for Iraq]. Certain causes of death were selected to be deleted depending on the outcomes of a sample of 20,947 death certificates which represent 1 out of each 7 registered death events.... The paper reveals that the expectation of life is considerably affected by the hypothetical absence of these causes which leads to the importance of carrying out profound health studies concerning these selected causes of death." (SUMMARY IN ARA)
The UN Organization for Food and Agriculture bureau held a panel discussion during January 16-21, 1993, to stress the importance of the joint relation between population issues, food, and nutrition in the fields of agriculture and rural development. Policymakers and individuals responsible for activities and programs on population, food, nutrition, and rural development in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Yemen, and Sudan participated in the seminar. The seminar was also attended by academic institutions and participants from the ministries of agriculture and health, the National Population Council, and the committees of the countries involved. Synopses of panel proceedings are presented.
The National Population Council (NPC) through the Institutional Development Project (IDP) conducted operations research in Kafr El Sheikh Governorate during 1991 to study the impact of proper training of Raidat Refiat (RR) upon work performance as indicated by the number of contraceptive acceptors and level of contraceptive continuation. An experimental and control group of NPC/RR were compared. The control group received routine training, while the experimental group received routine training as well as competency-based on-the-job training intervention. On-the-job training was found to be more effective than routine pre-service theoretical training in improving the communication capabilities of NPC/RR. On-the-job training improved both the technical skills of NPC/RR in motivating women toward family planning and their administrative skills in record keeping. It also channeled the efforts of NPC/RR toward motivating younger women who have less than three children and those within two years of their last birth. On-the-job training coupled with a specified target to be achieved during training, maximized the capabilities of NPC/RR in confronting cultural, traditional, attitudinal, and local problems which have in the past restricted NPC/RR activities of family planning programs.
This paper reports findings from a study conducted to compare between knowledge and the practice of family planning in lower and upper Egypt. 556 husbands and wives were interviewed in Qualubieya and Menya governorates. The overwhelming majority of husbands and wives had positive attitudes about family planning. 61.3% were current users of contraception, with fatalism and religious beliefs being the leading causes of disagreement of husbands on practicing family planning. Contraceptive prevalence according to region is as follows: urban Qualubieya, 82.5%; urban Menya, 72.6%; rural Qualubieya, 58.5%; and rural Menya, 31.4%. A higher proportion of families in rural areas had more than three children. Ignorance is thought to be the main cause of existing low rates of contraceptive prevalence and low income families are more likely than families with high income to have families with more than three children.
The Regional Training Center (RTC) was established at the OB/GYN Hospital, Ain Shams University, to overcome the shortage of trained service providers in the Egyptian family planning program. Over the past three years, RTC has successfully met the training needs for family planning services in Egypt. As part of the RTC's efforts, nine Satellite Training Centers (STCs) were established to provide quality training for service providers in nine governorates in Egypt. The RTC role in family planning activities is described. A study was conducted to test different teams in the implementation of the RTC follow-up system in three governorates in upper Egypt. The study was a cost-effectiveness analysis designed to determine which team best implements the follow-up system, with the ultimate goal of providing policymakers and program administrators with a better understanding of the role of the follow-up of trainees in providing high quality family planning services. The study was conducted during May-December 1991 using a sample of three STCs. The study produced valuable information for improving training logistics, clinical training, use of audiovisual equipment, record keeping, and overcoming training problems at STCs. The information clearly showed the importance of the follow-up system in providing administrators and decisionmakers with information needed to assess the operations and performance of STCs. Furthermore, the strengths and weaknesses of training at the STCs were revealed, giving useful insights for quality improvement. The use of RTC staff is the most cost-effective approach to follow-up at the STCs.
