Georgetown University Med Center reproductive health researchers tackle public health concerns

Involving men in family planning, partner communication about sex and sexual health, and tailoring teen specific reproductive health services are among the cutting-edge topics being presented by researchers from Georgetown University's Institute for Reproductive Health at the American Public Health Association's 136th Annual Meeting Oct. 25-29 in San Diego – the world's largest public health gathering. Widely known for its development of the highly effective Standard Days Method® of natural family planning and the natural family planning visual aid, CycleBeads®, the Institute has been engaged in the reproductive field for over two decades.

More than 750,000 women worldwide now use Institute-developed modern natural family planning methods. The studies being presented at the APHA meeting focus on women and men from the United States as well as from many of the two dozen other countries where the Institute for Reproductive Health works, often in conjunction with local governments and family planning agencies.

The Institute for Reproductive Health is dedicated to helping women and men make informed choices about family planning and providing them with simple and effective natural options. As part of the Georgetown University Medical Center's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Institute conducts research to develop natural methods of family planning and tests them in various service delivery settings.

Among the Institute for Reproductive Health presentations at the APHA meeting:

• Reaching Men When They are Not Present

• Teen Quizzes: A Springboard for Partner Communication about Sex and Sexual Health

• "It Takes Two"… Or Does It? ]Improving Partner Communication and Increasing Fertility Awareness]

• It Takes A Village: Community Workers Increase Birth Spacing Knowledge and Use in India

• Promoting Gender Equity by Expanding Family Planning Choice Through Fertility Awareness-based Methods: Experiences from Guatemala, Peru, and India

At the close of the meeting, Rebecka Lundgren, MPH, deputy director and director of research at the Institute for Reproductive Health, will assume the chair of the Population, Family Planning, and Reproductive Health Section of the APHA.

Source: Georgetown University Medical Center