Faculty Research Grants, 2001-2002

Title:
Using the Internet to Improve the Quality of Contraceptive and Reproductive Health Services in Rural China

Principal Investigators:
Virginia Li, Ph.D. and Roger Detels, Ph.D.

Objective:
This is a joint proposal by the UCLA School of Public Health and the Institute of Health Sciences of Kunming Medical College (IHS), located in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, to improve the quality of contraceptive services, family planning programs, sexually transmitted disease services and services promoting safe motherhood and women health in rural areas of China.

The specific objectives of this study are to: 1) upgrade the quality of family planning and contraceptive programs, sexually transmitted disease services and services promoting safe motherhood in the rural areas by developing, with the IHS, a Reproductive Health Website which will provide up-to-date information on reproductive health issues; 2) disseminate the necessary computer skills to 26 demonstration township health centers through development and evaluation of primary, secondary and tertiary workshops ("train-the-trainers") at the prefectural, county and township level for establishment of basic computer literacy for access to the IHS Reproductive Health Website; 3) develop a team at IHS to assist township health workers in developing strategies to disseminate the knowledge, strategies and policies from the IHS website to the rural residents; and 4) strengthen capacity for long-term institutional collaboration between IHS and the UCLA School of Public Health Bixby Program to enhance reproductive health research and practice in China.

Title:
Exploring the Potential Impact of Preconceptional Care Including Folic Acid Supplementation on Pregnancy Outcomes in Three Countries of the Middle East

Principal Investigator:
Gail Harrison, Ph.D.

Objective:
The study is directed toward the ultimate goal of making a major preventive strategy in reproductive health available in developing countries. The project is focused in three countries in the Middle East, working with the major academic public health centers in the region to accomplish the following specific aims: 1) to document the potential impact that prevention of neural tube defects and other folic acid-sensitive anomalies could have if folic acid supplementation for women who are at high risk of pregnancy were routinely in place; 2) to document the nature and structure of existing prenatal care practices as a basis for expanding standards of care to include preconceptional care; and 3) to lay the basis for further collaborative research in reproductive health in the region.

Bottom row (left to right): Dr. Ahmed Mandil, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University Dr. Michael Lu, UCLA Dr. Hala Tamim, American University of Beirut Dr. Fikrat El-Sahn, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University Dr. Nihad Dabbous, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University Back row (left to right): Dr. Faisal El Kak, American University of Beirut Dr. Osman Galal, UCLA Dr. Gail Harrison, UCLA Dr. Huda Zurayk, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, AUB Dr. Khaled Yunis, American University of Beirut