Applying social science expertise to designing and implementing policies and programs
In a school-based study of adolescents in Malawi, interviewers ask questions using ACASI on handheld PCs. The Population Council has developed or redesigned tools such as ACASI for research.
The Population Council’s social science researchers are experts in population policy and reform, demography, economics, survey methodology and design, statistics, and sociology. We design, test, and evaluate programs—often in collaboration with private health networks, governments, and nongovernmental organizations in developing countries. We provide technical support, inform decisionmakers about effective policies, and assist governments in implementing national programs.
Council researchers have created methodologies to facilitate research, policy development, and program improvement. Staff members have also redesigned tools to allow existing instruments to have new applications in the population and reproductive health fields. Examples include:
- ACASI
Audio computer-assisted self-interviewing is an innovative technology that provides increased privacy and standardization in interviews. The Council has developed its own software to make use of this technology.
- Facts About Adolescents from the Demographic and Health Survey: Statistical Tables for Program Planning
Council researchers have analyzed Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data in a way that clearly illustrates the diversity of adolescents' lives. These analyses are used to improve understanding about the adolescent years and to design interventions.
- HIV Testing, Treatment and Prevention: Generic Tools for Operational Research
This toolkit serves as a basis for formulating research questions and designing an operational research project to address HIV treatment and prevention. Data collection instruments are included.
- HIV/AIDS Operations Research Toolkit
This toolkit provides tools and information for designing HIV-related operations research (OR) studies, from developing research protocols to analyzing and reporting results.
- Operations Research
Operations research (OR) identifies service-delivery problems and tests new programmatic solutions. Data gathered provide program managers and policy decisionmakers with the information they need to improve and expand existing services. The Council's OR work includes testing and evaluating innovative ways to deliver family planning and reproductive health services in developing countries.
- Situation Analysis
Situation Analysis is a methodology developed by Council researchers to pinpoint problems in family planning service delivery.
What's New
Breakthrough in microbicide research: A gel tested by CAPRISA in South Africa indicates that it is safe and effective in reducing the risk of HIV and herpes infections among women participants; confirmatory research is needed. (more) Naomi Rutenberg, Population Council vice president and director of the HIV and AIDS program, discussed the results of the CAPRISA study on PRI's "The Takeaway." (offsite link)
Mahidol University has awarded Council president Peter J. Donaldson an honorary doctorate in demography in recognition of the significant role he has played in the development of population and social science research in Thailand. (more)
A Closer Look: Stories of Impact, the Population Council’s 2009 annual report, is now available. Read first-person accounts and view striking photographs of our lifesaving work around the world. This year we are also featuring a short documentary, slideshows, and podcasts about our projects. (more)
The Population Council celebrates five decades of American women’s access to the birth control pill. The Council continues to work toward improving reproductive health for all through research and testing of an array of reversible contraceptive methods for both men and women. (more)
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