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Biomedical subjects

M Berer

Publications and source records attributed to M Berer.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Microbicides 2000: report of an international conference, 13-16 March, Washington DC.

'Microbicide' is the name for a number of new products currently under research which could become a new class of barrier method for use in the vagina and rectum for protection against HIV, prevention and/or treatment of other sexually transmitted diseases and/or act as a contraceptive. This is a summary report of this scientific conference, at which basic science, clinical trial efficacy and design, and ethical, behavioural and public health issues were on the agenda. There are many potential products but few have yet got beyond Phase I clinical trials. There is not likely to be an approved and available product for 5-10 years at best; finding a balance of low toxicity with high efficacy is the major challenge, given how rapidly HIV infection actually infects tissue. Phase III clinical trials of these products require new protocols and procedures. It was urged by many, and underscored by HIV positive women who were present that clinical trials must be treated as an opportunity to promote a total prevention package--STD treatment, voluntary HIV testing and counselling, condom use, practising safer sex--plus microbicides and contraception. Identifying effective products and making them available as soon as possible were obviously also a priority. How to do this--ethically and scientifically--were the main subject of the meeting.

Administration, Rectal↗
PubMed2000

HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health at AIDS 2000, Durban.

The 13th International AIDS Conference in Durban was a milestone in many ways, the most important being that it took place in southern Africa and brought together many more people from the African region with others from developing countries internationally than any previous conference. This should be repeated often and soon. For women, however, reproductive and sexual health issues were by and large not visible on the main conference agenda, except for prevention of mother-to-child transmission and sexually transmitted disease (STD) interventions, including STD prevalence, efforts at treatment and the effects of treatment on HIV transmission. An analysis of all the abstracts on the conference CD-Rom (including both presentations and posters, a total of almost 5,000 abstracts), using 25 reproductive and sexual health keywords, turned up much valuable work, and some new developments worth knowing about. These are summarised here, followed by condensed versions of some of the most interesting abstracts.

Family Planning Services↗
PubMed2000

Making abortions safe: a matter of good public health policy and practice.

Globally, abortion mortality accounts for at least 13% of all maternal mortality. Unsafe abortion procedures, untrained abortion providers, restrictive abortion laws and high mortality and morbidity from abortion tend to occur together. Preventing mortality and morbidity from abortion in countries where these remain high is a matter of good public health policy and medical practice, and constitutes an important part of safe motherhood initiatives. This article examines the changes in policy and health service provision required to make abortions safe. It is based on a wide-ranging review of published and unpublished sources. In order to be effective, public health measures must take into account the reasons why women have abortions, the kind of abortion services required and at what stages of pregnancy, the types of abortion service providers needed, and training, cost and counselling issues. The transition from unsafe to safe abortions demands the following: changes at national policy level; abortion training for service providers and the provision of services at the appropriate primary level health service delivery points; and ensuring that women access these services instead of those of untrained providers. Public awareness that abortion services are available is a crucial element of this transition, particularly among adolescent and single women, who tend to have less access to reproductive health services generally.

Abortion, Legal↗
PubMed1999

Reducing perinatal HIV transmission in developing countries through antenatal and delivery care, and breastfeeding: supporting infant survival by supporting women's survival.

In 1998, a joint UNAIDS/UNICEF/WHO working group announced an initiative to pilot test an intervention to reduce perinatal transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), based on new guidelines on HIV and infant feeding. This intervention for developing countries includes short-course perinatal zidovudine (AZT) treatment and advice to HIV-positive women not to breastfeed their infants, where this can be done safely. The present paper raises questions about the extent of the public health benefit of this intervention, even though it may be cost-effective, due to the limited capacity of antenatal and delivery services to implement it fully. It argues that it is necessary to provide universal access to replacement feeding methods and support in their safe use, not only for women who have tested HIV-positive during pregnancy, but also for untested women who may also decide not to breastfeed, some of whom may be infected with HIV or may acquire HIV during the breastfeeding period. It further argues that additional funding, more staff, staff training, and improved capacity and resources are also needed to integrate this intervention successfully into antenatal and delivery care. The intervention will prevent some infants from getting HIV even in the absence of many of these changes. However, a comprehensive approach to HIV prevention and care in developing countries that includes both women and infants would promote better health and survival of women, which would in turn contribute to greater infant health and survival. If combination antiretroviral therapy in the latter part of pregnancy and/or during the breastfeeding period can be shown to be safe for infants, preliminary evidence suggests that it might reduce perinatal HIV transmission as effectively as the current intervention and, in addition, might allow the practice of breastfeeding to be preserved.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed1992

Raising awareness about reproductive morbidity.

Lack of awareness of the extent and effect of reproductive morbidity on the health and quality of life of women in developing countries is evident at national, community and individual levels. Raising awareness at national level requires population-based, epidemiological information which must be validated. At community level, public opinion mediates women's actions when they are sick and fear of social consequences provides a barrier to treatment. Individually, women find it difficult to talk about sexual reproductive health and its management. Methodologies currently being developed for raising awareness at all levels are described.

Awareness↗