Papers by Yashodhara Rana
AIDS Research and Treatment, 2012
HIV medical care, including antiretroviral therapy (ART), is often successful in restoring physic... more HIV medical care, including antiretroviral therapy (ART), is often successful in restoring physical health and functioning. But in developing countries, HIV medical care is often insufficient to achieve social and economic health, and hence innovative economic support programs are much needed. We conducted semistructured interviews with 30 adults receiving ART and microcredit loans operated by Uganda Cares. Using content analysis, we explored the impact of the microcredit loans on the economic, social, and psychological well-being of respondents. Most respondents indicated that the microcredit loans played a positive role in their lives, helped them to keep their children in school and sustain their families, and improved their self-esteem and status in the community. In addition, we also found significant positive knowledge spill-over and network effects in the program with regard to business management and support. However, more than half of the participants indicated experiencing...
PloS one, 2015
This paper presents one of the first qualitative studies to discuss programmatic barriers to SMS-... more This paper presents one of the first qualitative studies to discuss programmatic barriers to SMS-based interventions for HIV-positive youth and discusses pathways through which youth perceive them to work. We conducted six focus groups with 20 male and 19 female HIV-positive youths in two clinics in Kampala, Uganda. We find that youth commonly use SMS as over 90% of this study's youths knew how to read, write and send messages and almost three-fourths of them had phones. Youth strongly felt that the success of this intervention hinged on ensuring confidentiality about their HIV-positive status. Key programmatic challenges discussed where restrictions on phone use and phone sharing that could exclude some youth. Participants felt that the intervention would improve their adherence by providing them with needed reminders and social support. Youths' suggestions about intervention logistics related to content, frequency, timing and two-way messages will be helpful to practitione...
Gates Open Research
Background: The first Global Nutrition Report in 2014 called for a “data revolution” in nutrition... more Background: The first Global Nutrition Report in 2014 called for a “data revolution” in nutrition, so that countries have the latest data to set priorities and monitor progress. Integral to this revolution is understanding how countries are investing in the data, systems and capacity required to support decision-making around nutrition, i.e. their nutrition data and information system (NDIS). Methods: For this reason, our team conducted a desk review of national nutrition plans for 58 Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) countries to better understand how countries are planning for and estimating the costs of their NDIS. Results: We found that of the SUN national nutrition plans that are publicly accessible, not all are costed and less than half of these have explicit data and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) sections. Of the 19 national plans that had costed data and M&E sections, our initial estimates show costs for data systems ranged from 0.1%-12.8% of total plan costs with limited informa...
Current Developments in Nutrition, Jun 1, 2019
Current Developments in Nutrition
Objectives As nutrition programs become increasingly integrated and multi-sectoral, effectively i... more Objectives As nutrition programs become increasingly integrated and multi-sectoral, effectively implementing evidence-based interventions at scale, and measuring their impact becomes complex. Given this complexity, a framework and analytical method linking multi-sectoral planning, coordination and implementation processes at core program level with their ultimate nutrition impact is a critical tool for understanding what works and why under real world conditions.This study aims to propose a method for adapting an implementation science approach to define and assess effectiveness in the specific context of large, donor-funded, integrated health and nutrition programs. Methods Applying 3 key nutrition implementation frameworks across 5 large-scale integrated programs (SPRING, FANTA, SAFANSI, MCSP and the USAID Advancing Nutrition), we define measures and compare models for effectiveness in complex projects. As part of this effort, we map activities that ensure effectiveness measures a...
Rand health quarterly, Jan 15, 2015
With many service members now returning to the United States from the recent conflicts in Iraq an... more With many service members now returning to the United States from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, concern over adequate access to behavioral health care (treatment for mental, behavioral, or addictive disorders) has risen. Yet data remain very sparse regarding how many service members (and their dependents) reside in locations remote from behavioral health providers, as well as the resulting effect on their access to and utilization of care. Little is also known about the effectiveness of existing policies and other efforts to improve access to services among this population. To help fill these gaps, a team of RAND researchers conducted a geospatial analysis using TRICARE and other data, finding that roughly 300,000 military service members and 1 million dependents are geographically distant from behavioral health care, and an analysis of claims data indicated that remoteness is associated with lower use of specialty behavioral health care. A review of existing policie...
Loans are one component of the economic support activities that represent one of initially three ... more Loans are one component of the economic support activities that represent one of initially three lines of activites-infrastructrure, economic and social activities sponsored under PNPM-Urban Sources: Suryahadi et al (2011); www.ilo.org.
Indonesia has demonstrated substantial gains in economic and social indicators over the past deca... more Indonesia has demonstrated substantial gains in economic and social indicators over the past decade with gradual declines in poverty in both urban and rural areas. Despite these impressive achievements, 13 percent of the population continues to live in poverty with another 40 percent of all households just above the poverty line and vulnerable to falling into poverty. In cities, approximately 18 percent of the population are poor or near poor, representing some 20 million people. As the country urbanizes, this number is expected to increase, surpassing rural poverty by the year 2020. The urban poor in Indonesia have characteristics similar to other countries-they tend to have low education levels, work in the informal sector with low wages, live in low quality housing, lack tenure security, and have lower access to basic services than the non-poor. Subgroups among the urban poor that are particularly vulnerable include recent urban migrants, child laborers, street children and those living in informal settlements. By region, some two thirds of all urban poor live in Java, though the poverty rate in NT is substantially higher. Focus groups carried out in a sample of poor urban communities across Indonesia identified a number of key challenges for residents. Those most frequently mentioned were inadequate incomes, difficulty in finding jobs, and expenses related to schooling. Other themes that came up were poor infrastructure and lack of capital.
With many service members now returning to the United States from the recent conflicts in Iraq an... more With many service members now returning to the United States from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, concern over adequate access to behavioral health care (treatment for mental, behavioral, or addictive disorders) has risen. Yet data remain very sparse regarding how many service members (and their dependents) reside in locations remote from behavioral health providers, as well as the resulting effect on their access to and utilization of care. Little is also known about the effectiveness of existing policies and other efforts to improve access to services among this population. To help fill these gaps, a team of RAND researchers conducted a geospatial analysis using TRICARE and other data, finding that roughly 300,000 military service members and 1 million dependents are geographically distant from behavioral health care, and an analysis of claims data indicated that remoteness is associated with lower use of specialty behavioral health care. A review of existing policies and programs discovered guidelines for access to care, but no systematic monitoring of adherence to those guidelines, limiting their value. RAND researchers recommend implementing a geospatial data portal and monitoring system to track access to care in the military population and mark progress toward improvements in access to care. In addition, the RAND team highlighted two promising pathways for improving access to care among remote military populations: telehealth and collaborative care that integrates primary care with specialty behavioral care.
PloS one, 2015
This paper presents one of the first qualitative studies to discuss programmatic barriers to SMS-... more This paper presents one of the first qualitative studies to discuss programmatic barriers to SMS-based interventions for HIV-positive youth and discusses pathways through which youth perceive them to work. We conducted six focus groups with 20 male and 19 female HIV-positive youths in two clinics in Kampala, Uganda. We find that youth commonly use SMS as over 90% of this study's youths knew how to read, write and send messages and almost three-fourths of them had phones. Youth strongly felt that the success of this intervention hinged on ensuring confidentiality about their HIV-positive status. Key programmatic challenges discussed where restrictions on phone use and phone sharing that could exclude some youth. Participants felt that the intervention would improve their adherence by providing them with needed reminders and social support. Youths' suggestions about intervention logistics related to content, frequency, timing and two-way messages will be helpful to practitione...
BMC Infectious Diseases, 2014
The Journal of Sex Research, 2014
The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with p... more The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions We thank the youth who shared their experiences with us and the service agencies for their collaboration. We also thank Glenn J. Wagner for his invaluable comments in the several drafts of this manuscript.
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Papers by Yashodhara Rana