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Economic Empowerment to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health Among Women and Girls

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Global Perspectives on Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse

Abstract

The economic empowerment of women and girls has become increasingly recognized as an important strategy to reduce gender-based constraints that affect women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health outcomes across the globe. The primary purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of women’s economic empowerment programs and present research related to the effect of these programs on sexual and reproductive health outcomes among women and girls. Findings from the evaluation of economic empowerment programs highlight that changes at the structural level (i.e., addressing economic vulnerability) can improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes among women and girls, often without directly promoting specific health behaviors. Structural level change likely creates a broader impact across populations by reducing economic and social constraints that limit engagement in healthy behaviors and that increase exposure to health threats.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Bianca Devoto, Marianna Torreblanca, and Estela Delado for their help in identifying important literature and Daniel Gawrys for his feedback on the chapter. We would also like to recognize funding support: Elizabeth Reed was supported by grant #K01MH099969 from the National Institute of Mental Health, Brooke West was supported by grant # K01DA041233 from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, and Marissa Salazar was supported by grant #5R25TW00934305 from Fogarty International Center and grant #T32DA023356 from the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Discussion Questions

1. Compare and contrast the different types of economic empowerment programs. Are certain types of programs (e.g., cash transfer vs. voucher) better suited for specific populations?

2. Given the increase in technology use globally, how might economic empowerment programs be tailored to incorporate apps and the use of tablets, social media, or other technology platforms to better deliver programs to improve the health and well-being of women and girls?

3. While some economic empowerment programs have focused on reducing HIV/STI risk, others have focused on reproductive health outcomes. However, many of the same risk factors contribute to both sexual and reproductive health outcomes among women and girls. How might future economic empowerment programs address both sexual and reproductive health?

4. Discuss the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of each of these types of economic empowerment approaches.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Elizabeth Reed & Marissa Salazar

  2. Center on Gender Equity and Health, Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California - San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Elizabeth Reed, Brooke S. West, Marissa Salazar & Ricardo Vera Monroy

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Reed
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  2. Brooke S. West
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  3. Marissa Salazar
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  4. Ricardo Vera Monroy
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Reed .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. San Juan, USA

    Shonali Choudhury

  2. Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

    Jennifer Toller Erausquin

  3. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Mellissa Withers

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Reed, E., West, B.S., Salazar, M., Monroy, R.V. (2018). Economic Empowerment to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health Among Women and Girls. In: Choudhury, S., Erausquin, J., Withers, M. (eds) Global Perspectives on Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60417-6_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60417-6_17

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