Participatory Approaches and Reproductive Health among Disadvantaged Youth in Nepal

Anju Malhotra, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
Sanyukta Mathur, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)

Expanding social inequalities in developing countries like Nepal are reflected in the poor health care and system access by disadvantaged communities. How can community members be equipped to use their resources and authority for maximum communal benefit? Participatory programs that involve and engage the beneficiaries might be important channels for reducing advantage-based differentials - empowerment and accountability. In this paper, we present findings from a community-based quasi-experimental study testing the effectiveness of participatory approaches in improving reproductive health outcomes for disadvantaged youth in Nepal. We examine social and economic disadvantage and how they interact and impact on three key dependent variables for reproductive health, especially for young people: prenatal care, institutional delivery, and knowledge of HIV and AIDS. Our results indicate that as compared to the non-participatory approach, participation and involvement of the community and beneficiaries was more successful in reducing advantage-based differentials in youth reproductive health outcomes.