Reproductive Health Epidemiology

Epidemiology investigates the distribution and determinants of disease in human populations. Epidemiologic skills can be used to better understand the cause of a medical condition and how it can be prevented, or its prevalence in a population and the urgency with which it needs to be addressed. DRH has expertise in a broad range of reproductive health epidemiology topics including the following:

• Family planning.
• Contraceptive safety and efficacy.
• Maternal morbidity and mortality.
• Perinatal and infant health.
• Adolescent sexual behavior.
• Domestic violence.
• HIV/STDs.
• Population-based reproductive health surveys.

Reproductive Health Epidemiology Workshop

CDC's Division of Reproductive Health has developed an international Reproductive Health Epidemiology Workshop for clinicians, researchers, public health professionals, and other persons who want to conduct surveillance and epidemiologic studies in reproductive and maternal and child health. The workshop takes place in a host’s country and is adapted to the participants’ special interests, geographic region, resources, and time limitations. Host organizations include Ministries of Health, Schools of Public Health, Schools of Medicine, and other interested institutions.

Training modules are available online for public health professionals.

CDC does not fund Reproductive Health Epidemiology Workshops. To request information or discuss possible sources of funding, to receive a copy of the manual, or to request technical assistance in reproductive health epidemiology, contact CDC or a health, population, or nutrition officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development in your country.

Reproductive Health Epidemiology Technical Assistance

DRH staff can provide technical assistance in investigating reproductive health problems, developing or improving surveillance systems for monitoring reproductive health diseases or conditions, and using data to recommend actions to improve reproductive health. Examples of technical assistance include an investigation of missing IUD strings among women in Bangladesh, assistance in analyzing and interpreting maternal mortality data in Honduras, technical assistance in developing and implementing a maternal mortality surveillance system in El Salvador, and helping to strengthen the maternal and perinatal care surveillance system in Moldova.