Crucial Transitions

Principal investigator

Shirish Darak (curriculum vitea)

Supervisors (Academic)

Professor Inge Hutter and Dr Fanny Janssen

Supervisors (Local)

Dr Sanjeevani Kulkarni (Prayas, Pune)

Type of research

PhD research

Collaboration

PRAYAS Health Group, Pune, Maharashtra, India  

Funding

Population Research Centre, Department of Demography, University of Groningen, The Netherlands & Eric Bleumink Fund, University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Period

2008-2013

Objective

The objective of proposed research is to study reproductive health issues of HIV infected women in Maharashtra, India. This will be studied by analyzing the reproductive career of HIV infected women, and the biological and behavioral factors influencing the occurrence and timing of events.

Main Research Questions

1. What is the biological and behavioral effect of HIV on fertility of HIV infected women?

2. Is the fertility of HIV infected women changing over a period of time?

3. What is the sequencing and timing of reproductive events among HIV infected women?

Publications

• Darak S, Janssen F, Hutter I. Fertility among HIV-infected Indian women: the biological effect and its implications. J Biosoc Sci. 2010 Jan;43(1):19-29.
• Orne-Gliemann J, Tchendjou PT, Miric M, Gadgil M, Butsashvili M, Eboko F, Perez-Then E, Darak S, Kulkarni S, Kamkamidze G, Balestre E, du Lou AD, Dabis F. Couple-oriented prenatal HIV counseling for HIV primary prevention: an acceptability study. BMC Public Health. 2010;10:197.
• Kulkarni V, Joshi S, Gupte N, Parchure R, Darak S, Kulkarni S. Declining HIV prevalence among women attending antenatal care in Pune, India. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2011 Jun;105(6):315-9.
• Panditrao M, Darak S, Kulkarni V, Kulkarni S, Parchure R. Socio-demographic factors associated with loss to follow-up of HIV-infected women attending a private sector PMTCT program in Maharashtra, India. AIDS Care. 2011 May;23(5):593-600.
• Darak S, Panditrao M, Parchure R, Kulkarni V, Kulkarni S, Janssen F. Systematic review of public health research on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in India with focus on provision and utilization of cascade of PMTCT services. BMC Public Health, 2012, 12:320.

Reports/Book chapters

• People with HIV: Stigma, Coping and Support Systems-An Insider’s Perspective, Darak S, Kulkarni S, Report published by PRAYAS, 2005.
• Spaces of disclosure and discrimination: case studies from India,Ajay Bailey and Shrinivas Darak in Cross Cultural Perspectives in Stigma, Sage (in Press).

Papers in Progress

• Effect of Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment (HAART) during Pregnancy on Pregnancy Outcomes: Experiences from a PMTCT Program in Maharashtra, India.
• Fertility of HIV infected Indian women over the life course: Does knowledge about HIV status makes a difference?
• Timing and sequencing of reproductive career trajectories of HIV infected women in India.