Women's Health Commons^™

When The Costs Outweigh The Benefits: Examining Variations In Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex And Elective Cesarean Delivery Rates Across The United States, 2016-2020, Kathleen Tatro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overutilization of cesarean deliveries is a major public health issue in the United States (U.S.). The rates of cesarean deliveries have increased substantially from the mid 1990s. Low-risk, defined as nulliparous, term, singleton, vertex (NTSV) pregnancies with no medical indication of need, and elective cesarean deliveries have been implicated as drivers of these increases. Elective cesarean deliveries are NTSV cesarean deliveries in which no trial of labor was attempted. There is a lack of clear rationale as to the noted increases in cesarean delivery rates as the evidence shows that these procedures provide no additional health benefits to mothers …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Restorative Justice Rehabilitative Services Available In Northeast Tennessee For Mothers Diagnosed With Substance Use Disorder, Claire Roberson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) has plagued families of rural Appalachia for many years, perpetuating involvement in the criminal justice system as well as generational trauma for people diagnosed with SUD and their children. This points to the necessity of a trauma-informed, restorative-justice based framework for rehabilitative services to most effectively heal families, address trauma, and re-integrate people diagnosed with SUD into society. A restorative justice-based program would provide health care services for addiction and any comorbid mental health disorders as well as teach parents how to properly provide for themselves and their families, manage finances, obtain employment, and further education. …

The Effects Of Exercise And Nursing Care On Postpartum Depression, Greyson Whaley

Epsilon Sigma at-Large Research Conference

Abstract

Introduction and Background: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020), “postpartum depression is depression that occurs after having a baby which is more intense and lasts longer than those of “baby blues,” a term used to describe the worry, sadness, and tiredness many women experience after having a baby.” It also states, “1 in 8 women report symptoms of depression after giving birth, about 1 in 5 (20%) women were not asked about depression during a prenatal visit, and over half (50%) of pregnant women with depression were not treated.”

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this …

A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Abortion Attitudes And Perceptions Among Women Living In Alabama And South Carolina, Anthony Peluso

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Legal induced abortion is a safe option for terminating a pregnancy for women of reproductive age in the United States (U.S.), though access has varied since the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton cases in 1973. Information is lacking on women’s attitudes toward and perceptions of abortion as well as on related constructs such as pregnancy attitudes and contraceptive use. Exploring these constructs is important in that it can provide much needed context to women’s reproductive life planning. This research aimed to explore perceptions of abortion access and safety and examine the potential associations between attitudes toward abortion access …

The Role Of Non-Neuronal Acetylcholine In Urogenital Chlamydial Infection, Jessica R. Lockhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chlamydia trachomatiscauses a bacterial sexually transmitted infection, Chlamydia, that is often chronic and casues reproductive complications in women. We hypothesized that Chlamydia infection increases local acetylcholine (ACh) production, which regulates the host’s inflammatory response to the infection. Female mice infected with C. muridarumwere sacrificed at days 3, 9, 15, and 21 post-infection, genital tract tissues harvested, and immunohistochemistry performed to enumerate ACh-producing cells. Infection increased the number of ACh-producing cells in cervical tissue at days 3,15, and 21 post-infection (pi), uterine tissue at day 3 and 9 pi, and ovarian tissue day 3, 15, and 21 pi. These …

Combining Community-Engaged Research With Group Model Building To Address Racial Disparities In Breast Cancer Mortality And Treatment, Faustine Williams, Graham Colditz, Peter Hovamd, Sarah Gehlert

ETSU Faculty Works

Although patterns of African American and white women breast cancer incidence and mortality in St. Louis, Missouri is consistent with those seen elsewhere in the United States, rates vary greatly across zip codes within the city of St. Louis. North St. Louis, whose neighborhoods are primarily African American, exhibits rates of breast cancer mortality that are among the highest in the city and higher than the state as a whole. Based on information that up to 50% of women in North St. Louis with a suspicious diagnosis of breast cancer never enter treatment, we conducted three 2-hour group model building …

Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Appalachian Spouses Of Combat Veterans With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Janice E. Greene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to identify gaps in existing knowledge regarding impacts of combat-related PTSD on the spouse and to gain an understanding of the lived experience of Appalachian Spouses of combat veterans with PTSD. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify research and findings on the impacts of combat-related PTSD on spouses of veterans and a qualitative study was conducted to gain an understanding of the lives of Appalachian spouses of combat veterans with PTSD.

The systematic review identified 16 qualitative studies conducted between 1988 and 2016 in five countries spanning five wars. Regardless of the country of …

Correlates Of Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Vaccine Acceptance In Appalachian Tennessee, Oluwatosin Ariyo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., where one HPV-related cancer is diagnosed every 20 minutes. The most common HPV-related cancer is cervical cancer, with an estimated incidence of 12,000 cases annually, a third of which lead to death. Cervical cancer disparately affects women of ethnic minority groups and geographically isolated regions, such as Appalachia. Tennessee ranks third highest in cervical cancer incidence in the country. Many cases of cervical cancer could be prevented through vaccination against HPV, however, vaccination rates for females in Tennessee are among the lowest in the country. This mixed-methods …

Disparities In Breast Cancer Stage At Diagnosis: Importance Of Race, Poverty, And Age, Faustine Williams, Emmanuel Thompson

ETSU Faculty Works

This study investigated the association of race, age, and census tract area poverty level on breast cancer stage at diagnosis. The study was limited to women residing in Missouri, aged 18 years and older, diagnosed with breast cancer, and whose cases were reported to the Cancer Registry between 2003 and 2008. The risk, relative risk, and increased risk of late-stage at diagnosis by race, age, and census tract area poverty level were computed. We found that the odds of late-stage breast cancer among African-American women were higher when compared with their white counterpart (OR 1.433; 95% CI, 1.316, 1.560). In …

Geographical Location And Stage Of Breast Cancer Diagnosis: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Faustine Williams, Aimee S. James, Stephen Jeanetta

ETSU Faculty Works

Objective: To examine systematically the literature on the effect of geographical location variation on breast cancer stage at diagnosis, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

Methods. Eight electronic databases were searched using combination of key words. Of the 312 articles retrieved from the search, 36 studies from 12 countries were considered eligible for inclusion.

Results. This review identified 17 (47%) of 36 studies in which breast cancer patients residing in geographically remote/rural areas had more late-stage diagnosis than urban women. Ten (28%) studies reported higher proportions of women diagnosed with breast cancer resided in urban than rural counties. Nine …

Women And Healthcare In Appalachia: Impeding Circumstance And The Role Of Technology, Ashley Cano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, healthcare access and quality in central and southern Appalachia have trailed the rest of the country. Entrenched poverty and low educational attainment compound healthcare problems. This study examines the healthcare obstacles women encounter in southern and central Appalachia and analyzes how technology use, such as Internet searching and social media affect women’s healthcare decisions. Data were analyzed from four focus groups conducted with women from the region. Results indicate that seeing a physician or not did not influence women’s propensity to search the Internet for health-related information or to seek support through social media sites. Additionally, women reported …

Psychological And Sociocultural Influences Of Current And Historical Intimate Partner Violence In Pregnancy, Cindy D. Phillips

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1.5 million women are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) each year, and 324,000 of these women are pregnant (2013). Research on the predictability of certain factors and their relationship to current and historical IPV is limited. In order to better understand IPV as it related to a sample of 1,016 Appalachian pregnant women selected for the Tennessee Interventions for Pregnant Smokers (TIPS), it was important to evaluate various influences that may predict the prevalence of IPV in this population when compared to the State of Tennessee and the U.S. …

Addressing Racial Disparities In Breast Cancer Treatment Delays: An Application Of Group Model Building (Gmb), Faustine Williams, Nancy Zoellner, Maisha Flannel, L. Noel, J. Habif, P. Hovmand, Sarah Gehlert

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Exercise Participation During Weight Loss On A High Protein – Low Carbohydrate Diet Plan In Females Aged 15-25 Years, Margaret Mobley-Meulman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Obese adults have an increased risk for serious health conditions including high blood pressure and cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and certain cancers (National Cancer Institute, 2012). Participation in exercise can help control weight, strengthen muscles and bones, and reduce the incidence of cardiac events, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, colon and breast cancers, osteoporotic fractures, gallbladder disease, obesity, depression, anxiety, and delay mortality …