Women's Health Commons^™

Preventive Health Service Use Among Rural Women, Erika C. Ziller Phd, Jennifer D. Lenardson Mhs, Nathan Paluso Mph, Jaclyn Janis Bsn, Rn

Access / Insurance

Preventive health services and screenings are an important component in the continuum of care provided to individuals across all ages. Yet, research has shown that rural residents generally use fewer preventive health services and screenings. This study used the National Health Interview Survey to examine receipt of preventive health services (cholesterol check, fasting blood sugar test, mammogram, pap smear, and receipt of the HPV vaccine) by rural and urban women over the age of 18. Findings indicate that rural women were less likely than their urban peers to receive preventive health services, and that some of the differences may be …

Women And Hiv: Understanding And Addressing Stigma—Evidence From The Population Council, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

Over the last 20 years, the Population Council has carried out extensive work examining the intersection of stigma and gender and its impact on HIV-related outcomes. This brief summarizes key Population Council findings from a range of studies which elucidate the experiences of stigma among women and highlights avenues for addressing stigma to mitigate women’s risk and burden of HIV.

Developing An Evidence-Based Hiv Testing Message For Young African American Women, Melanie P. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

African American women have the highest rates of HIV infection among women of all racial/ethnic groups in the United States, and over 50% of HIV infected young adults are unaware of their infection. HIV testing is a cost-effective mechanism for reducing HIV transmission. Despite this, limited research has been devoted to developing interventions specifically promoting HIV testing. This two-part study proposed to address this gap through developing a culturally tailored HIV testing message aimed at increasing HIV test intentions among young African American women. Study 1 was a quantitative study that examined predictors of HIV testing history and future HIV …

Access To Care And The Use Of Healthcare Services By Women In Rural Cameroon: A Participatory Action Research Study, Grace Tadzong-Awasum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Women in rural Cameroon do not access health care as timeously and as often as they should. They fail to get screened for common diseases, with the consequence that such diseases are often diagnosed at a very advanced stage. This accounts for the high morbidity and mortality rates as well as low life expectancy recorded among women. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the health access experiences of women in rural Cameroon. Methodology: Participatory action research was used guided by a Focused ethnography in phase one. Twenty-five women aged 21-77 years were recruited through local the …

Patient Barriers For Weight Management Among African American Women, Owen Bowie, Jennifer Kusch, George L. Morris Iii, Tracy Flood, Jessica Gill, Renee E. Walker, Ron A. Cisler, Jennifer T. Fink

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: The primary aim of this study was to assess the perceptions of local African American women who are overweight or obese using semi-structured focus groups to identify barriers to weight management and factors that support strategy success. The secondary aim of this study was to determine recommendations for patient-centered weight management interventions established specifically for African American women in the Milwaukee-area community.

Methods: Three semi-structured focus groups to explore barriers to weight management were performed among women patients. Participants (N = 41) were recruited via email, postal mail, and phone as available from an academic medical center in Milwaukee, …

Pornography As A Public Health Issue: Promoting Violence And Exploitation Of Children, Youth, And Adults, Elisabeth Taylor

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The pornography industry is expanding exponentially as a result of ongoing technological advances. The ability to stream videos over the internet and the ubiquity of the smart phone have meant that pornography producers are able to use algorithms to target potential consumers, to cultivate new sexual tastes and to deliver content to a more diverse audience over mobile devices. The advent of virtual reality pornography with interactive sex toys and sex robots imbued with artificial intelligence promises to unleash a further step-change in the extent to which pornography influences ‘real-world’ sexual culture. The critical analysis of pornography undertaken over decades …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Spirituality And Coping Responses Among Women With A Visual Impairment, Sandra Marie Bullins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine coping responses, specifically by women, and the relationship between those coping responses and a woman’s self-reported spirituality. The sample was comprised of women (n = 175) from the United States and 10 foreign countries. The results of a correlational analysis showed a strong positive relationship (r= 0.46, p<0.0001) between scores on the Spirituality Assessment Scale (SAS) and the Brief Cope (BC). There were also statistically significant correlations among subscales of the SAS and BC subscales. A multivariate analysis of variance was performed to evaluate the impact that select demographic variables might have on spirituality and coping responses. The results of the MANOVA showed no effect and were not statistically significant at alpha 0.1.

Women's Experiences Of Mistreatment During Childbirth: A Comparative View Of Home- And Facility-Based Births In Pakistan, Waqas Hameed, Bilal Iqbal Avan

Community Health Sciences

Introduction: Respectful and dignified healthcare is a fundamental right for every woman. However, many women seeking childbirth services, especially those in low-income countries such as Pakistan, are mistreated by their birth attendants. The aim of this epidemiological study was to estimate the prevalence of mistreatment and types of mistreatment among women giving birth in facility- and home-based settings in Pakistan in order to address the lack of empirical evidence on this topic. The study also examined the association between demographics (socio-demographic, reproductive history and empowerment status) and mistreatment, both in general and according to birth setting (whether home- or facility-based). …

Facilitating Factors And Barriers To Weight Management In Women: Physician Perspectives, Renee E. Walker, Jennifer Kusch, Jennifer T. Fink, David A. Nelson, George Morris Iii, Jessica Skalla, Ron A. Cisler

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: The complexity of addressing overweight and obesity in women has been an ongoing public health and health care challenge. While the mechanism for addressing overweight and obesity in women remains unclear, it has been speculated that disparities in overweight and obesity by race and gender contribute to the complexity. The purpose of the present study was to examine perceptions of primary care physicians when discussing weight management with their patients.

Methods: We conducted focus group discussions exploring facilitators and barriers to discussing weight management and weight loss among women patients. Participants included 18 family medicine and internal medicine physicians …

Online Support Group For Chinese Women With Ovarian Or Cervical Cancer, Yuan Xing

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Women with gynecological (GYN) cancer experience a wide spectrum of physical, emotional and social effects after diagnosis and treatment of their cancer. The insufficient availability of local support groups, limited transportation for the rural Chinese population and a shortage of oncologists make it difficult to have face-to-face support groups for Chinese GYN cancer patients. However, the wide access of Internet has provided an opportunity for people to have online support groups. The purpose of this study was to observe and describe the types of support given to and by Chinese GYN cancer survivors in a QQ chat group. This was …

Why Women Suffer Domestic Violence In Silence: Web-Based Responses To A Blog, Salima Farooq, Tazeen Saeed Ali, Yasmin Parpio, Nasreen Lalani, Muecke Marjorie

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background & Aim: Domestic violence (DV) is a global socio-cultural concern faced by a majority of women. DV has a negative impact on women’s social, physical, and psychological wellbeing. Objective was to explore perceptions regarding contributing factors to domestic violence among women.
Methods & Materials: A qualitative descriptive exploratory method was applied for the study. Purposive sampling was used to select participants through emails to respond to the web based blog created for the study. 41 worldwide participants shared their perceptions through the blogs in the study. The data were collected using a web-based discussion forum on the Urban Women …

Partner Relationships And Injection Sharing Practices Among Rural Appalachian Women, Michele Staton, Justin C. Strickland, Martha Tillson, Carl Leukefeld, J. Matthew Webster, Carrie B. Oser

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background—The role of relationships in initiating and maintaining women’s risk behaviors has been established. However, understanding factors that may underlie partner relationships and women’s risky drug use, particularly in rural contexts, is limited. This study is the first to examine the association between injecting partners and women’s risky injection practices as a function of relationship power perception.

Methods—Female participants were recruited from three rural jails in the Appalachian region. Women were randomly selected, provided informed consent, and screened for study eligibility criteria. This cross-sectional analysis focuses on women who inject drugs (WWID) during the year before entering jail …

Outdoor Leisure Occupation: The Impact Of Women’S Fear Of Violence On Engagement And Enjoyment, Jaclyn Bria, Sophia Kon, Malia Norman, Alina Pulfrey, Zachary Schafer, Heather Miller-Kuhaneck

Occupational Therapy Graduate Publications

Limited research examines the types of outdoor leisure that women like to do and the specific impact of fear for safety on their engagement in and enjoyment of outdoor leisure occupations.

Risk Differences Between Elderly Men And Women Toward Doctor-Diagnosed Diabetes Mellitus In Urban Areas In Indonesia: 2013 National Basic Health Research Data, Meiwita Budiharsana

Kesmas

Diabetes melitus (DM) adalah salah satu penyakit tidak menular yang paling umum di Indonesia. DM disebabkan berbagai faktor risiko. Peningkatan prevalensi DM salah satunya disebabkan oleh perubahan gaya hidup di perkotaan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji perbedaan prevalensi DM yang didiagnosis dokter pada laki-laki dan perempuan usia 15 tahun keatas yang tinggal di daerah perkotaan di Indonesia. Analisis menggunakan data sekunder Riset Kesehatan Dasar (Riskesdas) 2013 dengan desain studi potong lintang. Total sampel sebanyak 333.731 responden. Metode analisis menggunakan regresi logistik ganda. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa DM yang didiagnosis dokter pada laki-laki dan perempuan usia 15-39 tahun di perkotaan tidak berbeda. …

Serious Mental Illness Among Young Adult Women Who Use Drugs In The Club Scene: Co-Occurring Biopsychosocial Factors, Maayan Lawental, Hilary L. Surratt, Mance E. Buttram, Steven P. Kurtz

Center for Health Services Research Faculty Publications

Young women who regularly attend nightclubs are at risk for numerous health and social consequences, including mental distress, sexual and physical victimization and substance dependence. This paper uses a biopsychosocial framework to examine co-occurring mental health problems, victimization, substance dependence, sexual risk and physical pain among a sample of young women who use drugs (N = 222) in Miami’s club scene. The majority of women were under 24 years old, Hispanic, and identified as heterosexual. Almost all the women reported past 90-day use of alcohol, ecstasy/MDMA, marijuana, cocaine and prescription opioids and benzodiazepines; 32% of women reported being in a …

Health Care Standards For Incarcerated Women In Massachusetts, Beth Williams-Breault

Community of Scholars Day—Posters

The general health care disparities among incarcerated women are vast, although when women are imprisoned, they gain a constitutional right to health care that doesn’t exist outside of prison. However, no federal government body has established national standards for medical care in prisons. This research project serves as a public health policy memo to the Bureau of Child, Adolescent, and Family Health of the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) recommending accreditation standards for county and state correctional facilities for women.

The Effects Of A Brief Yoga Intervention On Psychologic And Physiologic Measures In Women Recovering From Substance Abuse Disorders, Robi C. Hopp

DNP Projects

Women are the fastest-growing population experiencing substance use disorders (SUDs) in the United States. Multiple barriers e.g., mental health disorders, reduced self-efficacy, lack of social support have been identified and negatively impact acute and sustainable recovery efforts. The aim of this project was to evaluate the effects of yoga on mood status, biometrics, and self-efficacy toward yoga in a cohort at The Next Door, a substance abuse treatment center for women only. This was a quasi-experimental research approach with 14 women completing a total of 8 weekly yoga sessions over a ten-week period. Appropriate demographic data was collected. Measurements were …

Advocating Corporate Policy Change On Women's Health And Family Planning: Lessons From The Environmental Movement, Matthew Mcfall, Carolyn Rodehau, David Wofford

Reproductive Health

This brief presents key lessons from the environmental movement on effective strategies for driving changes in corporate policies and practices and creating new mechanisms for holding businesses accountable for environmental impacts. Corporate policies and voluntary and “soft law” standards may be unfamiliar to many women’s health advocates, but they are likely to have increasing importance in the years to come. The global health community can learn from the experience of environmentalists on how to engage businesses on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards and corporate practices around women’s health. The brief offers six recommendations for moving forward.

Reducing Violence Against Women And Girls In India: Lessons From The Do Kadam Programme, K.G. Santhya, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

A key challenge underlying the gap between policy and program commitments in India and the reality of women’s lives is the dearth of evidence on what works and what does not work to change notions of masculinity and femininity, reverse norms at the community level that condone marital violence, and reduce women’s experience of intimate partner violence. The Do Kadam Barabari Ki Ore (Two Steps Towards Equality) program aimed to fill this evidence gap. Do Kadam was implemented by the Population Council, the Centre for Catalyzing Change, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, with support from the …

Method-Specific Attributes That Influence Choice Of Future Contraception Among Married Women In Nairobi’S Informal Settlements, Joyce Mumah, John B. Casterline, Kazuyo Machiyama, Marylene Wamukoya, Caroline W. Kabiru, John C. Cleland

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of The Herhealth Model For Improving Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights Knowledge And Access Of Female Garment Factory Workers In Bangladesh, Md. Irfan Hossain, Abdullah Al Mahmud Shohag, Ashish Bajracharya, Ubaidur Rob, Laura Reichenbach

Reproductive Health

The Population Council, under its USAID-funded Evidence Project, partnered with Bangladesh’s Business for Social Responsibility program to conduct operational research to evaluate the effectiveness of the HERhealth model for improving female factory workers’ health, and to find ways to optimize program inputs and processes to support future scale-up of the intervention. This report presents findings from a pre- and post-intervention quantitative study of female factory workers from 10 factories; a qualitative study with factory managers, service providers, and implementing partners; and self-administered retention assessments of the Peer Health Educators from six factories in Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj districts. Findings from …

Evaluation Of The Herhealth Intervention In Bangladesh: Baseline Findings From An Implementation Research Study, Md. Irfan Hossain, Abdullah Al Mahmud Shohag, Ashish Bajracharya, Ubaidur Rob, Laura Reichenbach

Reproductive Health

The Business for Social Responsibility's (BSR) HERproject is a collaborative initiative that strives to empower low-income women working in global supply chains in 14 countries worldwide. One of the HERproject’s three pillars is HERhealth, which seeks to improve the health-related knowledge and behaviors, and access to health services and products, of low-income working women. In Bangladesh, HERhealth specifically addresses reproductive health and family planning needs. BSR asked the Evidence Project/Population Council to conduct an implementation science study assessing the effectiveness of BSR’s HERhealth model in Bangladesh. This study is one of the first studies of female garment workers in Dhaka …

Garment Sector Health Interventions In Cambodia: A Comprehensive Review, Molyaneth Heng, Ashish Bajracharya

Reproductive Health

As part of the WorkerHealth project, the Evidence Project/Population Council conducted a comprehensive review of garment sector health interventions, particularly reproductive health (RH) and family planning (FP)–focused projects, in Cambodia during the last five years. The results from the review support WorkerHealth’s objective of enabling evidence-based decisionmaking and programming related to the health and well-being of female garment factory workers in Cambodia, by documenting the range of garment sector health interventions and identifying best practices and gaps in programming and evaluation. This review identified a number of priority actions for current and future garment sector health interventions to consider in …

Health Needs, Health Seeking Pathways, And Drivers Of Health Seeking Behaviors Of Female Garment Factory Workers In Cambodia: Findings From A Qualitative Study In Phnom Penh And Kandal Provinces, Population Council, The Evidence Project

Reproductive Health

Existing information on Cambodian garment factory workers’ (GFWs) barriers to health services has generally come from project implementation documents or general baseline studies of these projects, rather than independent, rigorous studies that specifically examine the health needs and health-seeking behaviors of workers. Since previous studies did not include specific indicators related to workers’ health needs and health-seeking behaviors, they cannot offer a complete picture of these important issues. To fill this critical knowledge gap, in partnership with the National Institute of Public Health, the Evidence Project/Population Council conducted a formative qualitative study under the USAID-funded WorkerHealth project to improve the …

Married Young Women And Girls' Family Planning And Maternal Heath Preferences And Use In Ethiopia, Aparna Jain, Elizabeth Tobey, Hussein Ismail, Annabel Erulkar

Reproductive Health

Married young women and girls are the primary users of youth-centered sexual and reproductive health services in Ethiopia and, given the health risks associated with early and closely-spaced pregnancies, represent an especially important population to reach with sexual and reproductive health services. This brief looks specifically at the needs and preferences for family planning and reproductive health services among married young women and girls, with recommendations for how to more effectively ensure that they have access to those services.

Workplace Health And The Garment Sector In Cambodia, Bunmey Yat, Carolyn Rodehau, David Wofford, Ashish Bajracharya

Reproductive Health

In Cambodia, there has been considerable investment in improving the well-being of factory workers. Understanding the key stakeholders and their roles in improving worker health is essential for policy change and ensuring that interventions achieve sustainable, long-term impact in and around the workplace. This policy brief presents selected findings from a stakeholder and situational analysis undertaken by the Cambodia Worker Health Coalition (WorkerHealth) to understand the stakeholder landscape and policy environment for women’s health in the garment industry in Cambodia, with the objective of identifying leading stakeholders and their relationships, as well as strategies and opportunities for collaboration. Collaboration and …

The Benefits And Concerns Of Veganism In Women's Health, Elisa R. Hester

Senior Honors Theses

There are many health benefits of consuming a vegan diet. It is associated with a decreased incidence of obesity, cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes, and a variety of cancers. Despite its numerous benefits, there are several concerns for consumers of a vegan diet, including nutrient deficiency and cardiovascular risk associated with consumption of coconut oil. However, many nutrients of highest concern, such as calcium and protein, are not needed in as high amounts as is commonly believed and recommended. Moreover, it is possible for vegans to obtain adequate nutrition with proper education despite restriction of animal products. Coconut oil consumption …

Experiences Of Postpartum Women In One Residential Treatment Facility For Substance Use Disorders: A Qualitative Case Study, Rebecca Jo Williams

Online Theses and Dissertations

A growing opioid crisis in the United States has sparked a need for gender-specific research and treatment to address unmet needs and promote positive health outcomes for both women and children. The primary purpose of this research is to provide insight into the experiences and perceptions of postpartum women with substance use disorders receiving care at one residential treatment facility. Two women, aged 22 and 27 years old, participated in semi-structured interviews designed to elicit perceptions about barriers to treatment, the value of various programs, the role of physical, social, and temporal contexts in treatment, and beliefs about the effect …

A Potential Tool For Clinicians; Evaluating A Computer-Led Dietary Assessment Method In Overweight And Obese Women During Weight Loss, Adrianne Widaman, Nancy Keim, Dustin Burnett, Beverly Miller, Megan Witbracht, Keith Widaman, Kevin Laugero

Faculty Publications

Many Americans are attempting to lose weight with the help of healthcare professionals. Clinicians can improve weight loss results by using technology. Accurate dietary assessment is crucial to effective weight loss. The aim of this study was to validate a computer-led dietary assessment method in overweight/obese women. Known dietary intake was compared to Automated Self-Administered 24-h recall (ASA24) reported intake in women (n = 45), 19–50 years, with body mass index of 27–39.9 kg/m2. Participants received nutrition education and reduced body weight by 4%–10%. Participants completed one unannounced dietary recall and their responses were compared to actual intake. Accuracy of …

Sexual Behavior And Substance Use Among Women Across The Spectrum Of Sexual Orientation, Margaret M. Wolff

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Compared to non-sexual minority women, sexual minority women are at greater risk for substance use and abuse, sexual risk behaviors, and unplanned teen pregnancy; few studies measure differing associations by sexual orientation (e.g., identity, behavior, attraction) or discordance (e.g., heterosexually-identified women with female partners) components. Minority stress may explain sexual minority women’s health disparities; thus, as U.S. policies evolve to reflect growing acceptance of all sexual minorities, research should examine sexual minority women’s health risk behaviors using multidimensional constructs of sexual orientation.

Methods: Using the female sample of the 2002-2013 National Survey of Family Growth (Aims 1-2 n=25,523; …