Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Jul 2010
ReviewFemale genital cosmetic surgery: a critical review of current knowledge and contemporary debates.
Female genital cosmetic surgery procedures have gained popularity in the West in recent years. Marketing by surgeons promotes the surgeries, but professional organizations have started to question the promotion and practice of these procedures. Despite some surgeon claims of drastic transformations of psychological, emotional, and sexual life associated with the surgery, little reliable evidence of such effects exists. ⋯ First, reviewing the published academic work on the topic, it identifies the current state of knowledge around female genital cosmetic procedures, as well as limitations in our knowledge. Second, examining a body of critical scholarship that raises sociological and psychological concerns not typically addressed in medical literature, it summarizes broader issues and debates. Overall, the article demonstrates a paucity of scientific knowledge and highlights a pressing need to consider the broader ramifications of surgical practices. "Today we have a whole society held in thrall to the drastic plastic of labial rejuvenation."( 1 ) "At the present time, the field of female cosmetic genital surgery is like the old Wild, Wild West: wide open and unregulated"( 2 ).
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Journal of women's health · Jul 2010
Examining the diverse perspectives of nurse practitioners regarding obstacles to diaphragm prescription: a latent class analysis.
The diaphragm is receiving renewed attention not only for its dual method potential but also because of improved design. To facilitate method re-introduction, we examined what providers think about this female-controlled barrier contraceptive. ⋯ Emerging statistical modeling approaches that go beyond standard aggregate analyses helped identify three groups of women's health nurse practitioners. By considering their diverse perceptions of potential obstacles to diaphragm use, strategies aimed at changing provider behaviors may be developed to reverse declining prescribing rates and retain the diaphragm as a viable reproductive healthcare option for women.
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Journal of women's health · Jul 2010
Knowledge, preventive action, and barriers to cardiovascular disease prevention by race and ethnicity in women: an American Heart Association national survey.
Racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes and risk factors are well documented, but few data have evaluated population differences in CVD knowledge, preventive action, and barriers to prevention. ⋯ Continued initiatives to improve and translate knowledge into preventive action are needed, especially among less educated and Hispanic women who may activate others to reduce risk.