Journal of women's health
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Background: Many individuals exhibit significant distress in response to serious and/or life-limiting illness. However, there are others who make life-transforming changes, which involve healing experiences in the psychological, social, and spiritual domains of life regardless of illness outcome. The aim of the present study is to determine if there are any differences in psycho-social-spiritual healing between genders. Materials and Methods: The NIH Healing Experiences in All Life Stressors (NIH-HEALS), a 35-item measure of psycho-social-spiritual healing, is composed of three factors: Connection, Reflection & Introspection, and Trust & Acceptance. ⋯ Women reported increased enjoyment of mind-body practices (p < 0.001), compassion (p = 0.005), gratitude (p = 0.014), and a desire to be more positive (p = 0.044) compared to men. Men rated their pain levels (p = 0.035) and severity of illness (p = 0.016) higher and their overall level of health (p = 0.010) poorer compared to women. Women's responses to items regarding compassion (rs = 0.37, p < 0.001) and gratitude (rs = 0.24, p = 0.015) correlated positively with better overall health ratings. Conclusion: Men and women show some differences in their self-reported psycho-social-spiritual healing, which may have implications when designing interventions aimed at promoting a healing experience in the context of serious and life-limiting illness.
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Journal of women's health · Nov 2019
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyAn Intervention Tool to Increase Patient-Physician Discussion of Lifestyle Risk Factors for Breast Cancer.
Background: Risk assessment and discussion of lifestyle in primary care are crucial elements of breast cancer prevention and risk reduction. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of a breast cancer risk assessment and education tool on patient-physician discussion of behaviors and breast cancer risk. Materials and Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial with an ethnically and linguistically diverse sample of women, ages 40-74, from two primary care practices. ⋯ Women with some college education were more likely to discuss their weight than those with high school education or less (OR = 1.75, 1.03-2.96). Similarly, non-English speakers were more likely to discuss their weight compared with English speakers (OR = 2.33, 1.04-5.22). Conclusions: BreastCARE is a feasible risk assessment tool that can successfully promote discussions about modifiable breast cancer risk factors between patients and primary care physicians.
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Journal of women's health · Nov 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialRandomized Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk in Women with Recent Preeclampsia.
Background: To reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, we tested an online intervention to improve healthy lifestyle for women with recent preeclampsia. Materials and Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled 9-month clinical trial, Heart Health 4 Moms (HH4M), among 151 U. S. women with preeclampsia within 5 years. Sample size was planned to detect differences of 0.5 standard deviation units in primary outcomes between study arms. ⋯ At 9 months, intervention participants reported significantly greater knowledge of CVD risk factors (corrected p = 0.01), increased self-efficacy for healthy eating (p = 0.03), and less physical inactivity than controls (p = 0.0006). The groups did not differ in sense of personal control of CVD risk factors, adherence to the DASH diet, self-efficacy for physical activity, or reported physical activity. There were no differences in secondary outcomes between groups. Conclusions: The HH4M program improved CVD risk knowledge, self-efficacy to achieve a healthy diet, and reduced physical inactivity among women with recent preeclampsia.