Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Nov 2024
Attitudes and Experiences Regarding Communication About Maternal Vaccination: Qualitative Findings from Non-Hispanic Black Pregnant People.
Comprehensive prenatal care incorporates recommended vaccines to help protect the mother, the pregnancy, and the infant from adverse health outcomes and severe illness from vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). However, vaccinations during pregnancy remain underutilized, often influenced by concerns about vaccine safety and low perception of disease risk. Self-reported vaccine hesitancy among pregnant people in the United States has significantly increased in the last few years, and influenza and Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccination rates have declined. ⋯ While characteristics and perceptions associated with hesitancy to vaccinate during pregnancy are documented in existing literature, more information is needed on promising communication practices preferred by subgroups of pregnant persons, particularly Black pregnant people who have higher rates of illness from VPDs and greater risk of pregnancy-related complications. This article summarizes literature on the current landscape of prenatal vaccination, discusses qualitative findings from focus groups with non-Hispanic Black pregnant people, and describes promising practices for communicating with this group about vaccination. Promising practices include specifying the benefits of vaccination for both the pregnant person and the infant, outlining potential risks, and emphasizing the overall importance of vaccination during pregnancy, while also acknowledging that many non-Hispanic Black pregnant people may have health concerns they perceive as superseding vaccination.
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Journal of women's health · Nov 2024
ReviewSelf-Management Interventions for Black Women at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Literature Review.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among Black women. When compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts, Black women are about 50% more likely to have uncontrolled high blood pressure (BP). The disproportionate burden of CVD in Black women highlights the need for CVD prevention programs in this population. ⋯ Nine of the 12 papers reported statistically significant improvements on at least one CVD risk factor including weight loss, physical activity, BP control, waist circumference, and depression. Culturally tailored self-management interventions appear to be feasible with weak to moderately high evidence of efficacy for reducing CVD risk factors in Black women. Further research should focus on the influence that social determinants of health, including mental health, may have on self-management and CVD risk in this population.
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Objective: To examine publication trends pertaining to fertility-sparing management in patients of reproductive age with gynecological malignancies. Methods: Ovid MEDLINE was used to aggregate all publications on gynecological cancers and fertility between 1946 and 2022. Original research, reviews, case series/reports, and editorials were included. ⋯ In the last 10 years, only five studies were randomized controlled trials. Conclusions: There is an urgent need for more prospective research in oncofertility. While fertility care in the setting of gynecological cancer is a collaborative effort between the specialties of gynecological oncology and REI, this partnership is not reflected in the authorship of current literature.
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Journal of women's health · Nov 2024
Postpartum Acute Care Utilization in a Health Care System in the Southeastern United States.
Introduction: Postpartum acute care utilization (PACU), including visits to an emergency department, obstetric triage, or urgent care ("outpatient"), and hospital readmissions, may indicate medical complications and signal unmet health needs. Methods: We estimated the incidence of PACU and examined patterns by sociodemographic factors, pregnancy and birth characteristics, time since discharge from the birth hospitalization, and medical indications. We constructed a retrospective cohort of people aged ≥18 years who delivered ≥1 liveborn infant >20 weeks of gestation from July 1, 2021, to December 31, 2022, using electronic health record data from a quaternary maternity hospital in the Southeastern United States PACU data throughout the health care system were collected through March 31, 2023. ⋯ Among encounters for the top five medical indications, time to first postpartum acute care encounter varied by medical indication (log-rank test of equality over strata Chi-square = 69.93, degrees of freedom = 4, p < 0.0001). Complications specified during the puerperium (n = 234) and hypertension and hypertensive-related conditions complicating the puerperium (n = 87) were the two most frequent indications. Conclusion: These findings can inform efforts to direct health resources to improve postpartum health care and health outcomes.