Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Aug 2019
Postpartum Health Care Use After Gestational Diabetes and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy.
Objective: To examine postpartum health care utilization after a pregnancy complicated by gestational diabetes (GD) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) using nationally representative data. Materials and Methods: We examined longitudinal pooled panel data from the 1996-2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey with linked data from Pregnancy Detail Files on adult women (>18) with singleton pregnancies who reported an infant delivery. Multivariable weighted logistic regression analyses, including interactions, examined the associations between pregnancy complications (GD/HDP) and three postpartum health care utilization outcomes, adjusting for demographic characteristics. Results: The unweighted sample size included 304 women. Overall, 32% did not report an office visit within 12 weeks postpartum, and 15% did not report an office visit within 1 year postpartum. ⋯ Less educated women with GD/HDP were more likely to miss an office visit within 1 year postpartum than less educated women with neither complication. Certain subgroups of women were more likely to forego timely and appropriate postpartum care. Efforts to improve care coordination and insurance coverage access during the postpartum period are needed.
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Journal of women's health · Aug 2019
Observational StudyCivic Service as an Intervention to Promote Psychosocial Health and Implications for Mental Health in Post-9/11/01 Era Women Veterans.
Background: Women veterans experience significant morbidity with poorer health and mental health outcomes relative to nonveteran counterparts. Little is known about how to best promote health and well-being among reintegrating female veterans. Civic service has been shown to improve mental health in civilians, but its impact on female veterans is unknown. ⋯ Pre-post change scores indicated significant improvements on nine measures of health, mental health, and psychosocial functioning (p < 0.05). Perceived self-efficacy change scores predicted PTSD change scores, F(1, 93) = 8.00, p < 0.05. Seeking professional assistance for mental health problems and social isolation and loneliness change scores predicted depression change scores, F(2, 95) = 15.618, p < 0.05, explaining 23% of the variance. Conclusions: Civic service has the potential to promote and support the maintenance of psychosocial well-being for returning post-9/11/01 era women veterans with symptoms of PTSD or depression.
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Journal of women's health · Aug 2019
Treatment of Substance Use Disorders Among Women of Reproductive Age by Depression and Anxiety Disorder Status, 2008-2014.
Background: Comorbid substance use disorder and mental health conditions are common in women of reproductive age. We sought to understand the prevalence of substance use and substance use disorder by depression and anxiety disorder status and the independent association between depression and anxiety disorder status with receiving substance use treatment. Materials and Methods: A sample of 106,142 women ages 18-44 years was drawn from the 2008 to 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. ⋯ After adjustment, women with substance use disorder and MDE and anxiety disorder, MDE only, or anxiety disorder only were more likely to receive substance use treatment (respectively, 2.4, 1.6, and 2.2 times) than women with no MDE or anxiety disorder (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Women with MDE and/or anxiety disorder are significantly more likely to suffer from substance use and substance use disorders than their counterparts. Integrating substance use treatment services and mental health services in settings frequently visited by reproductive-aged women may increase receipt of combined treatment.
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Journal of women's health · Aug 2019
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pregnancy-Related Mortality in Illinois, 2002-2015.
Background: Little is known about racial or ethnic differences in the potential preventability of pregnancy-related deaths, or the provider, systems, or patient factors associated with those deaths. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of pregnancy-related deaths among black, Hispanic, and white women between 2002 and 2015 in Illinois using Illinois Department of Public Health maternal mortality data. We compared the distribution of women's characteristics and calculated race- and ethnicity-specific pregnancy-related mortality ratios (PRMRs) per 100,000 live births. ⋯ Provider factors, particularly delays in diagnosis and treatment and inappropriate treatment, were cited in 56.1%, 71.4%, and 50.0% of black, Hispanic, and white women's preventable deaths, respectively. Conclusion: Surprisingly, racial disparities in maternal mortality were not associated with statistically significant differences in the cause of death or class of contributing critical factors in this small, single-state analysis; further study in aggregate or pooled data with deeper qualitative assessment of individual cases is, therefore, required to understand how to narrow racial disparities in maternal outcome. If aggregate or pooled analysis showed systematic racial or ethnic differences in committee findings, it would be important to assess whether those differences were due to committee bias or other factors.
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Journal of women's health · Aug 2019
Differences in Coping with Breast Cancer Between Lesbian and Heterosexual Women: A Life Course Perspective.
Background: We tested a theoretical framework to explain differences in coping responses to breast cancer between lesbian and heterosexual women. Materials and Methods: Breast cancer survivors were recruited through cancer registries and community-based sampling. Cross-sectional telephone surveys were completed among self-identified lesbian (n = 330) and heterosexual (n = 595) women who were diagnosed with breast cancer. Five subscales from the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini-MAC) Scale were used to measure coping with breast cancer among women post-treatment. ⋯ College education mediated the association between lesbian identity and cognitive avoidance among women diagnosed at older ages. Conclusions: Despite previous evidence of suboptimal cancer care and gaps in supportive services, lesbian women with breast cancer demonstrate adaptive coping. This study calls for an increased focus on life course factors, both in the empirical and theoretical literature, which may partially explain some of this resiliency. Identifying mechanisms that lead to active coping can inform supportive care for both lesbian and heterosexual women.