Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Apr 2015
Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation joint project to enhance maternal and child health surveillance: focus on collaboration.
Maternal and child health (MCH) surveillance data are important for understanding gaps in services and disparities in burden of disease, access to care, risk behaviors, and health outcomes. However, national and state surveillance systems are not always designed to gather sufficient data for calculating reliable estimates of the health conditions among high-risk or underrepresented population subgroups living in smaller geographic areas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) has conducted surveillance for over 25 years in collaboration with state and city health departments. ⋯ K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) to include oversampling of minority and low-income women in selected geographic areas in four states (Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, and New Mexico) where the WKKF funded extensive place-based initiatives are located. The PRAMS-WKKF collaboration has broad implications for promoting meaningful collaboration between public, private, local, state, and federal organizations to address MCH data gaps on disparities, and for improving the availability of information needed for MCH programs, policy makers, and women.
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Journal of women's health · Mar 2015
Diagnosis and surgical delays in African American and white women with early-stage breast cancer.
Delays in diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer may contribute to excess deaths among African Americans. We examined racial differences in delays in diagnosis and surgical treatment for early-stage breast cancer and evaluated race-specific predictors associated with delay. ⋯ These findings emphasize the need to raise further awareness, especially among African American patients and their providers, of the importance of prompt evaluation and treatment of breast abnormalities. Research on effective ways to accomplish this is needed.
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In the January 2015 issue of Journal of Women's Health (2015; vol. 24, no. 1: 62–79), the article "Intimate Partner Violence and its Health Impact on Ethnic Minority Women" was published with an incorrect title ("Intimate Partner Violence and its Health Impact on Disproportionately Affected Populations, Including Minorities and Impoverished Groups"). The online version of the article has been corrected to reflect this change. ⋯ The online version of the article has been corrected to reflect this change. The editorial office sincerely regrets the error.
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Journal of women's health · Mar 2015
S-equol: a potential nonhormonal agent for menopause-related symptom relief.
Many women suffering from vasomotor symptoms (VMS) are now seeking nonpharmaceutical treatments for symptom relief. Recently, S-equol, an intestinal bacterial metabolite of the soybean isoflavone daidzein has received attention for its ability to alleviate VMS and provide other important health benefits to menopausal women. S-equol is found in very few foods and only in traces. ⋯ Subanalysis of epidemiologic studies suggests that equol producers are more likely to benefit from soyfood consumption than nonproducers with respect to both cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, although the data are inconsistent. The limited safety data for S-equol do not suggest cause for concern, especially with regard to its effects on breast and endometrial tissue. Further studies are needed before definitive conclusions of its effectiveness for VMS can be made, but the preliminary evidence warrants clinicians discussing the potential of S-equol for the alleviation of VMS with patients.
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Journal of women's health · Mar 2015
Inadequate progress for women in academic medicine: findings from the National Faculty Study.
Women have entered academic medicine in significant numbers for 4 decades and now comprise 20% of full-time faculty. Despite this, women have not reached senior positions in parity with men. We sought to explore the gender climate in academic medicine as perceived by representatives to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Women in Medicine and Science (GWIMS) and Group on Diversity and Inclusion (GDI). ⋯ Key informants described improvements in the climate of academic medicine for women as modest. Medical schools were noted to vary by department in the gender experience of women, often with no institutional oversight. Our findings speak to the need for systematic review by medical schools and by accrediting organizations to achieve gender equity in academic medicine.