Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · May 2005
Report from the CDC: mental health of women in postwar Afghanistan.
More than two decades of war and a culture that has denied women freedom of movement, access to healthcare, and education have affected the mental health status of Afghan women more than that of men. In 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a national population-based mental health survey in Afghanistan. The prevalence of symptoms of depression was 73% (standard error [SE] 8.15) and 59% (SE 5.59), of symptoms of anxiety was 84% (SE 2.98) and 59% (SE 8.65), and of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was 48% (SE 6.19) and 32% (SE 4.22) for female and male respondents, respectively. ⋯ Women had significantly lower mental health status and poorer social functioning than did men. Results of our survey underscore the need for financial donors and healthcare planners to address the current lack of mental healthcare resources, facilities, and trained mental healthcare professionals in Afghanistan and to establish mental health services directed at the specific needs of women. This study highlights the negative impact that war, restrictions in freedoms, and socioeconomic hardship have had on the mental health and social functioning of women in Afghanistan.
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Asthma and rhinitis frequently complicate pregnancy. The course of asthma may be adversely altered by gestation, placing the mother and fetus at risk. Therefore, pregnant patients with persistent asthma require an aggressive asthma management plan that includes environmental control measures and the use of long-term controller medications. ⋯ One ICS, budesonide, was reclassified as pregnancy category B based on human data supporting its use during pregnancy. In moderate and severe persistent asthma, add-on therapy may be considered, including long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonists, leukotriene receptor antagonists, and theophylline. Because rhinitis may adversely affect quality of life and the course of asthma, recommendations for aggressive management also apply.
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Journal of women's health · Mar 2005
Career satisfaction and retention of a sample of women physicians who work reduced hours.
To better understand the career satisfaction and factors related to retention of women physicians who work reduced hours and are in dual-earner couples in comparison to their full-time counterparts. ⋯ Women physicians in this sample who worked reduced hours had stronger relationships between family experiences (marital and parental role quality and work interference with family) and professional outcomes than had their full-time counterparts. Both career satisfaction and intention to leave their employment are correlated with the quality of home life for reduced hours physicians.
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2005
ReviewSex and racial differences in pharmacological response: where is the evidence? Pharmacogenetics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviewed 300 new drug applications between 1995 and 2000. Of the 163 that included a sex analysis, 11 drugs showed a >40% difference in pharmacokinetics between males and females, which was listed on the product label, yet no dosing recommendations were made based on sex. Female sex has been shown to be a risk factor for clinically relevant adverse drug reactions. ⋯ Sex-dependent pharmacodynamic effects have been identified. The role of pharmacokinetics vs. pharmacodynamics is unclear, as is the impact of pharmacogenetics on both. This review highlights a few specific examples in each area in which sex differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are important and provides recommendations for additional needed research.
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We outline some of the causes of medication errors involving women and recommend ways that healthcare practitioners can prevent some of these errors. Patient safety has become a major concern since the November 1999 release of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, "To Err Is Human." Errors involving prescription medications are responsible for up to 7000 American deaths per year, and the financial costs of drug-related morbidity and mortality may be nearly $77 billion a year. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) collects and analyzes voluntary confidential medication error reports and makes recommendations on the prevention of such errors. ⋯ Although medication errors are not more common in women, there are some unique concerns with medications used for treating women. In addition, sharing of information about medication use and compliance with medication regimens have been identified as concerns. Through the sharing of information and improving the patient education process, healthcare practitioners should play a more active role in medication error reduction activities by working together toward the goal of improving medication safety and encouraging women to become active in their own care.