Women & health
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Midlife African American women are at risk for HIV related to higher prevalence of infection among African Americans and concurrent sexual partnerships. In this grounded theory study, we explored the context of decision making related to concurrent sexual partnerships among 36 African American women between the ages of 40 and 65 years. ⋯ Women reported that partner concurrency and competition for acceptable men partners, "Man-Sharing," among midlife African American women influenced sexual decision-making, potentially resulting in greater risk for HIV infection. Future research focusing on the power differential in heterosexual relationships, inter-racial dating, and limiting the risks associated with partner concurrency may be fruitful.
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The objective of this study was to examine the relation of menstrual attitudes to menopausal attitudes and the demographic and health characteristics associated with each. This cross-sectional study consisted of a randomly selected sample of 1,824 respondents aged 16 to 100 years in multi-ethnic Hilo, Hawai'i. Women completed questionnaires for demographic and health information, such as age, ethnicity, education, residency in Hawai'i, menopausal status, exercise, and attitudes toward menstruation and menopause. ⋯ Both negative and positive menstrual attitudes were positively correlated with the anticipation of menopause, although negative attitudes toward menstruation were negatively correlated with menopause as a positive, natural life event. Demographic variables, specifically education and where one grows up, influenced women's attitudes toward menstruation and menopause and should be considered for inclusion in subsequent multi-ethnic studies. Further research is also warranted in assessing the relationship between menstrual and menopausal attitudes.
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Comparative Study
Screening for intimate partner violence in reproductive health centers: an evaluation study.
This study compared rates of intimate partner violence reports on a new, empirically-developed screening tool completed by 385 women in 2007 to those from an older tool completed by 420 women in 2006. Data were obtained from randomly selected medical charts across three health center locations, which were part of the same reproductive health care organization. Chi-square analyses were conducted to test associations between demographic characteristics and partner violence reports. ⋯ After adjusting for age and center location, women completing the new screening form were more than 2.5 times as likely to report any partner violence. When analyzed by mutually exclusive violence history categories, women completing the new screening form were over 2.5 times as likely to report past or current violence and over 4 times as likely to report experiencing both past and current violence. Findings suggest that implementing empirically developed brief screening tools for partner violence in reproductive health settings may elicit more disclosures from patients than more traditional tools.
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Due to a dearth of research on depressive symptoms in Malaysia, particularly in Malay women, a community study was conducted to examine the prevalence and factors associated with current depressive symptoms in rural and urban Malay women with low socioeconomic status. ⋯ The prevalence of depressive symptoms reported in the study was comparable to past studies. Among the factors associated with current depressive symptoms, the single most important was lifetime major depressive symptoms, followed by current life stressors, and family history of mental health problems. Among the socio-demographic variables used, perceived health status was the most important. The factors associated with depressive symptoms found in this study are consistent with past findings in the West, implying the universality of the phenomenon and common factors related to depressive symptoms in women.
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The human papillomavirus vaccine (Gardasil) is a significant advancement in women's health. We compared the reporting of fear-inducing messages about human papillomavirus, cervical cancer, and the human papillomavirus vaccine in Canadian and U. ⋯ Educational level of readability was higher than recommended for the public, and the emotional tone of the articles became progressively negative over time. Our findings suggest that public discussion of some elements of the human papillomavirus vaccine message that could cause alarm or worry for women may need to be addressed within political and cultural contexts.