Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
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Womens Health Issues · Sep 2013
Medicaid covered births, 2008 through 2010, in the context of the implementation of health reform.
Medicaid is a major source of public health care financing for pregnant women and deliveries in the United States. Starting in 2014, some states will extend Medicaid to thousands of previously uninsured, low-income women. Given this changing landscape, it is important to have a baseline of current levels of Medicaid financing for births in each state. This article aims to 1) provide up-to-date, multiyear data for all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and 2) summarize issues of data comparability in view of increased interest in program performance and impact assessment. ⋯ Consistent adoption of the 2003 birth certificate in all states would allow the National Center for Health Statistics Natality Detail dataset to serve as a nationally representative source of data for the financing of births in the United States. As states expand coverage to low-income women, women of childbearing age will be able to obtain coverage before and between pregnancies, allowing for access to services that could improve their overall and reproductive health, as well as birth outcomes. Improved birth outcomes could translate into substantial cost savings, because the costs associated with preterm births are estimated to be 10 times greater than those for full-term births.
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Womens Health Issues · Jul 2013
Cost-savings from the provision of specific contraceptive methods in 2009.
Previous studies have shown that contraceptive provision generates significant public sector cost-savings by preventing health care and social service expenditures on unintended pregnancies. Over the past decade, women's contraceptive options have expanded considerably, calling for the need to better understand the relative cost-benefit of new contraceptive methods. ⋯ Because no single method is recommended clinically for every woman, it is medically and fiscally advisable to offer women all contraceptive methods to enable them to choose methods that best meet their needs, increasing the likelihood of compliance with the method chosen and prevention of unintended pregnancies.
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Womens Health Issues · Mar 2013
Prospective association of intimate partner violence with receipt of clinical preventive services in women of reproductive age.
Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) have a greater risk for adverse health outcomes, suggesting the importance of preventive services in this group. Little prior research has explored how IPV exposure impacts receipt of relevant preventive services. We assess the prospective association of IPV exposure with receiving specific preventive services. ⋯ Overall rates of preventive service receipt for all women in the sample were low. Women exposed to IPV were more likely to receive safety and violence counseling and STI testing, and seeing an obstetrician-gynecologist increased the odds of receiving several preventive services.
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Womens Health Issues · Jan 2013
Perceived experiences of discrimination in health care: a barrier for cancer screening among American Indian women with type 2 diabetes.
Breast and cervical cancer-mortality disparities are prominent among American Indian women. These disparities, in part, may result from patients perceived experiences of discrimination in health care. This report evaluates the impact of perceived discrimination on screening for breast and cervical cancer in a sample of 200 American Indian women with type 2 diabetes. ⋯ Among AI women, perceived discrimination in health care may negatively influence use of breast and cancer screening services, and health care-seeking behaviors. More research is needed among AIs to examine features of health care systems related to the phenomenon patients perceived experience of discrimination.