Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
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Womens Health Issues · Jul 2011
"Homelessness and trauma go hand-in-hand": pathways to homelessness among women veterans.
Veterans comprise a disproportionate fraction of the nation's homeless population, with women veterans up to four times more likely to be homeless than non-veteran women. This paper provides a grounded description of women veterans' pathways into homelessness. ⋯ Collectively, these multiple, interacting roots and contextual factors form a "web of vulnerability" that is a target for action. Multiple points along the pathways to homelessness represent critical junctures for VA and community-based organizations to engage in prevention or intervention efforts on behalf of women veterans. Considering the multiple, interconnected challenges that these women veterans described, solutions to homelessness should address multiple risk factors, include trauma-informed care that acknowledges women veterans' traumatic experiences, and incorporate holistic responses that can contribute to healing and recovery.
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Womens Health Issues · Mar 2011
Applying an expanded social determinant approach to the concept of adherence to treatment: the case of Colombian women living with HIV/AIDS.
The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze social determinants that influence adherence among Colombian women living with HIV/AIDS in poverty conditions. ⋯ These findings underscore the need to understand the social determinants that facilitate and/or hinder adherence among women in poverty-associated conditions. Results indicate the need to facilitate access to treatment on a timely and continual basis; provide economic resources, including support to meet basic needs as well as subsidies for transportation to health care centers; and explore mechanism for supporting the care of their offspring.
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Womens Health Issues · Jan 2011
HPV vaccine promotion: does referring to both cervical cancer and genital warts affect intended and actual vaccination behavior?
young women have poor awareness that human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause both cervical cancer and genital warts, a sexually transmitted infection (STI). A newly developed HPV vaccine can provide protection against both cervical cancer and genital warts. This vaccine could be promoted by health authorities/professionals as preventing cervical cancer plus genital warts, or cervical cancer alone. Because stigma around STIs may reduce acceptance of the vaccine, the effect of information framing ('cervical cancer' versus 'cervical cancer plus genital warts') on intention to receive the HPV vaccine and actual uptake behavior was examined using the health belief model (HBM). ⋯ highlighting the sexual transmissibility of HPV does not seem to lower vaccination intentions or behaviors among young women. Potential challenges for promotion of the HPV vaccination program in Australia and worldwide are discussed.
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Womens Health Issues · Jan 2011
ReviewRelevance of gender-sensitive policies and general health indicators to compare the status of South Asian women's health.
despite goals for gender equity in South Asia, the relationship between gender-sensitive policies and the empowerment of women is complex and requires an analysis of how policies align with a broad set of social, cultural, political, and economic indicators that relate to women's health. ⋯ in many cases, the presence of gender-sensitive policies did not reflect the realization of gender equity over a wide range of indicators. Although the economic, political, social, and cultural climates of the five countries may differ, the integration of women's needs into the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of policies is a universal necessity to achieve positive outcomes.