Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
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Womens Health Issues · May 2017
Family Attitudes and Reactions toward Pregnancy among Women with Physical Disabilities.
Historically, people with disabilities who become parents have confronted discriminatory societal attitudes and public policies. Today, although more women with disabilities are bearing children, little is known about the perceptions of their pregnancies, even among their family members. In addition, little is understood about how family members' attitudes and reactions affect women with physical disabilities around the time of pregnancy. ⋯ This study sheds light on the attitudes and reactions toward pregnancy that women with physical disabilities experience from family members. Our findings suggest the need for increased social support and family education. Greater availability of peer supports as well as information for women with disabilities considering pregnancy is also needed.
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Womens Health Issues · May 2017
Recruitment, Promotion, and Retention of Women in Academic Medicine: How Institutions Are Addressing Gender Disparities.
Greater numbers of women in medicine have not resulted in more women achieving senior positions. Programs supporting the recruitment, promotion, and retention of women in academic medicine could help to achieve greater advancement of more women to leadership positions. Qualitative research was conducted to understand such programs at 23 institutions and, using the social ecological model, examine how they operate at the individual, interpersonal, institutional, academic community, and policy levels. ⋯ Our findings demonstrate that many U.S. medical schools have no programs supporting gender equity among medical faculty. Existing programs primarily target the individual or interpersonal level of the social ecological interaction. The academic community and broader policy environment require greater focus as levels with little attention to advancing women's careers. Universal multilevel efforts are needed to more effectively advance the careers of medical women faculty and support gender equity.
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Womens Health Issues · Mar 2017
Patient Education About the Affordable Care Act Contraceptive Coverage Requirement Increases Interest in Using Long-Acting Reversible Contraception.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires health insurance to cover all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives at no cost to patients, including highly effective long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Our objective was to determine whether a brief educational intervention about these provisions would increase interest in LARC use. ⋯ Most women seeking birth control lack comprehensive understanding of the contraceptive coverage protected by the ACA. Incorporating patient education about the ACA's no-cost contraception provision into routine contraceptive counseling may increase interest in LARC use and better enable women to make informed family planning decisions unrestrained by financial considerations.
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Womens Health Issues · Nov 2016
Is Heart Disease or Cancer the Leading Cause of Death in United States Women?
This paper compares the mortality burden of heart disease versus cancer among women by age, race, and ethnicity. ⋯ Heart disease remains the leading cause of death among all women combined in the United States by a narrow margin. However, cancer predominantly kills middle-aged and young women, whereas heart disease predominantly kills the very old. New research on the overreporting of heart disease on death certificates for elderly women is needed. National summary statistics obscure the fact that cancer is already the overall leading cause of death for Hispanic women, Asian and Pacific Islander women, and American Indian and Alaska Native women.
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Womens Health Issues · Jul 2016
The "Something Else" of Sexual Orientation: Measuring Sexual Identities of Older Lesbian and Bisexual Women Using National Health Interview Survey Questions.
Terminology related to sexuality and gender is constantly evolving, and multiple factors are at play when individuals answer questions on surveys. ⋯ Respondents who answer "something else" pose challenges to analysis and interpretation of data, but should not be discarded from samples. Instead, they may represent a subset of the community that views sexuality and gender as fluid and dynamic concepts, not to be defined by a single label. Further study of the various subsets of "something else" is warranted, along with reconsideration of the NHIS question options.