Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Repository (Aga Khan University)
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U.S. abortion care providers’ perspectives on self-managed abortion
Get PDFState-level restrictions on abortion access may prompt greater numbers of people to self-manage their abortion. The few studies exploring perspectives of providers towards self-managed abortion are focused on physicians and advanced practice clinicians. Little is known about the wider spectrum of abortion care providers who encounter self-managed abortion in their clinic-based work. To gain a deeper understanding of this issue and inform future care delivery, we conducted in-depth interviews with 46 individuals working in a range of positions in 46 abortion clinics across 29 states. Our interpretative analysis resulted in themes shaped by beliefs about safety and autonomy, and a tension between the two: that self-managed abortion is too great a risk, that people are capable of self-managing an abortion, and that people have a right to a self-managed abortion. Our findings highlight the importance of increasing knowledge and clarifying values among all abortion care providers, including clinic staff
A cross-sectional study examining consideration of self-managed abortion among people seeking facility-based care in the United States
Get PDFIntroduction:
With increasing restrictions on abortion across the United States, we sought to understand whether people seeking abortion would consider ending their pregnancy on their own if unable to access a facility-based abortion.
Methods:
From January to June 2019, we surveyed patients seeking abortion at 4 facilities in 3 US states. We explored consideration of self-managed abortion (SMA) using responses to the question: “Would you consider ending this pregnancy on your own if you are unable to obtain care at a health care facility?” We used multivariable Poisson regression to assess associations between individual sociodemographic, pregnancy and care-seeking characteristics and prevalence of considering SMA. In bivariate Poisson models, we also explored whether consideration of SMA differed by specific obstacles to abortion care.
Results:
One-third (34%) of 741 participants indicated they would definitely or probably consider ending the pregnancy on their own if unable to obtain care at a facility. Consideration of SMA was higher among those who reported no health insurance (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 1.66; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.12–2.44), described the pregnancy as unintended (aPR = 1.53; 95% CI 1.08–2.16), were seeking abortion due to concerns about their own physical or mental health (aPR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.02, 2.20), or experienced obstacles that delayed their abortion care seeking (aPR = 2.26, 95% CI 1.49, 3.40). Compared to those who would not consider SMA, participants who would consider SMA expressed higher difficulty finding an abortion facility (35 vs. 27%, p = 0.019), figuring out how to get to the clinic (29 vs 21%, p = 0.021) and needing multiple clinic visits (23 vs 17%, p = 0.044).
Conclusions:
One in three people seeking facility-based abortion would consider SMA if unable to obtain abortion care at a facility. As abortion access becomes increasingly restricted in the US, SMA may become more common. Future research should continue to monitor people’s consideration and use of SMA and ensure that they have access to safe and effective methods
A systematic review of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) during humanitarian crises and/or emergencies in low- and middle-income countries
Get PDFBackground: Poor menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is linked to adverse health, and quality of life, particularly during emergencies. Although in recent times increased emphasis is being laid upon MHM during humanitarian crises-pandemics, disasters and conflicts, the essential components of complete MHM during an emergency are not clearly spelt out. We conducted a systematic review to examine, analyse and describe the existing evidence related to the challenges experienced by women and girls in practicing MHM during humanitarian crises and / or public health emergencies.
Methods: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines and registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022328636). We searched online repositories: PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO for articles published between January 2000 and April 2022. For presenting key findings, we used the descriptive statistics and thematic analysis approach.
Results: We identified a total of 1,078 published articles, out of which 78 were selected for a full-text review, and finally 21 articles were included. The pooled prevalence of lack of access to sanitary pads during humanitarian crises was 34 percent (95 percent CI 0.24-0.45). The prevalence of safe and proper sanitary pad disposal practices ranged from 11 to 85 per cent, with a pooled prevalence of 54 per cent (95 per cent CI 0.21-86). Qualitative analyses projected three themes that emerged on MHM during humanitarian crises (1) Availability and affordability of menstrual products, and accessibility to water, sanitation and health (WASH) services, (2) Availability of support system and coping with "period poverty," and (3) Gender dimensions of menstrual hygiene management. Most studies reported non-availability of MHM products and WASH services during emergencies. Existence of barriers at systemic and personal level posed challenges in practicing menstrual hygiene. Privacy was identified as a common barrier, as emergency shelters were reportedly not women-friendly.
Conclusion: Availability of limited evidence on the subject is suggestive of the need to invest resources for strengthening primary research in low- and middle-income countries and more specifically during emergencies. Context-specific state level policies on MHM during emergencies would help to guide district and sub-district managers in strengthening systems and address barriers for the provision of MHM services during emergencies
Rapid elimination of cervical cancer while maintaining the harms and benefits ratio of cervical cancer screening: a modelling study
Get PDFBackground:
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and intensifying screening expedite cervical cancer (CC) elimination, yet also deteriorate the balance between harms and benefits of screening. We aimed to find screening strategies that eliminate CC rapidly but maintain an acceptable harms-benefits ratio of screening.
Methods:
Two microsimulation models (STDSIM and MISCAN) were applied to simulate HPV transmission and CC screening for the Dutch female population between 2022 and 2100. We estimated the CC elimination year and harms-benefits ratios of screening for 228 unique scenarios varying in vaccination (coverage and vaccine type) and screening (coverage and number of lifetime invitations in vaccinated cohorts). The acceptable harms-benefits ratio was defined as the number of women needed to refer (NNR) to prevent one CC death under the current programme for unvaccinated cohorts (82.17).
Results:
Under current vaccination conditions (bivalent vaccine, 55% coverage in girls, 27.5% coverage in boys), maintaining current screening conditions is projected to eliminate CC by 2042, but increases the present NNR with 41%. Reducing the number of lifetime screens from presently five to three and increasing screening coverage (61% to 70%) would prevent an increase in harms and only delay elimination by 1 year. Scaling vaccination coverage to 90% in boys and girls with the nonavalent vaccine is estimated to eliminate CC by 2040 under current screening conditions, but exceeds the acceptable NNR with 23%. Here, changing from five to two lifetime screens would keep the NNR acceptable without delaying CC elimination.
Conclusions:
De-intensifying CC screening in vaccinated cohorts leads to little or no delay in CC elimination while it substantially reduces the harms of screening. Therefore, de-intensifying CC screening in vaccinated cohorts should be considered to ensure acceptable harms-benefits ratios on the road to CC elimination
The East Africa consortium for human papillomavirus and cervical cancer in women living with HIV/AIDS
Get PDFThe East Africa Consortium was formed to study the epidemiology of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and cervical cancer and the influence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on HPV and cervical cancer, and to encourage collaborations between researchers in North America and East African countries. To date, studies have led to a better understanding of the influence of HIV infection on the detection and persistence of oncogenic HPV, the effects of dietary aflatoxin on the persistence of HPV, the benefits of antiretroviral therapy on HPV persistence, and the differences in HPV detections among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women undergoing treatment for cervical dysplasia by either cryotherapy or LEEP. It will now be determined how HPV testing fits into cervical cancer screening programs in Kenya and Uganda, how aflatoxin influences immunological control of HIV, how HPV alters certain genes involved in the growth of tumours in HIV-infected women. Although there have been challenges in performing this research, with time, this work should help to reduce the burden of cervical cancer and other cancers related to HIV infection in people living in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as optimized processes to better facilitate research as well as patient autonomy and safety
Anxiety and depression levels of nurses in the covid-19 pandemic and their effect in menstrual cycle
Get PDFAIM:
This study aimed to identify how anxiety and depression levels of female nurses were affected during the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic and its effect on their menstruation cycles.
Method:
This cross-sectional study was conducted with 522 female nurses. The data were collected using an online Google questionnaire for sociodemographic and menstrual characteristics and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test, the chi-squared test, and binary logistic regression. The data were obtained from an online Google questionnaire for sociodemographic and menstrual characteristics and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale from August to October 2020.
Results:
According to the findings, 53.3% of participants were at risk for anxiety and 66.3% were at risk for depression. While 58.6% of them had experienced menstrual irregularities in the last 6 months, 72.9 of them were at risk for depression, and 59.8 of them were at risk for anxiety. Logistic regression found a significant association between anxiety, depression, and regular menstruation. The anxiety levels of the nurses with irregular menstruation were 1.114 times higher and their depression levels were 1.119 times higher.
Conclusion:
This study determined female nurses’ anxiety and depression levels during the pandemic and their effect on the nurses’ menstrual patterns. Female nurses are at risk of anxiety and depression during the pandemic, and this affects their menstrual cycles negatively
Retrospective analysis of cervical cancer treatment outcomes: ten years of experience with the vaginal assisted radical laparoscopic hysterectomy VARLH
Get PDFBackground:
LACC trial demonstrated inferiority of laparoscopic approach for the treatment of early-stage cervical cancer. There are still limited data from retrospective trials regarding whether survival outcomes after laparoscopic radical hysterectomy are equivalent to those after open abdominal radical hysterectomy. In this study, we present results of combined vaginal radical laparoscopic hysterectomy in the treatment of early-stage cervical cancer.
Methods:
This retrospective study was carried out at the Department of Gynecology in Mathilden Hospital (Herford, Germany). Between January 2008 and April 2018, all the patients with invasive cervical cancer who underwent combined vaginal assisted radical laparoscopic hysterectomy (VARLH) without the use of any uterine manipulator were enrolled to the study.
Results:
A total number of 124 patients with diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer were enrolled in the study. All of the patients underwent minimally invasive surgery and were divided according to FIGO 2019: stage IA (25.9%), IB1 (25.0%), IB2-IIB (28.4%), and III/IV (20.7%). Overall, the mean age of the patients was 51.84 years. After a study collection, a median follow-up was 45.6 (range 23.7-76.5) months. The 3- and 5-year disease-free survival rates for early-stage cervical cancer were both 98%, and the 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 100% and 97%, respectively. We have not observed any recurrence in our study group of patients with early-stage cervical cancer.
Conclusions:
Combined VARLH can be considered a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of early-stage cervical cancer. Surgical strategy with oncological principles determines the quality and long-term success of the operation in early cervical cancer regardless of laparoscopic approach
The sociocultural dimensions of gender-based violence in Afro-Mexican communities in the coastal region of Oaxaca, Mexico
Get PDFIn Mexico, as part of the historical and political context, race heavily influences a person’s opportunities. Moreover, the data refer to a scenario of normalized gender-based violence caused by sociocultural practices, the lack of application of the laws, and structural discrimination. Given this precedent, the purpose of this study is to analyze the social and physical dimensions of gender-based violence in an Afro-Mexican community in the south of Mexico. The techniques used to gather data for this study consist of a variety of styles of interviews with a group of Afro-Mexican women from the Costa Chica of Oaxaca, who are survivors of gender-based violence, and participant observation obtained through conducting ethnographic fieldwork in Oaxaca. The social phenomena of emigration and alcohol and drug consumption, in combination with the cultural dimensions of the machista practices in this region of Mexico, are the material and immaterial spaces where GBV is produced and reproduced daily. An intersectional perspective of the context can be helpful when collecting data for effective and well-grounded public policies and intervention projects established on a feminist and women-centered perspective
Effects of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and COVID‐19 pandemic on menstrual health of women: A systematic review
Get PDFBackground: The menstrual cycle in women is the main indicator of their reproductive health which is affected by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This review aims to summarize the effects of the COVID-19 infection and the global pandemic on the menstrual health of women.
Methods: The literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar using keywords "COVID-19," "Menstrual Cycle," "Menstrual Cycle Irregularities," "Amenorrhea," "Polymenorrhea," and "Dysmenorrhea." The articles were selected according to the following inclusion criteria: (i) cross-sectional studies, (ii) cohort studies, (iii) surveys, and (iv) other observational studies observing the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 pandemic on menstrual health of women. Exclusion criteria included: case reports, gray literature, and website articles regarding menstrual health.
Results: A total of 30,510 articles were shortlisted after a comprehensive search. Sixteen articles were included out of which 13 studies investigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the menstrual cycle while 3 evaluated the possible effects of COVID-19 infection on the menstrual health of women. Menstrual disorders or irregularities were a more common finding during the pandemic as compared to before (p = 0.008). Women affected by pandemic-related stress were more prone to changes in the duration of their menses (p = 0.0008), reported heavier bleeding (p = 0.028), and increased incidence of painful periods (p < 0.0001). COVID-19 infected women also reported changes in their menstrual cycle including irregular menstruation, increased symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, and infrequent menstruation.
Conclusions: Women suffering from COVID-19 infection or pandemic-associated stress and anxiety were more likely to experience irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, and other menstrual abnormalities compared to those who were less exposed
Health inequalities among Russian-born immigrant women in Finland: longitudinal analysis on cervical cancer incidence and participation in screening
No full textResearch has documented both lower and higher cancer incidence among migrants. Evidence among the large Russian-born migrant population, however, is scarce. We examined cervical cancer incidence and screening participation among Russian-born immigrant women in Finland, a country with complete cancer registration and universal public health care including organized cancer screening. Our study population included all the women that resided in Finland during 1970–2017 and was formed linking individual-level data from four nationwide registries. The linked data sets on cancer and cancer screening were analysed separately using different statistical models. Russian-born immigrant women had increased (+62%) incidence of cervical cancer compared to the general Finnish female population, and they participated in cervical cancer screening slightly less than other women. Our findings showed no consistent transition pattern in cancer incidence or screening participation rate with duration of stay. Potential explanations for the observed differences include institutional and behavioural factors. Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, and cancer screening can both prevent and reduce incidence and mortality of cervical cancer. Efforts should be made to encourage migrant populations to participate in cervical screening