Implications For Women Research Articles

Elective Cesarean Delivery: Trends, Evidence and Implications for Women, Newborns and Nurses

Elective Cesarean Delivery: Trends, Evidence and Implications for Women, Newborns and Nurses

Slimming Company Websites in Hong Kong: Implications for Women's Health

This study sought to investigate, with a focus on the Hong Kong context, how commercial slimming websites portray the body image of beauty to the public, and to explore practical implications for related public health practices and health policy formulation. Commercial entities in the Hong Kong slimming industry were retrieved from the Hong Kong Yellow Page Directory and Yahoo Hong Kong Directory, and selected websites were coded and further analyzed. We found that irresponsible tactics are used in the slimming industry such that irresponsible messages prevail. Collaborative efforts from multidisciplinary sectors are needed to tackle the situation.

Performance Measure and Job Constraints: Implication for Women in Academics in Nigeria Universities

This study investigated the performance measure and job constraints of women academics in the Nigeria universities. The purpose was to examine the constraints of women academics in their job performance in the universities. Purposive sampling technique was adopted to select three hundred academic women from South-West Universities. Data collected were analyzed and reliability coefficient by 0.87 was obtained. The questionnaire was administered on the respondents in the various institutions. Percentages were used to analyse demographic data and answer research questions, while, t-test and multiple regression were used for hypotheses at alpha level of 0.05. It was found that performance measure and job constraints among women in academic had enabled the women to look beyond their limitations and faced their world in academics with courage and passion in order to discharge their duties favorably with their men counterparts. Recommendations includes that researches done by women be less evaluated. Women achievement should be celebrated to encourage them for the major work done at home.

Women's Property Rights and Gendered Policies: Implications for Women's Long-term Welfare in Rural Tanzania

This paper evaluates effects of community-level women's property and inheritance rights on women's economic outcomes using a 13 year longitudinal panel from rural Tanzania. In the preferred model specification, inverse probability weighting is applied to a woman-level fixed effects model to control for individual-level time invariant heterogeneity and attrition. Results indicate that changes in women's property and inheritance rights are significantly associated with women's employment outside the home, self-employment and earnings. Results are not limited to sub-groups of marginalised women. Findings indicate lack of gender equity in sub-Saharan Africa may inhibit economic development for women and society as a whole.

Genital Appearance Dissatisfaction: Implications for Women's Genital Image Self-Consciousness, Sexual Esteem, Sexual Satisfaction, and Sexual Risk

Findings regarding the link between body image and sexuality have been equivocal, possibly because of the insensitivity of many of body image measures to potential variability across sensory aspects of the body (e.g., appearance versus odor), individual body parts (e.g., genitalia versus thighs), and social settings (e.g., public versus intimate). The current study refined existing methods of evaluating women's body image in the context of sexuality by focusing upon two highly specified dimensions: satisfaction with the visual appearance of the genitalia and self-consciousness about the genitalia during a sexual encounter. Genital appearance dissatisfaction, genital image self-consciousness, and multiple facets of sexuality were examined with a sample of 217 undergraduate women using an online survey. Path analysis revealed that greater dissatisfaction with genital appearance was associated with higher genital image self-consciousness during physical intimacy, which, in turn, was associated with lower sexual esteem, sexual satisfaction, and motivation to avoid risky sexual behavior. These findings underscore the detrimental impact of negative genital perceptions on young women's sexual wellbeing, which is of particular concern given their vulnerability at this stage of sexual development as well as the high rates of sexually transmitted infections within this age group. Interventions that enhance satisfaction with the natural appearance of their genitalia could facilitate the development of a healthy sexual self-concept and provide long-term benefits in terms of sexual safety and satisfaction.

Feminist Perspectives in Development: Implications for Women and Microcredit

This article critically explores how feminist theories continue to affect development paradigms and discourses by focusing on women’s experiences in microcredit programs. It locates the ideological roots of key concepts in development theories and feminist thinking about women’s role in development and improving women’s status. Over the past three decades, feminist theories and perspectives have influenced the debates on development across disciplines. Learning from the historical trajectory of development theories and feminist perspectives allows social workers to consider the centrality of gender in shaping every aspect of social life.

The Role of Governments in Health Care: Implications for Women's Health and Access to Care

The role of government quickly devolved into one of the hot button issues of the 2009–2010 health care reform debate. The intensity surrounding this issue has led us to consider how governments figure into health care delivery in advanced economy countries and to explore what effects greater government intervention might have on women’s health and health care access in the United States. Conflicting viewpoints over the benefits of a public plan reveal sharply differing understandings about health systems abroad. Even feminist policy scholars have long been conflicted about whether government is an adversary or a friend (Dahlerup, 1994). What are the main government roles in health care? How do differences in these roles affect access to care and health? How do women fare in these types of health systems? We begin with a brief discussion of health system organization and how governments figure into systems abroad. We then identify three distinctive features of women’s lives that shape their health care needs, looking to see how women fare in these regards across system types. Finally, we explore U.S. health care organization and reform proposals, discussing which promise to best serve women’s health needs.

Caffeine's Implications for Women's Health and Survey of Obstetrician-Gynecologists' Caffeine Knowledge and Assessment Practices

Caffeine has relevance for women's health and pregnancy, including significant associations with spontaneous abortion and low birth weight. According to scientific data, pregnant women and women of reproductive age should be advised to limit their caffeine consumption. This article reviews the implications of caffeine for women's psychological and physical health, and presents data on obstetrician-gynecologists' (ob-gyns) knowledge and practices pertaining to caffeine. Ob-gyns (N = 386) who are members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network responded to a 21-item survey about caffeine. Although most knew that caffeine is passed through breast milk, only 24.8% were aware that caffeine metabolism significantly slows as pregnancy progresses. Many respondents were not aware of the caffeine content of commonly used products, such as espresso and Diet Coke, with 14.3% and 57.8% indicating amounts within an accurate range, respectively. Furthermore, ob-gyns did not take into account large differences in caffeine content across different caffeinated beverages with most recommending one to two servings of coffee or tea or soft drinks per day. There was substantial inconsistency in what was considered to be "high levels" of maternal caffeine consumption, with only 31.6% providing a response. When asked to indicate the risk that high levels of caffeine have on various pregnancy outcomes, responses were not consistent with scientific data. For example, respondents overestimated the relative risk of stillbirths and underestimated the relative risk of spontaneous abortion. There was great variability in assessment and advice practices pertaining to caffeine. More than half advise their pregnant patients to consume caffeine under certain circumstances, most commonly to alleviate headache and caffeine withdrawal. The data suggest that ob-gyns could benefit from information about caffeine and its relevance to their clinical practice. The development of clinical practice guidelines for caffeine may prove to be useful.

Arousal Loss Related to Safer Sex and Risk of Pregnancy: Implications for Women's and Men's Sexual Health

Few studies have examined arousal loss associated with safer-sex practices or the perceived risk of unintended pregnancy, let alone its associations with sexual risk practices. An Internet survey conducted in 2004-2006 among 2,399 men and 3,210 women asked respondents about arousal loss related to the use of condoms or other safer-sex products and perceived unintended pregnancy risk. Regression analyses gauged associations between arousal profiles, unprotected sex in the last year and lifetime experience of unintended pregnancy. Many respondents reported arousal loss related to the use of safer-sex products (34%) or the risk of unintended pregnancy (46%). Participants who strongly agreed that use of safer-sex products can lessen their arousal were significantly more likely to have had unprotected sex in the last year than were those who strongly disagreed (odds ratios, 1.8 for men and 3.7 for women); those who strongly disagreed that pregnancy risk can lessen their arousal were significantly more likely to have been involved in an unintended pregnancy than were those who strongly agreed (2.0 for men and 1.4 for women). Arousal loss related to safer-sex practices was more strongly associated with unprotected sex among women than among men, whereas arousal loss related to pregnancy risk was more strongly associated with unintended pregnancy among men than among women. Some men and women are turned off by safer-sex practices or by pregnancy risk. Given arousal profiles' potential contributions to unintended pregnancies and STD transmission, they should be integrated into sexual health behavioral models, research and programming.

Individualism and Collectivism: Implications for Women

This essay examines the nature and dynamics of individualism and collectivism as social and interpersonal phenomena. It considers the importance of affirming the true self as a key feature of individualism as conceived by Donald Capps. By means of cultural and gender analysis, the essay explores aspects of self-affirmation among women, especially Korean American women in both individualist and collectivist societies. It ultimately proposes a “self-affirming collectivism” that promotes the authentic individual self as imago Dei whose unique identity is expressed within community.

The Story of sexual identity: narrative perspectives on the gay and lesbian life course

PART 1. Time, Place, Story: Introductory Perspectives on Narrative and the Life Course 1. Narrative Engagement and Sexual Identity: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of Sexual Lives. Phillip L. Hammack & Bertram J. Cohler 2. History, Narrative, and Sexual Identity: Gay Liberation and Post-War Movements for Sexual Freedom in the United States. Benjamin Shepard Culture, Identity, Narrative: Context and Multiplicity in Sexual Lives 3. Stories from the Second World: Narratives of Sexual Identity in the Czech Republic across Three Generations of Men who have Sex with Men. Timothy McCajor Hall 4. Unity and Purpose at the Intersections of Racial/ethnic and Sexual Identities. Ilan H. Meyer & Suzanne C. Ouellette 5. Bisexuality in a House of Mirrors: Multiple Reflections, Multiple Identities. Paula C. Rodriguez Rust 6. Narrative Identity Construction of Black Youth for Social Change. Mollie V. Blackburn PART 3. Identities in Process: Stories of Risk and Relationships 7. Between Kansas and Oz: Drugs, Sex, and the Search for Gay Identity in the Fast Lane. Steven P. Kurtz 8. (My) Stories of Lesbian Friendship. Jacqueline S. Weinstock 9. Emergence of a Poz Sexual Culture: Accounting for Barebacking among Gay Men. Barry D. Adam 10. Connectedness, Communication, and Reciprocity in Lesbian Relationships: Implications for Women's Construction and Experience of PMS. Janette Perz & Jane M. Ussher 11. Postcards from the Edge: Narratives of Sex and Relationship Breakdown among Gay Men. Damien Ridge & Rebecca Wright Making Gay and Lesbian Identities: Development, Generativity, and the Life Course 12. In the Beginning: American Boyhood and the Life Stories of Gay Men. Bertram J. Cohler 13. The Role of the Internet in the Sexual Identity Development of Gay and Bisexual Male Adolescents. Gary W. Harper, Douglas Bruce, Pedro Serrano, & Omar B. Jamil 14. Focus on the Family: The Psychosocial Context of Gay Men Choosing Fatherhood. David deBoer 15. Midlife Lesbian Lifeworlds: Narrative Theory and Sexual Identity. Mary Read 16. The Good (Gay) Life: The Search for Signs of Maturity in the Narratives of Gay Adults. Laura A. King, Chad M. Burton, & Aaron C. Geise 17. Generativity and Time in Gay Men's Life Stories. Andrew J. Hostetler 18. From Same-Sex Desire to Homosexual Identity: History, Biography, and the Production of the Sexual Self in Lesbian and Gay Elders' Narratives. Dana Rosenfeld Concluding Perspective 19. Lives,Times, and Narrative Engagement. Bertram J. Cohler & Phillip L. Hammack

The Shift of Gravity of the Church to Sub-Saharan Africa: Theological and Ecclesiological Implications for Women

This article discusses the notion of the Church's shift of gravity to Sub-Saharan Africa. From an African feminist ethical and theological perspective, the intention is to outline the debates relating to the expansion of Christianity in Africa, particularly as it is embodied by the neo-Pentecostal, charismatic and African independent churches (AICs). The aim is to arrive at an understanding of prominent theologies professed by these churches and of ecclesiologies they inhabit or promote, with a view to discerning some of their implications for theologies and ecclesiologies in Africa, particularly for African women. The article begins with an appraisal of the statistical data and debates relating to the Church's shift of gravity. This is followed by an account of the insights of African feminist theologies and ethics in relation to the shift of gravity and its implications for women in Africa.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Implications for Women and Their Health Care Providers During the Childbearing Years (ID# 2008/053)

Journal of Midwifery & Women's HealthVolume 53, Issue 4 p. 399-400 CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME: IMPLICATIONS FOR WOMEN AND THEIR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS DURING THE CHILDBEARING YEARS (ID# 2008/053) First published: 24 December 2010 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmwh.2008.05.003Citations: 6Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume53, Issue4July‐August 2008Pages 399-400 ACNM Members ACNM Members: Click here to log in RelatedInformation

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Implications for Women and their Health Care Providers During the Childbearing Years

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a complex debilitating medical disorder that affects approximately 4 million persons in the United States, predominantly women. There has been little scientific exploration about the experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period for women with this disorder. A review of the literature and current research findings addressing the epidemiology, diagnosis, symptoms, and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome are presented, as well as the currently available data regarding the experience of women with chronic fatigue syndrome anticipating or experiencing pregnancy and the postpartum period. Expert opinion is presented along with current evidence to provide guidelines for the care of women with chronic fatigue syndrome during pregnancy, labor and birth, lactation, and the postpartum period.

Changes in HIV Testing Policies and the Implications for Women

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) together with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) recently released new guidelines for HIV testing in health care settings. Both sets of guidelines recommend eliminating individual informed consent in favor of an opt-out approach that requires clients to actively decline the HIV test after a pretest information session. The revised guidelines also recommend reducing the amount of counseling that accompanies the HIV test. Women are more likely than men to be affected by efforts to expand access to HIV testing in health care settings because of women's increased vulnerability to HIV and greater contact with the health care system. Women may also be more susceptible to changes to the consent and counseling process for HIV testing because of their marginalized social status in many settings. More research is needed to document women's experiences with provider-initiated, opt-out HIV testing. Understanding women's experiences will help to formulate feasible and effective strategies to support women and ensure they gain access to HIV treatment services.

The Recognition of Muslim Personal Laws in South Africa: Implications of Women's Human Rights

Bringing personal status laws into conformity with international and constitutional equal rights provisions is an imperative for the protection of women's human rights. Multicultural secular democracies face a challenge in effectively and meaningfully guaranteeing the right to equality and the right to religion and culture. Currently, Muslim marriages are not legally recognized in South Africa. This creates problems for women, especially in the family law arena. This paper considers law reform efforts aimed at the recognition of such marriages in South Africa. The South African Law Reform Commission has approved a report containing recommendations and a proposed Muslim Marriages Act on the recognition of Islamic marriages. This draft bill seems to codify aspects of Muslim Personal Laws. The South African Commission on Gender Equality introduced an alternative draft bill, the Recognition of Religious Marriages Bill. This draft bill provides for recognition of all religious marriages and avoids issues of codification of specific religious tenets, so as to comply with constitutional imperatives. This paper identifies potential constitutional violations that may emerge in the law reform efforts that are currently taking place in South Africa. It explores amongst other issues, the tensions between women's equality rights and religious rights, codification of religious personal status laws versus recognition of religious marriages, achieving equal access to justice for all women, and also tensions arising between individual equality rights and group equality rights.

Major Depressive Disorder in the Older Adult: Implications for Women

SUMMARY Mood disorders manifest across the life span yet often go undiagnosed and untreated. Increasingly, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in the older adult is recognized as a frequently occurring, heterogeneous psychiatric illness that impacts the individual and family, one's physical health, and society. Women are more likely to be diagnosed with MDD than men and therefore it is important to identify specific risk factors and other distinguishing features. This article reviews the descriptive characteristics, epidemiology, etiology and pathophysiology, course and natural history, and assessment and treatment of MDD with specific focus on women and aging.

Partner Stalking and Implications for Women’s Employment

In general research suggests partner violence has a negative impact on women's employment. However, there has been limited examination of partner stalking and consequences for employment. The purpose of this study was to examine partner stalking and employment consequences among two samples of women. One sample was women who had obtained a protective order against a violent partner and had worked in the prior year (n = 482), about one half of these women were stalked by their violent partner and one half were not. The second study examined qualitative information from women recently stalked (n = 62) by a violent partner. Results from both studies suggest that women who were stalked by a violent partner were significantly more susceptible to on-the-job harassment and problems. Also, women reported that stalking by a partner interfered in their work through on-the-job harassment, work disruption, and job performance problems. Implications for policy and research are discussed.

Roundtable: Male Circumcision: Implications for Women as Sexual Partners and Parents

TWENTY years of observational data demonstrating an association between male circumcision and lower HIV prevalence followed the first publications in 1986 suggesting a possible role for male circumcision in HIV prevention. However randomised controlled trials were necessary to determine the level of the protective effect ascertain adverse surgical events rates and document sexual behaviour post-surgery. What do the results of these trials mean at the population level for women? Indirectly it is anticipated that women currently living in high HIV prevalence settings with low male circumcision prevalence may benefit 10-20 years hence if there is a reduction in HIV incidence among men who are circumcised in programmes achieving wide coverage. This is because women would have a lower probability of encountering a sexual partner with HIV infection. As for a direct effect on risk for women recruitment in a Rakai trial looking to confirm or disprove previous observational data suggesting an important effect of male circumcision on HIV transmission to women was stopped; it may never be known whether or not male circumcision affects the probability of sexual transmission of HIV from men to women. This paper highlights some of the implications of the results of the male circumcision trials for women as sexual partners and parents and discusses some gender-related concerns. (excerpt)

Adiposity, asthma, and airway inflammation

Several studies have found obesity to be associated with an increased prevalence of asthma. For reasons that remain unclear, this association has often been reported to be stronger in women than in men. One possible explanation might be that these studies have used body mass index to identify adiposity, which might be a less reliable measure of body fat in men than in women. We sought to explore the association between body fat percentage measured by means of bioelectrical impedance analysis and asthma, airflow obstruction, and airway inflammation in men and women. Respiratory questionnaires, spirometry, bronchodilator response, exhaled nitric oxide level, and percentage of body fat were measured in a population-based cohort of approximately 1000 individuals at age 32 years. There was a significant association between the percentage of body fat and asthma in women (P = .043) but not in men (P = .75). Airflow obstruction was associated with percentage of body fat in women (P = .046), but there was an inverse association in men (P = .010). Bronchodilator responsiveness was also associated with lower body fat in men (P = .004). Airway inflammation, measured by means of exhaled nitric oxide, was not associated with body fat in either women (P = .17) or men (P = .25). Adiposity is associated with asthma and airflow obstruction in women. This does not appear to be mediated by airway inflammation. In men airflow obstruction and bronchodilator responsiveness are associated with a lower percentage of body fat. In women, but not in men, obesity is associated with asthma and airflow obstruction, but there was no association with airway inflammation.