Sexual Health Empowerment Research Articles

The Effect of Sexual Health Empowerment on the Sexual Function of Pregnant Women: An Intervention Based on the James Brown Model

Background and Objectives Pregnancy is associated with many physical and mental changes. These changes can lead to sexual dysfunction. Targeted and appropriate training can be effective in reducing this disorder. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effect of sexual health empowerment based on the James Brown model on the sexual function of pregnant women. Subjects and Methods This study was a randomized controlled field trial conducted on 68 pregnant women referring to health centers in 2018. The women were placed in intervention and control groups. The intervention group attended 4 training sessions based on the James Brown model. Evaluation of sexual function before, two weeks and one month after the intervention was done with the FSFI tool. Data analysis was done in SPSS software (version 20), using independent t-tests, paired t-tests, analysis of variance, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney and Friedman, chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. P values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results Before the intervention, the mean and standard deviation of the sexual function score of pregnant women in the two groups were homogeneous based on independent t-test (P=0.081). Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference (p < 0.001) in total sexual function scores between the intervention and control groups at both two weeks and one month post-intervention. Conclusion Sexual health education based on the James Brown model has a positive effect on the sexual function of pregnant women. Therefore, by training based on this model, it is possible to increase awareness and then improve the sexual function of pregnant women.

Getting started in jail, prison, and legal system research.

Extensive health inequities exist for persons with criminal-legal involvement in the USA. Researchers, both novice and experienced, are critical in documenting these inequities and implementing programs that address the many health and social problems of this population. However, working with currently or formerly incarcerated persons brings new challenges to researchers that may have not been previously considered as necessary. Because incarcerated persons were systemically exploited by biomedical researchers until reform following the Civil Rights Movement, resulting in their designation as a vulnerable population in the Code of Federal Regulations, enhanced protections are necessary in implementing contemporary research involving incarcerated persons. These enhanced protections can delay or prolong the regulatory approval process, particularly to the novice carceral system researcher, which may discourage some from engaging with this important population. Drawing on the many years of experience working with incarcerated persons accumulated by the Sexual Health Empowerment (S)HE Team at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC), this article offers some concrete steps toward getting started in this work.

4189 The Changing Health and Social Circumstances of Women Leaving Jails: A Three-year Longitudinal Study

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: To characterize the various social and health trajectories of women released from jail, and how these trajectories influence women’s risky sexual and drug behaviors. To identify areas in which prevention programs and community interventions can be implemented to improve social and health outcomes. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The present study analyzes data collected as part of the sexual health empowerment (SHE Project) health literacy intervention. Participants were recruited from three county jails in the greater Kansas City area. At baseline, participants completed a survey that assessed participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and social histories prior to incarceration. Women were recruited between 2014-2016 and followed up annually after program completion to complete follow-up surveys to assess long-term health and social circumstances. The present study is a secondary analysis of baseline and follow-up data. Final analyses will include survey data from 126 women. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: In this study, we use Hobfoll’s Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory to conceptualize the impacts of stress on the social and health behaviors of justice-involved women in the years following release from jail. We hypothesize that “loss spirals”, a term coined by Stevan Hobfoll, creates psychological stress that drive justice-involved women to assume behaviors that will generate more resources and help to cope with the stress. We expect to find that women struggle to maintain ties to stable housing, employment, and support, which we believe to be central to “loss spirals.” Additionally, we expect to find that these “loss spirals” are associated with sexual and drug health risks. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This study aims to define a succinct longitudinal timeline assessing biopsychosocial outcomes of women released from jail in order to improve prevention and intervention techniques for the improvement in social and health circumstances of women leaving jail and their reduction in recidivism.

Justice-involved women’s preferences for an internet-based Sexual Health Empowerment curriculum

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gain insight into justice-involved women’s preferences for an internet-based Sexual Health Empowerment (SHE) curriculum.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyzed data from four focus groups conducted with 52 women in a minimum-security county jail in a Midwestern US city.FindingsWomen reported daily access to the internet while in the community and use of the internet for searching about health concerns. Four themes emerged in the discussion about preferences for an internet-based SHE curriculum, that it cover healthy sexual expression, how to access resources, video as an educational modality and a non-judgmental approach.Practical implicationsJustice-involved women are potentially reachable through internet-based health education. Their preferences for content and modality can be used to inform internet-based sexual health programming designed specifically for this population. Using this modality could offer easily disseminated, low-cost and consistent messaging about sexual health for a vulnerable group of women.Originality/valueThough internet-based health education programming has been widely utilized in the general population, less attention has been paid to if and how these programs could be utilized with a vulnerable group of women who move between the justice system and communities. This exploratory study begins to fill that gap.

Sexual Health Empowerment for Women's Health

Sexual Health Empowerment for Women's Health

Feminism and Bourdieusian Social Theory in a Sexual Health Empowerment Project with Incarcerated and Recently Released Women.

Theory is often downplayed or omitted in the research and scholarly literature around public health interventions in carceral settings. Our Sexual Health Empowerment (SHE) project was an education intervention and ethnographic study that aimed to reduce cervical cancer risk among women with histories of incarceration. In this article, we describe our application of concepts from feminist theory and bourdieusian social theory to the design, planning, and delivery of SHE. We outline how theory-driven practice both underscored and helped us meet challenges in implementation in three urban jails over a two-year period, 2014-2016. Our approach provides a model for others who wish to bring critical theory and research practice together in health interventions with populations that are marginalized in multiple ways.

The development of a brief jail-based cervical health promotion intervention.

The primary objective of this article was to describe the development and pilot implementation of a brief jail-based cervical health promotion intervention. The intervention was guided by a preliminary study of incarcerated women's cervical health knowledge, awareness, and health literacy, as well as a social and feminist approach to intervention development. We developed and conducted a pilot implementation of the Sexual Health Empowerment Project to increase cervical health knowledge, reduce barriers related to beliefs about cervical cancer, and improve self-efficacy and confidence in navigating health systems. This article offers a framework for how empirically and theory-based interventions are developed and tailored for a jail setting. Future work should include the evaluation of the long-term effects of such a disease-specific program on health behaviors and outcomes among high-risk and vulnerable groups of women as they leave jails and enter communities.