Assessment Of Women Research Articles

An Assessment of Women’s Accessibility to Poverty Alleviation Programmes in Kano State, Nigeria

This study examines the accessibility of women to Poverty Alleviation Programmes (PAP) in Kano State, Nigeria. The aim of the study was to identify the poverty alleviation programmes and assess the difference that exists btetween rural and urban women’s access to them. The results revealed that there was no significant difference between the accessibility of rural and urban women to PAP in the study area (Chi-square value = 9.196 (df) 1, p = 0.002). Consequently, it is recommended that the government should ensure proper periodical assessment and review of the administration and implementation of PAP in the study area. This will make the accessibility of women to the programmes result oriented. This will enhance the achievement of proper awareness among women and increase their accessibility to Poverty Alleviation Programmes in Kano State, Nigeria.

Sex difference in attractiveness perceptions of strong and weak male walkers.

Men and women accurately assess male physical strength from facial and body morphology cues. Women's assessments of male facial attractiveness, masculinity, and dominance correlate positively with male physical strength. A positive relationship also has been reported between physical strength and attractiveness of men's dance movements. Here, we investigate men's and women's attractiveness, dominance, and strength assessments from brief samples of male gait. Handgrip strength (HGS) was measured in 70 heterosexual men and their gait was motion-captured. Men and women judged 20 precategorized strong (high HGS) and weak (low HGS) walkers on attractiveness, dominance, and strength, and provided a measure of their own HGS. Both men and women judged strong walkers higher on dominance and strength than weak walkers. Women but not men judged strong walkers more attractive than weak walkers. These effects were independent of observers' physical strength. Male physical strength is conveyed not only through facial and body morphology, but also through body movements. We discuss our findings with reference to studies suggesting that physical strength provides information about male quality in contexts of inter- and intrasexual selection. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:913-917, 2016. © 2016Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Assessment of Women’s Plus-Size Swimwear for Industry Applications

Using the functional, expressive and aesthetic (FEA) consumer needs model, this research investigated plus-size women’s swimwear needs. Swimming is a popular activity for women, which offers numerous physical and mental health benefits. However, little is known about plus-size women’s design preferences and satisfaction with swimwear. Attributes of swimwear were assessed through a mixed-methods qualitative survey (n = 58) and five follow-up focus groups (n = 18) with plus-size women in the western region of the United States. Participants reported greatest dissatisfaction with the functional and aesthetic attributes of swimwear available. The women in this study suggested incorporating greater bust support, increasing the ease of donning and doffing, and offering a variety of styles with modern aesthetics that visually flatter their figures. Based on the results, design implementation should include functional, expressive and aesthetic needs to develop swimwear that satisfies the plus-size consumer. Industry applications are provided.

A critical review of complementary and alternative medicine use by women with cyclic perimenstrual pain and discomfort: a focus upon prevalence, patterns and applications of use and users' motivations, information seeking and self-perceived efficacy.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used for treating cyclic perimenstrual pain and discomfort. This critical review examines women's reported CAM use, its perceived effectiveness and information relating to women's attitudes, behaviors, motivations and patterns of CAM use in its treatment. An extensive search of the main medical databases EBSCO, CINAHL, Medline, AMED and SCOPUS, as well as additional hand searches, was conducted. Papers included were confined to those that had been peer-reviewed, written in English and that contained original research into CAM use for cyclic perimenstrual pain and discomfort among adult women. CAM, particularly herbal medicine, nutritional supplements and massage, is widely used for a range of cyclic perimenstrual pain and discomfort symptoms. A large number of CAM modalities are adopted, often simultaneously and with little professional oversight. Women's assessment of efficacy of different CAM modalities is positive, though the majority of users are self-prescribing apparently without professional guidance. Although the uptake of CAM for cyclic perimenstrual pain and discomfort is widespread, few empirical data are available regarding which women are using CAM, their motivations for doing so and, importantly, the sources through which women receive information about CAM. This review highlights the extensive use of (often self-prescribed) CAM in a number of countries to alleviate the widespread symptoms of cyclic perimenstrual pain and discomfort. An understanding of all health care use by women with perimenstrual pain and discomfort is vital to help ensure safe, effective and coordinated health care that can lead to optimal patient outcomes.

Opportunistic Breast Density Assessment in Women Receiving Low-dose Chest Computed Tomography Screening

Low-dose chest computed tomography (LDCT), increasingly being used for screening of lung cancer, may also be used to measure breast density, which is proven as a risk factor for breast cancer. In this study, we developed a segmentation method to measure quantitative breast density on CT images and correlated with magnetic resonance density. Forty healthy women receiving both LDCT and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were studied. A semiautomatic method was applied to quantify the breast density on LDCT images. The intra- and interoperator reproducibility was evaluated. The volumetric density on MRI was obtained by using a well-established automatic template-based segmentation method. The breast volume (BV), fibroglandular tissue volume (FV), and percent breast density (PD) measured on LDCT and MRI were compared. The measurements of BV, FV, and PD on LDCT images yield highly consistent results, with the intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.999 for BV, 0.977 for FV, and 0.966 for PD for intraoperator reproducibility, and intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.953 for BV, 0.974 for FV, and 0.973 for PD for interoperator reproducibility. The BV, FV, and PD measured on LDCT and MRI were well correlated (all r ≥ 0.90). Bland-Altman plots showed that a larger BV and FV were measured on LDCT than on MRI. The preliminary results showed that quantitative breast density can be measured from LDCT, and that our segmentation method could yield a high reproducibility on the measured volume and PD. The results measured on LDCT and MRI were highly correlated. Our results showed that LDCT may provide valuable information about breast density for evaluating breast cancer risk.

Assessment of Women's Health Needs and Problems after Cesarean Section

Background: Cesarean Section is a form of childbirth in which a surgical incision is made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies.Aim: The aim of the current study was to assess health needs and problems of women after cesarean section.Subject and Methods: A descriptive research designwas utilized in the current study. The study Settingwas conducted at postpartum department at Mansoura city hospital. Subjects consisted of 200posts Cesarean Section women were recruited to participate in this study. Tools; three tools were used for data collection and developed by investegator. A) First tool: a structed interviweing questionnair, B) second tool: assessment sheet of women's knowledge about self-care after Cesarean Section, C) Third tool: assessment of women's health needs and health problems after Cesarean Section.Results: The results of the current study revealed that, the low level of knowledge among the studied women (76.0%). The most common health needs among women were: awerence about family planning method (81.5%) and need for family support (75.5%). The common health problems among women were: lower abdominal pain (82.0%), and sleep deficits (73.0%).Conclusion: The studywasconclucedthatthere was a highly statistically significant relation between knowledge and reproductive tract problems and reproductive needs. In addition, between knowledge related to medical consultation and health needs. Recommendation: developing a health educational program concerning health needs and problems of women after Cesarean Section.

Outcomes of implementing the women's health assessment tool and clinical decision support toolkit.

To evaluate outcomes after implementing the women's health assessment tool (WHAT) and clinical decision support toolkit during annual well-women visits. An observational project involved women aged 45-64 years attending one of three medical sites in Washington (WA, USA). Responses to the WHAT questionnaire and patients' health resource utilization prepost toolkit implementation were analyzed. A total of 110 women completed the WHAT questionnaire. Majority of women were postmenopausal (77.3%) and experienced depressive mood (63.6%), hot flashes (61.8%) or anxiety (60.9%) in the last 3 months. There was a 72.2% increase in the number of diagnoses made during the annual visit versus the previous 12 months. The WHAT/clinical decision support toolkit helped identify conditions relevant to mid-life women.

Pre-eclampsia and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment in Women.

The underlying contributors of many cardiovascular events are often present decades before the onset of clinical symptoms, and the presence of risk factors in early life significantly influences risk of premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). The considerable burden of CVD in women and on health care resources necessitates an emphasis on prevention and early risk screening in women, before the development of the disease itself. The 2011 update to the American Heart Association's Effectiveness-Based Guidelines for the prevention of CVD acknowledges the contribution of the common pregnancy-related medical complications to a woman's cardiovascular risk, identifying pre-eclampsia (PE), gestational hypertension, and gestational diabetes mellitus as risk factors for heart disease and stroke. The aims of this review are to examine risk factors in young women and their role in the development of premature CVD, with particular attention paid to PE as a marker of a woman's cardiovascular risk. Current screening practices will be discussed, as will their influences on identifying and reducing cardiovascular risk and subsequent disease in younger women.

Barriers to Intake Assessment in Women Referred for Cardiac Rehabilitation

Barriers to Intake Assessment in Women Referred for Cardiac Rehabilitation

Risk perception and choice of place of birth in women with high risk pregnancies: A qualitative study

Objective To examine the perception of risk among a group of women with high risk pregnancies who were either planning to give birth in hospital, or at home despite medical advice to the contrary. The intention was to consider differences and similarities between the groups to examine how perception of risk relates to choice of place of birth.Design Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Setting Maternity department in a hospital in South East England.Participants Twenty-six women with high risk pregnancies, at least 32 weeks pregnant. Half were planning hospital births and half homebirths.Measurements and findings Semi-structured interviews to investigate women's understanding and assessment of risk. Results were analysed using thematic analysis. Five themes emerged: understanding of situation; judgement of risk; reassuring factors; impact of risk; and coping with risk. Women from both groups had some understanding of the implications of their medical/obstetric conditions. They displayed concerns about their babies' wellbeing. Women planning homebirths assessed their risks as lower and expressed less concerns than women planning hospital births. Women planning hospital births more frequently described following professional advice.Key conclusions Risk perception is individual and subjective. Women with high risk pregnancies who plan to give birth at home perceive risk differently to women who plan hospital births.Implications for practice Healthcare professionals working with women with high risk pregnancies should be aware of the potential for differences in definitions and perceptions of risk within this group.

A good story: Men's storytelling ability affects their attractiveness and perceived status

AbstractThree studies examined gender differences in the effect of storytelling ability on perceptions of a person's attractiveness as a short‐term and long‐term romantic partner. In Study 1, information about a potential partner's storytelling ability was provided. Study 2 participants read a good or poor story supposedly written by a potential partner. Results suggested that only women's attractiveness assessments of men as a long‐term date increased for good storytellers. Storytelling ability did not affect men's ratings of women nor did it affect ratings of short‐term partners. Study 3 suggested that the effect of storytelling ability on long‐term attractiveness for male targets may be mediated by perceived status. Storytelling ability appears to increase perceived status and thus helps men attract long‐term partners.

P-235 YI Sexual Dysfunction Assessment in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a term used for diseases such as the Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC), both characterized by a chronic intestinal inflammation. IBD can change the patients' quality of life and sexuality. Sexuality is an important factor concerning personal satisfaction and quality of life in general. Few professionals touch on this subject during clinical practice. It's up to nursing care the patient's reception and the opening of a wider communication channel between patients and the professionals. The objectives of this study were to study the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in IBD patients and presenting the importance of this subject's approach by the nurse. It was an observational study with 99 IBD outpatients; 118 controls were paired by gender and age. The Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) was used to assess the clinical activity of CD patients. Mayo score was used to assess the clinical activity of UC patients. The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) was used to measure the healthy related quality of life. The hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) was used to measure anxiety and depression. The women's sexual response assessment was done through the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and men's sexual health was done with the International Index of Erectile Function (IIFE). The mean age was 38.89 ± 10.15 years; 57% were women; 73% were in a consensual relationship; 8% were smokers; 97% heterosexual. 57% presented CD, 36% in clinic activity; 43% had UC, 16% in clinic activity; 42% undergone biological therapy. 2% were ostomates and 31% presented perianal disease. Regarding quality of life and psychological aspects, 65% presented an excellent/good quality of life; 48% were anxious (P = 0.0963); 24% were depressed (P = 0.2353) and 90% presented high self-esteem (P = 0.3137), with no statistic difference when compared to control group. Regarding sexual factors, 13% of the patients presented dyspareunia, 5% of the men reported use of medication to facilitate erection (P = 1.0), 28% presented medium to moderate erectile dysfunction (P = 0.1122), 81% were satisfied with their sexual life (P = 0.5625). 93% of the women presented sexual dysfunction (P = 0.6990), 73% reported having vaginal lubrication during the sex act (P = 0.3083), 80% were satisfied with their sexual life (P = 0.2601) and 29% were in sexual abstinence (P = 0.6843). There was sexual dysfunction prevalence on this target population, with no difference between the patients and the control group. Nurses have an important role during the whole assistance, since they can clarify doubts and contribute to education, comprehension regarding the disease, adherence to the treatment, improving the relationship between the medical team and the patients and their families, leading to treatment acceptance, evolving into a good and accompanied life quality.

Training Needs Assessment of Women in Small Scale Livestock Production and Its Implication for Socio-economic Empowerement in Oyo State, Nigeria

Training Needs Assessment of Women in Small Scale Livestock Production and Its Implication for Socio-economic Empowerement in Oyo State, Nigeria

Duration of oral contraceptive use predicts women's initial and subsequent subjective responses to sexual stimuli

Recent work suggests that a woman's hormonal state when first exposed to visual sexual stimuli (VSS) modulates her initial and subsequent responses to VSS. The present study investigated whether women's initial hormonal state was related to their subjective ratings of VSS, and whether this relationship differed with VSS content. We reanalyzed previously collected data from 14 naturally cycling (NC) women and 14 women taking oral contraceptives (OCs), who subjectively rated VSS at three hormonal time-points. NC women's ratings of 216 unique sexual images were collected during the menstrual, periovulatory, and luteal phases of their menstrual cycles, and OC women's ratings were collected at comparable time-points across their pill-cycles. NC women's initial hormonal state was not related to their ratings of VSS. OC women's initial hormonal state predicted their ratings of VSS with minimal contextual information and of images depicting female-to-male oral sex. Specifically, women who entered the study in the third week of their pill-cycle (OC-3 women) rated such images as less attractive at all testing sessions than did all other women. OC-3 women were also the only women to rate decontextualized VSS as unattractive at all testing sessions. These results corroborate previous studies in which women's initial hormonal state was found to predict subsequent interest in sexual stimuli. Future work, with larger samples, should more directly investigate whether OC-3 women's negative assessment of specific types of VSS reflects a reaction to the laboratory environment or a broader mechanism, wherein OC women's sexual interests decrease late in their pill-cycle.

The Gender Agenda in an Age of Austerity

This article reports on a research project undertaken to assess the implications and consequences of the Comprehensive Spending Review and associated Force Change Programmes upon the female police workforce in England and Wales, alongside wider policing reforms across the UK. The research examines the views of female and male police officers and staff with a view to updating and reviewing evidence of progress in relation to the continued development and achievement of the gender agenda aims (BAWP, 2006, The Gender Agenda 2. London) and the Home Office 2010 report ‘Assessment of Women in the Police Service’. Focus groups, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were undertaken between November 2012 and June 2013, across 14 force areas, in addition to national policing bodies, local and national representative staff support associations, and diversity and equality practitioners. The findings underpin the recommendations Gender Agenda 3 launched in October 2014 by the British Association for Women in Policing.

Development of a brief screening tool for women's mental health assessment in refugee settings: A psychometric evaluation.

The detection of common mental disorders in humanitarian crisis settings requires a screening tool that is feasible to use as well as sensitive and specific. The Self-Report Questionnaire, developed by the World Health Organization in 1994 to detect presence or absence of common mental health disorders, has frequently been used among conflict-affected and refugee populations. Our goal was to identify a highly predictive and reliable subset of items to serve as a screening tool that can be used in busy, over-crowded, and low-resource primary health care settings to identify women who need mental health attention. We analyzed the responses on a version of the Self-Report Questionnaire expanded to include two suicidality items from 810 displaced women living in refugee camps in Rwanda. Screening items were selected and evaluated for predictive ability using logistic regression in a cross-validation process, sensitivity and specificity using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, and internal consistency analysis. A five-item screening tool resulted. Those items are "Do you feel unhappy?", Do you feel easily nervous, tense, or worried?", "Have you lost interest in things?", "Do you have trouble thinking clearly?" and "Has the thought of ending your life been on your mind?". The Self-Report Questionnaire-5 may be an important tool for identifying common mental disorders as well as suicide ideation and behaviors when assessing mental health among women in crisis situations. Further evaluation of this tool is warranted.

Pelvic floor muscle training program for Egyptian women with neglected urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence (UI) is an extremely common complaint in every part of the world. It causes a great deal of distress and embarrassment, as well as significant costs, to both individuals and societies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) program on women complaining of urinary incontinence. Quasi experimental design was utilized. The study was conducted in Talkha Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Center, Dakahlia governorate from May 2013 to April 2014. The study subjects included 140 women visiting Talkha MCH Center. Three tools were used for data collection. Woman's health assessment sheet was developed by the researcher, the second tool was quality of life as measured by incontinence impact questionnaire, and the third tool was the follow up sheet. Study results showed a statistically significant positive effect of PFMT on UI and the women's quality of life. The study recommended providing a guideline to develop clinical teaching and in- service education programs for all maternity nurses and nursing educators regarding the UI and PFMT as a preventive as well as treatment modality for UI. Furthermore, community awareness about the positive effect of practicing PFME among incontinent women is recommended.

Assessment of Women's Knowledge Regarding Family Planning.

Objective: The aim of the study to determining the women's knowledge regarding contraceptive, and to identify the relationship between women's knowledge and Socio-demographic characteristics (Age, educational level, residence and employment). Methodology: A descriptive study design was conducted to achieve the objectives of the study. The study was carried out in the antenatal care unit of Al-Quads primary health care center in the Mosul governorate / Iraq during 2010. A random sampling consist of 62 women in age group between (15-44) years. Data were collected by using questionnaire through an interview technique. The data were analyzed by using the statistical package for social sciences program. Results: The results shows that the most of the study sample was used medical methods in the process of family planning (51.61%), and women's knowledge are good towered the family planning and mean of women's knowledge (1.66). The results revealed that there are non-significant deference between women's knowledge and some demographic characteristics except the educational level. Conclusion: The researchers concluded that the women's knowledge regarding family planning generally were good, and there are no significance difference between women's knowledge and their demographic data except educational level. Recommendations: The researchers recommended that increase use of communication channels with community, such as publications and audiovisual material. This can have a great impact in enhancing women's knowledge, promoting contraceptive use, and dispelling fears and misconceptions.

Sexual Health for Older Women : Implications for Nurses and Other Healthcare Providers = الصحة الجنسية للنساء المسنات : إنعكاساتها ممرضين و الممرضات و مقدمي الرعاية الصحية الأخرى

This article presents findings from a review of the evidence regarding sexual health for older women from MEDLINE, SCOPUS and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINHAL) databases. A total of 10 articles based on primary studies, reporting about the sexuality or sexual health of older women (and older people), and published between 2002-2012, were deemed suitable. The major themes that emerged from the available literature suggest that the sexual health of older people is affected by factors such as physical changes, mental health, changes to their relationship with their husband, chronic ill health and other psychosocial situations. It is concluded that nurses and other healthcare providers have a range of interventions that can be adopted to promote sexual health among older women. These interventions may focus on improving the older woman's sexual health assessment; increasing awareness and knowledge about sexuality in later life; pharmacological and psychotherapeutic therapies; using alternative techniques to achieve better sexual functioning; addressing partner and relationship issues, and advocating the importance of sexual health through media and policy development.

Self-perception of sexual life and associated factors: a population study conducted in women aged 50 or more years

To evaluate the prevalence of women aged 50 years or more who are sexually active and their self-perception with respect to their sexual lives. Associated factors were also assessed.A cross-sectional, population-based, self-reported household survey involving 622 Brazilian women aged 50 years or more. Sociodemographic, clinical, and behavioral factors were evaluated. The sexual life self-perception was classified as very good, good, fair, poor, or very poor. Data were analyzed using the χ² test, Fisher's exact test, and Poisson multiple regression analysis. Prevalence ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were also calculated.Of the women in this sample, 228 (36.7%) reported having a sexual life and, of these, 53.5% classified it as very good or good, while 46.5% considered it fair, poor, or very poor. The bivariate analysis indicated that being postmenopausal (p=0.025) and using natural remedies to treat the menopause (p=0.035) were factors associated with the woman classifying their sexual lives as fair, poor, or very poor. Multiple regression analysis showed that more women who had used or were currently using natural remedies for the menopause scored their sexual lives as fair, poor, or very poor.More than half the women aged 50 years or more in this study were not sexually active. A poorer sexual life self-perception was associated with the use of natural remedies to treat menopausal symptoms. This may indicate a need to improve the way in which these women are evaluated and treated. Women's assessment of their own sexual lives may prove a useful tool in clinical practice.