Journal article: An exploratory view of female reproductive health issues: A case study in Norway

The purpose of this study is to look at the history and state of women’s health today through global literature review and in semi structured interviews in Norway. The main purpose of research is that as women in the online discussion are increasingly expressing unmet needs for their reproductive health issues, it is important to explore further. The impact of the common conditions were investigated, as many of these conditions have faced stigma and dismissal, yet greatly impact a woman's life. The study was based on literature review searched on EBSCO and google scholar. After the literature review was conducted semi structured in depth interviews were conducted in the larger cities of Norway. Specialists in Norway are well informed and aware of common reproductive issues, however their specialties vary. Reproductive health care in Norway ranks very well, however many women still face lengthy delays and struggle to be taken seriously. There is a lack of sufficient knowledge on many reproductive health issues within primary health care. Patients suffering vulvodynia have an especially poor offer in Norway. PMDD is one area were little research is conducted. There should be more focus on reproductive health issues in Norway to remove the stigma and acknowledge the pain many women suffer through, especially in primary health care services. There are currently few options to cure women’s health issues, but there are options to manage them. Because many reproductive health issues fall between many disciplines, there is a problem with taking ownership.O objetivo desta tese é examinar a história e o estado da saúde das mulheres por meio de uma revisão global da literatura seguida por entrevistas com especialistas na Noruega. Este estudo é devido ao aumento da participação feminina na discussão sobre necessidades não atendidas sobre problemas de saúde reprodutiva e tem como foco explorar o tema com mais detalhes.O impacto das condições mais comuns foi investigado, pois muitas dessas condições enfrentam constante estigma e abandono, apesar de terem grande impacto na vida das mulheres. O estudo foi baseado na revisão de literatura encontrada na EBSCO e Google Scholar, como estudo exploratório. Em seguida foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com médicos em grandes cidades da Noruega. Os especialistas na Noruega estão bem informados de problemas reprodutivos comuns, mas suas especialidades variam. Os cuidados de saúde reprodutiva na Noruega estão muito bem classificados, mas muitas mulheres ainda enfrentam atrasos prolongados e lutam para obter tratamento sério. Faltam conhecimentos sobre problemas de saúde reprodutiva na atenção primária à saúde. Pacientes que sofrem de vulvodinia têm oferta especialmente fraca na Noruega. PMS e PMDD também são áreas onde há menos estudos. É necessário haver mais foco nas questões de saúde reprodutiva na Noruega, principalmente nos serviços de atenção primária à saúde. Atualmente existem poucas opções para curar problemas de saúde das mulheres, porém existem opções para gerenciá-los. Como muitos problemas de saúde reprodutiva se enquadram dentro de várias disciplinas, há um problema de apropriação do tema por uma especialidade médica

Exploring FemTech Affordances: A Computational Analysis of Fertility and Pregnancy Apps

FemTech applications are mobile applications designed to promote women\u27s health and wellness. They have gained increasing attention with a growing market share in the digital health industry. However, most of the existing products seem to be digital health apps with pink-themed design, but not oriented to female users or female-specific illnesses. To improve the understanding of FemTech apps, this study aims to explore the different types of affordances appearing in FemTech apps, through an analysis of user reviews of fertility and pregnancy apps. We applied topic modelling analysis on the data collected and extracted three types of affordances: instrumental, experiential, and empowerment. Our findings suggest that FemTech designers can consider these affordances to meet female users\u27 expectations better and improve their experience. Furthermore, our study sheds light on the potential of FemTech in promoting female empowerment, which could inspire future research in this field

Crimson Wave: Shedding Light on Menstrual Health

300-level Award recipient for 2018. Project completed for course CS 320. Supporting faculty: Orit Shae

TAILORING DIGITAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SUPPORT MESSAGES FOR WOMEN IN MIDLIFE WITH ELEVATED RISK FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: A MULTICOMPONENT STUDY

Women in midlife (ages 40-60) are at heightened risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although physical activity (PA) engagement can reduce CVD risk, few women engage in sufficient PA to receive this benefit. They cite lack of social support as a key barrier, but existing interventions that employ social support show limited effectiveness. Digital PA support messages (i.e., brief, text-based messages delivered via smartphone or other device) may be a powerful method to meet social support needs in daily life. However, women’s preferences for and responses to distinct types of messages are not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine selections of and responses to digital social support messages among women with CVD risk conditions (e.g., hypertension; N = 27, MAge = 53.3 years, MBMI = 32.6 kg/m2 ). Our findings indicate that women in this group may experience both elevated physical health risks and psychological distress (perceived stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms) that influence perceptions of support resources. Digital PA support for this population needs to account for these barriers to effectively increase PA and reduce health risk among this overburdened and at-risk group

The development of a culturally-informed cervical cancer screening and prevention mhealth intervention for African American women.

Background: Significant strides have been made in reducing the burden of cervical cancer and HPV. Between pap smear screenings and HPV vaccinations, there has been a reduction in cervical cancer incidence in the United States. Unfortunately, those reductions have not been experienced by all ethnic groups. Cervical cancer disparities are a threat to the health of African American women, and innovation in education and the healthcare experience is needed to eliminate this threat. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a culturally tailored intervention using mHealth services to improve cervical cancer and HPV knowledge. Methods: The development and evaluation of this mHealth intervention involved two phases. The first phase included the culturally tailoring of health messages using a community advisory board of African American women. By meeting in person and virtually, the women were able to tailor twenty-four messages to be disseminated using mHealth. The second phase of this study involved testing of the intervention and evaluation. African American women were recruited and then assessed on their baseline knowledge of cervical cancer and their experiences of discrimination in medical settings. Participants were then assigned to either the control or intervention group. Those in the intervention group received health messages three times a week for four weeks on their mobile phones. After four weeks had passed, both the control and intervention group were reassessed on their cervical cancer knowledge. mHealth was evaluated for its acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility using three evaluation measures and qualitative interviews. Results: Forty-eight women were recruited for this study, with non-random assignment of twenty-five to the intervention group and twenty-three to the control. The baseline scores on the cervical cancer awareness measure indicated a need for education in both groups. Additionally, all participants expressed having experienced some form of discrimination in medical settings. Using a paired-samples t-test the complete-case analysis shows an improvement in cervical cancer knowledge for women in the intervention group. Conclusions: mHealth intervention shows potential in educating African American women about cervical cancer and HPV. Using mobile phone technology allowed the women to be educated at their convenience and to return to the material later. Future research and practice should consider using the mHealth intervention with hard-to-reach populations or as educational material along with appointment reminders

Patient experience of taking adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer: a tough pill to swallow

Adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) has substantially improved the mortality rate among breast cancer survivors. Despite the proven efficacy, the non-adherence rate to therapy is still high. This study is aimed to examine women’s challenges related to AET adherence and management. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six Caucasian and six African American breast cancer survivors who were prescribed for AET. The transcripts of audio-taped interviews were qualitatively analyzed. Key themes were: 1) positive beliefs in AET, 2) uncertainty about long-term adherence, 3) experiences with side effects, 4) forgetting and remembering, 5) other concerns and information needs, 6) potential intervention format, and 7) culturally-coping among African American women. The findings provided insight into women’s experiences and beliefs and how these behaviors might influence AET adherence. Although most women in this study took AET as prescribed, many experienced a range of side effects and emotional distress, often without seeking support or help. New models of programs to promote adherence, support symptom management, and ultimately improve survival are critically needed. Developing culturally sensitive interventions for African American women is desirable

Engaging Men in Family Planning: Perspectives From Married Men in Lomé, Togo.

Family planning programs have made vast progress in many regions of sub-Saharan Africa in the last decade, but francophone West Africa is still lagging behind. More emphasis on male engagement might result in better outcomes, especially in countries with strong patriarchal societies. Few studies in francophone West Africa have examined attitudes of male involvement in family planning from the perspective of men themselves, yet this evidence is necessary for development of successful family planning projects that include men. This qualitative study, conducted in 2016, explored attitudes of 72 married men ages 18-54 through 6 focus groups in the capital of Togo, Lomé. Participants included professional workers as well as skilled and unskilled workers. Results indicate that men have specific views on family planning based on their knowledge and understanding of how and why women might use contraception. While some men did have reservations, both founded and not, there was an overwhelmingly positive response to discussing family planning and being engaged with related decisions and services. Four key findings from the analyses of focus group responses were: (1) socioeconomic motivations drive mens interest in family planning; (2) men strongly disapprove of unilateral decisions by women to use family planning; (3) misconceptions surrounding modern methods can hinder support for family planning; and (4) limited method choice for men, insufficient venues to receive services, and few messages that target men create barriers for male engagement in family planning. Future attempts to engage men in family planning programs should pay specific attention to mens concerns, misconceptions, and their roles in family decision making. Interventions should educate men on the socioeconomic and health benefits of family planning while explaining the possible side effects and dispelling myths. To help build trust and facilitate open communication, family planning programs that encourage counseling of husbands and wives in their homes by community health workers, trusted men, or couples who have successfully used or are currently using family planning to achieve their desired family size will be important

A Scoping Review of Behavior Change Techniques Used to Promote Physical Activity Among Women in Midlife

Women in midlife experience health risks that could be mitigated by regular physical activity and reduced sedentary time, but this population rarely achieves physical activity levels that would protect their health. As a result, many behavioral interventions are designed to promote physical activity in this population, which are purportedly guided by theoretical models of health behavior (change) and activate an associated set of behavior change techniques (BCTs). The efficacy and effectiveness of these interventions appear to be limited, however, raising questions about their design and adaptation for women in midlife. Several aspects of these interventions are currently unclear. Specifically, which women they target (i.e., how midlife and sedentary or inactive are defined), which theoretical models or behavior BCTs are used, and how BCTs are activated in such interventions. A synthesis of this information would be useful as an initial step toward improving physical activity interventions for this at-risk group, and thus, represented the goal of the present scoping review. Eligibility required publication in a peer-reviewed journal in English between 2000 and 2021, inclusion of only women in midlife who did not have any medical or other restrictions on their physical activity (e.g., cancer diagnosis), and free-living physical activity or sedentary behavior as the target outcome (with associated assessment). Of the 4,410 initial results, 51 articles met inclusion criteria, and these described 36 unique interventions. More than half of the articles (59%) named an underlying theoretical model and interventions included an average of 3.76 identifiable BCTs (range 1-11). However, descriptions of many interventions were limited and did not provide enough detail to determine whether or how specific BCTs were activated. Interventions also used a wide range of inclusion criteria for age range and starting activity level, which has implications for targeting/tailoring and effectiveness, and many interventions focused on marginalized populations (e.g., women from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds, those un- or under-insured). The present review identifies some strengths and highlights important limitations of existing literature, as well as key opportunities for advancing the design and potential utility of physical activity interventions for women in midlife