Study Women (study + woman)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Health perceptions and health behaviours of poor urban Jordanian women

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 1 2001
Sawsan Majali Mahasneh PhD RN
Health perceptions and health behaviours of poor urban Jordanian women Background.,The economic recession and stringent economic adjustment programme that Jordan has gone through since the early 1980s have resulted in lower living standards and higher rates of poverty and unemployment. Poverty debilitates women and impairs their access to health care, proper nutrition and well-being in general. Rationale.,Women's health behaviours and problems need to be analysed from the perspective of women themselves. The purpose of this study was to describe the health perceptions and health behaviours of poor urban Jordanian women aged 15,45 years in the context of the family and community in which they live. The sample consisted of 267 Jordanian women aged 18,45 years, whose household income was below the poverty line. Method.,This was a community-based study that collected data using semi-structured interviews with women. Health perceptions were measured by asking the women to describe their health status, as they perceived it. Health behaviours were measured by asking the women about their personal hygiene, diet, activity and exercise, sleep, smoking, drinking alcohol, and safety and security. Results.,The average age of women was 33 years, 93% were or had been married, and 87·5% had received some form of education. Although the mean age at marriage was about 20 years, 13·6% were married when they were less than 16 years of age. Study women gave a lower rating of their health status than those reported in national studies. Although they reported bathing once a week, eating about three meals a day, and getting 8 hours sleep, there remain areas for improvement in their health behaviours in terms of performing regular exercise, carrying out regular health examinations, and the type and amount of food consumed. Recommendations.,Implications for nursing, with a special focus on health education and meeting the health needs of these women, are presented. [source]


Testing mechanisms of action for intensive case management

ADDICTION, Issue 3 2008
Jon Morgenstern
ABSTRACT Aim This study identified factors that predict, mediate or moderate the effects of intensive case management (ICM) on longer-term drug abstinence outcomes in women on welfare. Design In a parent study women were assigned randomly to usual care (UC) or intensive case manangement (ICM). Treatment was provided for 12 weeks and follow-up continued for 15 months after study intake. A set of hypothesized mediators was assessed at month 3 and a rigorous four-step mediational model was tested using outcomes in months 4,15. Participants Participants were 302 drug-dependent women applying and eligible for federal welfare and not currently in drug abuse treatment. Interventions ICM provided intensive treatment engagement including voucher incentives for treatment attendance and case management services; UC provided primarily referral to community treatment programs. Measurement Substance use outcomes were assessed using the time-line follow-back interview and confirmed using biological and collateral measures. Findings Participants in ICM had more case manager contacts, better treatment engagement and more self-help attendance than did those in UC. Each of these variables predicted, and was shown to be a mediator of outcome, but case management contact was an especially robust mediator. Further, ICM effects were strongest for those who attended treatment least. Contrary to prediction, greater psychopathology and environmental stressors did not predict worse outcomes. Conclusions Findings suggest that case management is an active intervention that may both facilitate and substitute for formal drug abuse treatment. [source]


Review of quality of life: menorrhagia in women with or without inherited bleeding disorders

HAEMOPHILIA, Issue 1 2008
M. SHANKAR
Summary., The objectives of this study were to identify the impact of menorrhagia on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of women in general and those with inherited bleeding disorders and to identify the commonly used tools in assessing quality of life. A review of studies evaluating quality of life in women suffering from menorrhagia was conducted. Data sources used included electronic databases Medline and Embase. Reference lists and bibliographies of the relevant papers and books were hand-searched for additional studies. Eighteen of the 53 studies identified measured quality of life prior to treatment of menorrhagia. Ten of the studies used a validated measure of quality of life. Five studies involving a total of 1171 women with menorrhagia in general and using SF-36 were considered for further review. The mean SF-36 scores in women with menorrhagia were worse in all the eight scales when compared with normative scores from a general population of women. Three studies, involving 187 women, assessed the quality of life in women with menorrhagia and inherited bleeding disorders. None of these studies used a validated HRQOL score making it difficult for comparison. However, all reported poorer scores in study women compared to the controls. In conclusion, HRQOL is adversely affected in women with menorrhagia in general and in those with inherited bleeding disorders. HRQOL evaluation is useful in the management of women with menorrhagia for assessment of treatment efficacy. [source]


Incidence of severe pre-eclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage and sepsis as a surrogate marker for severe maternal morbidity in a European population-based study: the MOMS-B survey

BJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 1 2005
Wei-Hong Zhang
Objective To describe the incidence of three conditions of acute severe maternal morbidity in selected regions in nine European countries. Design A population-based questionnaire survey. Setting Eleven regions in nine countries of Europe. Population All the pregnant women in each region who had delivered during the period covered by the study. Methods Standard definitions of three severe obstetric conditions, pre-eclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage and sepsis were established by a steering committee. A common questionnaire was used in each participating country. The incidence of the three obstetric conditions and characteristics of the study women were compared. Main outcome measures Incidence of three severe obstetric conditions: pre-eclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage and sepsis. Results The study identified 1734 women with at least one of the three conditions, with 847 experiencing severe haemorrhage, 793 experiencing severe pre-eclampsia and 142 experiencing severe sepsis. There were wide variations in incidence of three conditions combined, ranging from 14.7 per thousand deliveries in Brussels, Belgium to 6.0 per thousand deliveries in Upper Austria. Conclusions This study sets a simple and straightforward approach to the definition of three severe obstetric conditions and allows population-based comparisons between developed countries in Europe, even though difficulties may have been present with applying the definition across countries. The reported incidence of these severe obstetric conditions in general and severe haemorrhage varied significantly between countries. Overall, severe haemorrhage in particular was the most common of the three conditions, followed closely by severe pre-eclampsia. [source]