Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
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Womens Health Issues · Jan 2007
Are alcohol problems linked with an increase in depressive symptoms in abused, inner-city African American women?
Little is known regarding the link between intimate partner violence (IPV), alcohol problems (AP), and depression in inner-city African American women. We sought to investigate whether abused inner-city African American women reporting AP endorsed more depressive symptoms compared to women reporting either AP or IPV or reporting neither. ⋯ Among inner-city, African American women, depressive symptoms are highest among those reporting both high IPV levels and AP. Health care systems serving similar communities should implement a systematic approach to identifying IPV, AP, and depression in patients.
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Womens Health Issues · Sep 2006
Comparative StudyLong-term costs of intimate partner violence in a sample of female HMO enrollees.
To compare costs associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) overall and for selected physical health problems in a non-poor, privately insured sample. ⋯ IPV elevates health care costs, not only among women currently experiencing abuse, but also among women for whom the abuse has ceased. Efforts to control health care costs should focus on early detection and prevention of IPV.
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Womens Health Issues · Jul 2006
ReviewMorbidity and mortality in pregnancy: laying the groundwork for safe motherhood.
The Safe Motherhood Initiative is a global effort to reduce deaths and illnesses among women and infants. Despite the relatively low maternal mortality rate in the United States, ensuring safe motherhood is still critical. For several reasons, it is important to study maternal mortality and morbidity. ⋯ Broadening the research focus and prevention efforts to include the study of maternal morbidity, especially near-miss morbidity-life-threatening morbidity-can strengthen the study of maternal death. This paper presents an overview of maternal mortality and morbidity including incidence and etiology, issues and challenges for measurement, and issues of preventability. We also address specific strategies for change for health care providers, federal and state health agencies, and the public health community.
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This study examines women's use and expenditures for medical care in the US. In 2000, 91% of women aged 18 years and older used any form of health care services. Overall, 82% of adult women reported an ambulatory care visit, and 11% had an inpatient hospital stay. ⋯ Preventable disparities in access to and receipt of care are unacceptable. To improve the quality of health care for all women, it is important for policymakers to understand the factors that influence their utilization and expenditures for medical care. Data collection, analysis, and reporting by race, ethnicity, and primary language across federally supported health programs are essential to help identify, understand the causes of, monitor, and eventually eliminate disparities.