Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health articles from March 2006

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health archives from March 2006

In this issue.
March 1, 2006... With all of the emphasis on teenage pregnancy prevention and the risks of disease associated with vaginal intercourse, it should come as no surprise that youth engage in other types of sexual behavior. Or that they are largely ignorant of the...

Same data set, but ...(abortion)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Contrary to results of earlier work based on the same data set, an analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth has found no evidence that women who have an abortion to terminate an unintended first pregnancy are at greater...

What do doctors know?(sexually transmitted diseases)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Women may take it for granted that their primary care physicians know how to manage STDs, but they may be wrong. (1) In a sample of primary care physicians in Pennsylvania who answered a mailed questionnaire in 1998, the average number of...

HIV tests for rapists: whose call?(FYI)
March 1, 2006... Under a proposal by Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, individuals who have been indicted for or formally charged with rape or sexual assault would have to be tested for HIV and other STDs if the prosecutor or victim requested it. (1)...

The latest on HIV diagnoses.(FYI)
March 1, 2006... The 33 states that had name-based HIV surveillance systems in 2001-2004 reported more than 150,000 HIV diagnoses to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during that period. (1) Seven in 10 infected persons were male, the majority of...

Recent STD trend data.(sexually transmitted diseases)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Since reaching an all-time low in 2000, the rate of primary and secondary syphilis has climbed steadily, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; it rose by 8% between 2003 and 2004, reaching 2.7 cases per 100,000...

When does high occupancy begin?(high occupancy vehicle lanes)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Last November, a Phoenix police officer pulled a driver over for improper use of a carpool lane. The officer said the driver was the only one in the car; the driver, who was pregnant, said she was not, because her unborn child was with her. The...

Protecting sex workers.(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Arguing that designated zones for prostitution do not protect sex workers from rape or violence, the British government has decided against establishing such zones but announced alternative plans meant to enhance the safety of the roughly...

Drug-resistant HIV in the UK.(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... The prevalence of drug-resistant HIV in the United Kingdom is high and appears to be rising, according to an analysis of national data for 1996-2003. (1) During the study period, 14% of HIV-positive individuals who were tested for drug...

Old measure, new approach.(public health and social science research)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Measurement of socioeconomic status is a fairly standard component of public health and social science research; how socioeconomic status is defined and measured, however, is anything but. After examining standard approaches to measuring...

Tea may ward off cancer.(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... The more tea women drink, the lower their risk of ovarian cancer may be, according to findings from a population-based study in Sweden. (1) In a large cohort of women followed for an average of 15 years, those who drank two or more cups of tea...

Oral sex and condom use among young people in the United Kingdom.
March 1, 2006... Much research into young people's sexual behavior in the United Kingdom has focused on describing levels of prevalence of, and understanding the factors associated with, early sexual activity and contraceptive use, including condom use. Indeed,...

Friends' influence on adolescents' first sexual intercourse.
March 1, 2006... The proportion of adolescents who are sexually experienced has decreased in recent years, (1) but 34% of ninth graders and 61% of 12th graders report ever having had sexual intercourse, and 7% of high school students say they first had...

Using the theory of reasoned action to explain physician intention to prescribe emergency contraception.
March 1, 2006... Emergency contraception, or postcoital birth control, is used less often in the United States than in other countries. (1) Many factors influence this difference, including differences in U.S. prescribing rates, women's and physicians'...

Asian American adolescents' first sexual intercourse: gender and acculturation differences.
March 1, 2006... Sexual intercourse during adolescence is a significant and complex event. It leads to a radically new understanding of one's identity as a physically developing person, and it is a major psychological milestone on the road to adulthood. (1) ...

The provision and funding of contraceptive services at publicly funded family planning agencies: 1995-2003.
March 1, 2006... Publicly funded family planning agencies play a critical role in delivering affordable contraceptives and related preventive health care to millions of American women each year, thereby helping them to avoid unintended pregnancy and to obtain...

Pharmacy access to emergency contraception in California.
March 1, 2006... Emergency contraceptives--oral hormonal contraceptives taken after intercourse but before implantation to prevent pregnancy--are more effective the sooner they are taken after unprotected intercourse. (1) The method can prevent pregnancy when...

Risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with diabetes varies by women's race and ethnicity.(DIGESTS)
March 1, 2006... Women with diabetes have an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, but the level of risk associated with the condition varies by racial and ethnic group, according to an analysis of births in New York City. (1) Among white, black,...

Lesbians, bisexual women: misperceptions of risk jeopardize sexual health.(DIGESTS)
March 1, 2006... Women of all sexual orientations engage in sexual behaviors that put them at risk for acquiring HIV and other STDs, and should therefore receive counseling on prevention, although patterns of behavior differ by orientation. (1) In a...

Consistent condom use reduces the risk of type 2 herpes virus.(DIGESTS)
March 1, 2006... The more consistently that sexually active men and women use condoms, the lower their risk of becoming infected with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). (1) In a prospective cohort study among individuals at risk for infection, 6% became...

Easy access to EC increases teenagers' use, but does not lead to risky behavior.(DIGESTS)
March 1, 2006... Adolescent clinic clients who were given packs of emergency contraceptive pills to have on hand had a higher rate of use of the method during a six-month follow-up period than did their counterparts who had to go to a clinic to obtain it (44%...

Duration of breast-feeding is up in Swiss hospitals that encourage the practice.(DIGESTS)
March 1, 2006... In the 10 years after Switzerland introduced the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), a program designed by UNICEF to ensure that maternity facilities encourage breast-feeding, the median duration of any breast-feeding increased from 22 to...

Colorado prenatal program targeted at specific risk factors helps reduce the incidence of low birth weight.
March 1, 2006... Programs targeting specific factors that can increase a woman's risk of having a low-birth-weight infant may help reduce the incidence of this outcome, according to a study of women in Colorado participating in a targeted risk reduction...

Skills-oriented counseling holds promise for increasing women's use of barrier methods.(Digests)
March 1, 2006... Women who received skills-oriented counseling at an Alabama STD clinic used condoms and microbicides more frequently during the next six months than did women who received only information about the use and effectiveness of these methods,...