Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health articles from May 2003

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health archives from May 2003

Survival means new risks. (FYI).(early sex education needed for teenage HIV patients)(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... With highly active antiretroviral therapy prolonging the lives of people with HIV, growing numbers of teenagers who were infected at birth will become sexually active and conceive. The first available data on such young people--eight Puerto...

Newspeak 2003. (FYI).(sensitive language in sexually transmitted disease research advised against)(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... Researchers who study sexually transmitted diseases and whose work includes sex workers, men who sleep with men or individuals who engage in anal sex are well advised not to use the terms "sex workers," "men who sleep with men" and "anal sex"...

Foul? (FYI).(baseball theme of pro-life organizations' fundraising competition)(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... As America's favorite pastime entered its current spring season, a group of former and current professional baseball players and executives threw out the first pitch in a "friendly fundraising competition" to finance a "one-stop shopping...

How well do pharmacies serve teenagers? (FYI).(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... Pharmacists could be important providers of contraceptive information and supplies for teenagers, but many feel poorly trained to play this role. (1) Of nearly 1,000 pharmacists surveyed in Indiana, more than half said that they did not feel...

Rap-related risk. (FYI).(sexual behavior and drug use among teenage girls who watch rap music videos )(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... Young black women who spend a lot of time watching rap music videos may be at increased risk of poor health outcomes. (1) Virtually all 522 women in a study of 14-18-year-olds in Birmingham, Alabama, reported watching rap videos, particularly...

A new tack on HIV prevention efforts. (FYI).(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... In response to increasing HIV incidence in some communities and stabilizing rates of HIV-related morbidity and mortality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced a new initiative aimed at preventing spread of the...

How's the baby? (FYI).(evaluating newborn health screening programs)(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... All states require that newborns be screened for disorders that could, in the absence of early intervention, cause severe illness or death, but there is little consistency in which disorders states' programs include. (1) The majority of...

More harm than good. (FYI).(health risks of hormone replacement therapy)(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... Evidence continues to accumulate that there is no good reason for most women to take combined hormones after menopause. New analyses from the Women's Health Initiative, which previously found that postmenopausal use of estrogen plus progestin...

Young women and pap smears. (FYI).(odds of patients following up on abnormal results)(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... Eight in 10 sexually experienced women seen at a hospital-based adolescent clinic in 1998-1999 intended to return as instructed for Pap smears or follow-up appointments after abnormal results, but after 15 months, only three in 10 had done so....

When and why do young people in the United Kingdom first use sexual health services?
May 1, 2003... For young people's sexual health services to be effective, they must be user-friendly, nonjudgmental, accessible, approachable and confidential. (1) They also must provide a range of services for both men and women, (2) and above all, they...

Heterosexually active men's beliefs about methods for preventing sexually transmitted diseases.
May 1, 2003... Heterosexual transmission accounted for the largest proportionate increase in the number of reported AIDS cases in the United States between 1996 and 2000, (1) and AIDS is the leading cause of death among individuals aged 25-44. (2) Other...

Effects of psychosocial risk factors and prenatal interventions on birth weight: evidence from New Jersey's HealthStart Program.
May 1, 2003... The Medicaid expansions for pregnant women in the late 1980s focused primarily on increasing eligibility for prenatal care. However, they also allowed states to receive matching funds to enhance that care. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget...

Child disability and mothers' tubal sterilization.
May 1, 2003... Sterilization is the most commonly used method of contraception in the United States, just surpassing oral contraceptives. (1) Its effectiveness (nearly 100%) and the fact that it is fully covered by most insurance plans (2) make it an...

Access to adolescent reproductive health services: financial and structural barriers to care. (Viewpoint).
May 1, 2003... Since the early 1970s, adolescent pregnancy rates in the United States, the United Kingdom and other western European countries have dropped significantly, partly because of the availability of more effective contraceptive methods and increases...

Not all Washington-area primary care practices offer all needed adolescent reproductive health services. (Digests).
May 1, 2003... Adolescent sexual and reproductive health services--especially confidential services--are not universally available from primary care practices in the Washington, DC, area, according to a 1998-1999 survey of physicians and office staff. 1...

Study results have left many women confused about hormone therapy. (Digest).(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... Two-thirds of U.S. women aged 40-79 have heard about research results suggesting that the risks of hormone therapy outweigh the benefits, and three-fourths are confused about whether to use it to alleviate symptoms of menopause and prevent...

Shortly after early abortion, women report significant improvements in physical and emotional well-being. (Digests).
May 1, 2003... Women undergoing early abortion may experience dramatic improvements in their quality of life soon after the procedure. In a prospective cohort study of 97 patients, all examined aspects of quality of life improved significantly within one...

Acquiring a new partner is linked to increased HPV risk among young women. (Digests).(human papillomavirus )
May 1, 2003... More than a third of sexually experienced young women who are not infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) become infected during a two-year period. (1) In a cohort study of female university students who initially did not have genital HPV...

Odds of ectopic pregnancy are sharply elevated among heavy smokers. (Digests).(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... Heavy smoking and a history of sexually transmitted disease (SID) are the main factors of ectopic pregnancy, according to results of a population-based study conducted in central France. (1) Among women in one region, those who had smoked 20 or...

Three differing emergency contraceptive regimens are equally effective. (Digests).(Author Abstract)
May 1, 2003... Three regimens of emergency contraception--a single 10 mg dose of mifepristone, a single 1.5 mg dose of levonorgestrel and two 0.75 mg doses of levonorgestrel taken 12 hours apart--appear to be equally effective. According to results of a...

Neighborhood-level effects on babies' birth weight differ by race in Chicago. (Digests).
May 1, 2003... Neighborhood-level factors appear to have independent effects on the birth weight of babies born to urban residents. According to a study based on individual- and neighborhood-level data from 343 Chicago neighborhoods, (1) for white mothers...

Youth who first got drunk by age 12 have relatively high levels of risky sexual behavior during college. (Digests).
May 1, 2003... College students who first became drunk at a young age have elevated odds of attributing episodes of unplanned or unprotected intercourse to drinking, according to findings from a survey conducted at more than 100 U.S. colleges and universities...

Hysterectomy rate among hispanic women is only half that of white women. (Digests).
May 1, 2003... Hispanic women are less likely to undergo hysterectomy than are white women, according to an analysis of the 1998-1999 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). (1) Only 12% of Hispanic women aged 25 or older have had the procedure, compared...