Health Care for Women International最新文献

For women living in undeveloped and developing countries, the experience of menarche can be quite traumatic. The study was conducted to examine how women's menarche experiences are reflected in other periods of life. The study was conducted using hermeneutic phenomenological approach. The sample of the study consisted of women who experienced the menarche period in a traumatic way. The study was terminated after 14 women were interviewed.Women's thoughts about their menarche experiences and life cycles were expressed in 4 themes: 'Emotional Reactions to Trauma', 'Reflections on Women's Health', 'Reflections on Reproductive Health' and 'Reflections on Mental Health'. Women who describe menarche as traumatic feel fear and anxiety about their sexual life and fertility processes. Women plan to be more conscious in the parenting process due to their traumatic menarche experiences. Menarche experience has a great role in women's lives.

Recently, scholars have examined the detrimental impact of parenting guilt, yet little is known about its mechanisms in Chinese. Based on family system theory, this study explores the relationship between work-family enrichment and parenting guilt, with parenting sense of competence as mediating variable and fathers' co-parenting as moderating variable. We distributed questionnaires to 476 mother and collected data at three time points. We found that work-family enrichment was negatively associated with parenting guilt, and the relationship was mediated by parenting sense of competence. Fathers' co-parenting moderated the relationship between work-family enrichment and parenting guilt. These findings further our understanding of parenting guilt in Chinese culture, as well as suggest the importance of work-family enrichment and fathers' co-parenting for maternal guilt.

Managing sleep quality in postmenopausal women is important in terms of improving quality of life. In this study the authors aimed to assess the impact of the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) on sleep quality and overall quality of life in postmenopausal women. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 29) or the control group (n = 29). Post-intervention analysis revealed increased Subjective Units of Experience Scale and Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire scores in the intervention group. However, no significant differences were found in overall Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores. Our findings suggest that a 4-week EFT intervention did not significantly enhance overall sleep quality but notably improved subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep disturbances, daytime dysfunction, menopause-specific quality of life and emotional well-being in postmenopausal women. EFT is recommended as a nonpharmacological approach for nurses applicable to clinical and public health settings.

In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the relationships between income, menstrual poverty, social anxiety, and academic success among 640 female undergraduates at Pamukkale University, Türkiye, using structural equation modeling. We collected data between April 1 and 15, 2025. We found moderate menstrual poverty (mean score 35.87 ± 6.35) and social anxiety (28.94 ± 10.59). Lower income predicted higher menstrual poverty (β = -0.199, p < .001), which directly increased social anxiety (β = 0.316, p < .001) and reduced academic success (β = -0.161, p = .002). Social anxiety also negatively affected academic success (β = -0.039, p = .046). We identified significant indirect effects: income influenced academic success through menstrual poverty (β = 0.032, p = .010) and through the sequential pathway of menstrual poverty and social anxiety (β = 0.002, p = 0.045). Income had no direct effect on academic success (β = 0.207, p = .559). Our findings underscore the need for campus interventions addressing menstrual product access, infrastructure, and mental health support to mitigate educational impacts.

We determined the thoughts, experiences, and perceived barriers of visually impaired women regarding BSE. The sample of this qualitative study consisted of 15 women with visual impairment. We identified four main themes after performing a thematic analysis: 'preventive approaches to breast health', 'thoughts on BSE', 'implementation of BSE' and 'barriers to BSE'. We found that women with visual impairment perform BSE, although not regularly, to protect their breast health, and that this examination is very important for early diagnosis. Half of these women did not undergo BSE regularly or accurately. Furthermore, the most significant barriers to BSE among these women were lack of knowledge, inability to recognize visual changes, barriers in health services, youth, fear, and lack of any breast problems. Results reflect that the BSE was challenging for women with visual impairment, and highlight the need to develop specific training programs for BSE.

Constructivist grounded theory was used to explore perceptions and experiences of sexual health among British-born South Asian women, aged 18-25 who lived in North-West England. We aimed to explore whether and how women were influenced by religion and socio-cultural factors. Participants (n = 16) took part in either interviews or focus groups. A theoretical framework focusing on how women navigated shame to negotiate sexual agency was developed. Culture and religious values prohibited sex-based relationships before marriage, which meant accessing support could prove problematic. Women demonstrated different levels of agency through finding ways to maintain secret relationships and to navigate access to healthcare services.

In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship between women's depression, stress, anxiety, and personal traits with their sexual function levels. We conducted cross-sectional study, among 215 women with sexually active women. We collected the research data by utilizing "Introductory Information Form", "Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS)", "Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)" and "International Personality Inventory Short Form (IPISV)". Among the participants, 63.7% exhibited adequate levels of sexual function, and 87.9% reported satisfaction with their sexual life. We found a weak negative correlation between total FSFI scores and some sub-dimensions of the IPISV, and the DASS. Higher levels of psychological distress and marked by emotional instability, hostility, undirectedness, and closed to experience, were associated with reduced levels of sexual function. It appears that psychological and personality factors may be relevant in understanding variations in sexual function, indicating the potential value of targeted interventions in improving sexual function.

Antenatal depression is a public health concern, impacting maternal and fetal health. We aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with antenatal depression in Baghdad, Iraq. In total, 850 pregnant women attending outpatient clinics at the Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital and three private clinics were screened for depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Depression prevalence was 29.8%, identified associated risk factors in descending order were: unwanted pregnancy, poor marital relationship, intimate partner violence, income dissatisfaction, severe fear of childbirth, and inadequate social support. Routine antenatal depression screening may help identify mothers for targeted interventions, optimizing care and outcomes.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health concern, disproportionately affecting women of color (WOC), including Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latina, and immigrant women. By performing a synthesis of qualitative research, the researchers identified five key themes shaping WOC's experiences of IPV: patriarchy and traditional gender norms, systemic racism and xenophobia, lack of cultural inclusion and safety, social needs, and healing through culture, spirituality, and community. Our findings suggest developing clinical models to meet the needs of this diverse population by addressing both the cultural and systemic factors that contribute to their experiences of IPV. Clinical practice can adapt to these challenges by fostering inclusivity and cultural competence to better support WOC victim-survivors of IPV, mitigate the harmful impacts of IPV, and promote pathways for healing. Future researchers must focus on developing culturally sensitive models that consider cultural background and reflect the complexity of IPV experiences for WOC.

Unintended pregnancies are widely known as social and financial burdens in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Therefore, we aim to examine whether unmet contraceptive needs cause unintended pregnancies in Indonesia in a cross-sectional study using the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS). In the bivariate analysis, we selected all variables for model building, except for employment status. In multivariate analysis, we found that unmet contraceptive needs posed a 1.3-fold higher risk for unintended pregnancies (CI 1.16-1.47) than those with met needs. Focusing on unmet contraceptive needs could reduce the prevalence of unintended pregnancies.