Background: Breast and Gynecological cancers are a major public health problem. Smoking is associated with several chronic diseases including cancer. Other lifestyles of public health predispose many people to dyslipidemia, hypertension and obesity; risk factors for metabolic syndrome, and are associated with cancer. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to find if those who smoke, and have the metabolic syndrome, are more likely to have breast or gynecological cancers, and to find the distribution by education, having health insurance, race/ethnicity and socio-economic status. Methods: A case-control study of females aged 20 years and above who participated in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2010. Results: Females who have smoked more than hundred cigarettes in life and still smoke; a) have a 42 percent less chance of having a breast cancer diagnosis (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.36 – 0.93, p-value 0.025), and b) are 2.67 times as likely to report a cervical cancer diagnosis as females who have smoked less than hundred cigarettes in life (OR 2.67; 95% CI 1.72 – 4.13, p-value Conclusion: Smoking and metabolic syndrome are very important indicators of reproductive health and needs further study. Smoking cessation interventions should be an integral part of cervical cancer prevention programs especially targeted at younger females and females who live below the federal poverty level.

Program Description As a part of the community education branch of the Feminist Women’s Health Center (FWHC), there is a leadership & advocacy training program for young women called the Young Women’s Leadership Program. This project was developed in 1999 at the FWHC as a way to connect young women from all walks of life to different communities and prepare them for reproductive justice activism, advocacy, and organizational leadership. Through this program, young women will have the opportunity to develop invaluable skills that include: how to advocate for social justice and women’s rights, how to plan events and recruit new activists, and empowerment through volunteering. The Young Women’s Leadership Program has expanded to the Latina community of Atlanta as well as the African American community. Since inception, over 2,200 young women have graduated from the YWLP program (“Young Women’s Leadership Project”, n.d.). The end result of the YWLP is for the participants to take on leadership roles and to participate actively in the community as well as operate as a board member on a committee at the FWHC. Evaluation Questions Three main questions were posed in order to perform an outcome evaluation of the Young Women’s Leadership Program. These questions coincided with the agenda of the Program Coordinator because the current goal is to regain external funding for the program. Proof of the success of the program through the outcome evaluation would be helpful in meeting that goal. Through the activities of the program, did participants feel that their knowledge of reproductive rights and justice was increased? i. Was volunteer orientation valuable in increasing participant’s knowledge of reproductive health, rights, and justice for women? Did the participants find the advocacy activities of the program valuable in increasing their advocacy skills? Did the participants find the leadership activities of the program valuable in developing their leadership skills? i. Did any of the program participant’s progress to Tier III leadership roles within the Feminist Women’s Health Center? If so, in what capacity? Summary of Results To summarize the findings of the evaluation results, a majority of the program participants did have the perception that five of the Young Women’s Leadership Program activities did increase their knowledge of reproductive health, rights, and justice. Specifically, volunteer orientation and FOCUS: Reproductive Justice Advocacy workshop seemed to have the largest response rates and were favorable towards participants agreeing that their knowledge had increased as a result of the activity. Also, a majority of the participants did agree that 5 out of 6 activities were valuable in increasing their advocacy skills as well as their leadership skills. The evaluation question, “Did any of the program participant’s progress to Tier III leadership roles within the Feminist Women’s Health Center?” returned positive results as there were some 7 participants who moved to Tier III leadership out of 24 participants who responded. In summary, the participants of the Young Women’s Leadership Program, did have a positive perception of the program on increasing the leadership and advocacy skills as well as the knowledge of reproductive health, rights, and justice of the participants surveyed.

Epidemiologiniais tyrimais nustatytos androgenų sąsajos su įvairiais metaboliniais veiksniais bei širdies ir kraujagyslių ligų rizika paskatino susidomėjimą naujais vyrų reprodukcinės sveikatos aspektais. Iki šiol Lietuvoje nebuvo nustatytos normalios vyrų androgenų koncen¬tracijos ribos, nebuvo atlikta reprodukcinės sveikatos, antropometrinių ir metabolinių rodiklių sąsajų analizės tyrimų. Pasaulyje iki šiol trūksta nuoseklios informacijos apie metabolinių ir antropometrinių rodiklių ryšius su lytiniais hormonais, ypač homogeniškose tiriamųjų imtyse. Trūksta informacijos apie androgenų sąsajas su pažintinėmis funkcijomis, emocine būkle ir gyvenimo kokybės vertinimu. Daugelis tyrimų, kuriais vertintas pakaitinio gydymo testosteronu efektyvumas – trumpalaikiai, juose dau¬giausiai dėmesio skirta struktūriniams, o ne funkciniams rodikliams. Šiuo tyrimu siekta aprašyti jaunų bei vidutinio amžiaus vyrų reprodukcinės sveikatos sąsajas su antro¬pometrijos, metabolinės bei psichologinės būklės rodikliais. Tai iki šiol didžiausia savo apimtimi Lietuvos vyrų androgenų sąsajų analizė. Šiuo darbu siekiama sistemingai atsakyti į iškeltus aktualius klau¬simus, nustatyti normalios ir optimalios androgenų koncentracijos ribas, homogeniškose amžiumi tiriamųjų grupėse įvertinti šių hormonų koncen¬tracijos grupių sąsajas su kūno sudėties ir medžiagų apykaitos rodikliais bei nustatyti, kokius sergančiųjų androgenų nepakankamumu funkcinius pokyčius sąlygoja ilgalaikis optimalus pakaitinis... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Associations between androgens and various metabolic factors, as well as cardiovascular morbidity shown in recent epidemiological studies sparked interest in new aspects of male reproductive health. Reference values for normal androgen levels in Lithuanian population have not yet been established and no relationship studies on reproductive health and anthropometric, as well as metabolic parameters have been performed. Unequivocal information on associations among the aforementioned factors is lacking globally, especially those performed in homogenous populations. More information on androgen associations with cognitive function, emotional state and evaluation of quality of life is required. Most of the studies on effectiveness of testosterone replacement therapy were of short duration and mostly focused on structural, rather than functional parameters. The purpose of the study was to describe associations between reproductive health and anthropometric, metabolic, as well as psychological parameters in young and middle-aged men. This is the largest androgen association analysis in Lithuanian population. This work seeks for systematic responses to questions of interest: to establish reference values for normal and optimal androgen levels, to evaluate their relationship with anthropometric and metabolic factors in populations that are homogenous by age, and to assess the functional changes that long-term optimal testosterone replacement therapy may induce in patients with... [to full text]

This MA thesis examines the decision-making capacity of young women married during adolescence within the context of their sexual and reproductive health in an urban ghetto in the city of Ahmedabad, India. Specifically, the development literature on married female adolescents (MFAs) is characterized by negative health indicators such as higher rates of unwanted pregnancies, reproductive tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, high infant and maternal mortality and morbidity coupled with the phenomenon of early marriage, poverty and an overall lower social status. The result is a disempowering discourse that constructs and presents them as powerless victims who lack any decision-making capacity and are perpetually oppressed. This research is an effort to move the discussions of “Other third world women” outside the realm of victimization by challenging and destabilizing this disempowering, hegemonic discourse. We must ask what does decision making look like for these women, as exercised within the context of their sexual and reproductive health. This qualitative analysis is informed by primary research through focus groups and semi-structured interviews with young married women, and was conducted with the help of a local NGO, Mahila Patchwork Co-operative Society. The study provides insights on the young married women’s participation and role in determining their own health outcomes (negative and positive) to better inform programs and services offered by the community NGOs.

In this thesis, I describe how women who are forced to migrate from Burma into Thailand manage their fertility, unwanted pregnancy and pregnancy loss. The study was initiated by Dr Cynthia Maung, a Burmese medical doctor, herself a stateless person who coordinates a refugee-led primary health service five kilometres inside Thailand. Unsafe abortion is a common problem and much time and resources are taken with the care of women suffering haemorrhage, infection and pain after self-induced abortion in both Thai and Burmese-led health facilities. The thesis examines the characteristics of Burmese women admitted to health facilities with post-abortion complications and their chosen methods of self-induced abortion. Local meanings of abortion and post-abortion care are explored. Lay midwives play a central role in fertility management and some are abortionists. Men’s role in the management of fertility is also presented. The women are generally married with children. Considered illegal migrants, they are employed and work in Thailand without work permits. Many women have a history of escaping human rights abuses and entrenched poverty in Burma. At least a third of women admitted into care with post-abortion complications had induced their abortion with oral herbal preparations, pummelling manipulations or stick abortions. Most of the abortion services were provided by Burmese lay midwives. Reasons for terminating the pregnancy include: poverty, gender-based violence and the local illness of ‘weakness’. In addition, low sexual health knowledge, and difficult access to reproductive health services play a part in mistimed pregnancy. / There is no commonly agreed definition of abortion between formal, informal health workers or women. Most people considered it against cultural lore and in some cases judicial law but still felt it was necessary. Women’s perceptions of the viability of their pregnancy and its outcome prevailed. Men played a limited role in fertility management. I argue that a lack of rights to work and earn a fair wage; to move without fear, a lack of sexual health information, and the ability to safely control fertility increases women’s risk of unsafe abortion. Furthermore, violence perpetrated at the individual and state level contributes to unsafe abortion. Burmese women’s mortality and morbidity associated with unsafe abortion is largely unrecorded by Thai processes and unknown to the Burmese military government. Unwanted and mistimed pregnancy can be avoided through reproductive technologies, education programmes, and access to modern contraceptives. To safely terminate unwanted pregnancies and to treat the complications of pregnancy loss is not only possible but a woman’s right as delineated in the international treaty CEDAW, to which Burma and Thailand are signatories. Yet Burmese women continue to suffer: become sterile, socially vilified, unemployed or repatriated against their will due to their reproductive status. Their sickness and deaths are secondary to the economic imperatives of Burma and Thailand and their human rights continue to be violated.....

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-175).

Thesis (M.A. (Population and Reproductive Health Research))--Mahidol University, 2004.

Thesis (M.P.H.M. (Primary Health Care Management))--Mahidol University, 2006. / LICL has E-Thesis 0011 ; please contact computer services.

Thesis (M.A. (Health Social Sciences))--Mahidol University, 2007. / LICL has E-Thesis 0024 ; please contact computer services.

Thesis (M.A. (Population and Reproductive Health Research))--Mahidol University, 2007. / LICL has E-Thesis 0028 ; please contact computer services.