Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 1997. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 214-225).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 262-284).

Sexual minority women experience a number of physical and mental health disparities compared to their heterosexual peers. One factor contributing to this disparity is access to care, of which sexual minority women also report having less than heterosexual women. In this study I examine predictors of sexual minority women's access to care in three ecological contexts: structural, community, and interpersonal. Eighty-eight sexual minority women 22 and older from Davidson County, TN responded to an online survey that gathered information about demographic factors and various aspects access to care including accessing healthcare systems, gaining access within the system, and patient/provider relationships. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine whether demographic factors were significant predictors of access to care. Age, education, and degree to which participants were open with others about their sexual orientation were significant predictors of access. Results point to significant differences in access to care within this population that has multiple marginalized identity statuses, indicating a need for attention to within-population access needs. Sexual minority women who are younger, less educated, and less out to others about their sexual orientation may be at increased risk to face barriers to care. Implications for practice and policy include a need for increased cultural competence of healthcare providers, and changes in policies that will close the insurance gap between heterosexual and sexual minority adults in the U.S.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2004. / Thesis directed by Felicia B. LeClere for the Department of Sociology. "April 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-177).

The purpose of this study was to examine the economic and psychosocial barriers to receiving adequate prenatal care among racial minority women.The respondents for this study were thirty racial minority women. The sixteenAfrican-American and fourteen Hispanic women respondents were all postpartum patients at Grady Memorial Hospital. The content of the study includes an in-depth look at both the economic and psychosocial barriers to receiving adequate use prenatal care, as well as the historical perspective. The related topics of low birthweight and infant mortality are also examined. The Cognitive Theory was examined in an attempt to understand the reasoning behind racial minority women not receiving adequate prenatal care. A Pearson's "r" correlation was conducted between the independent variables and the dependent variable. Both of the null hypotheses were accepted. Therefore, the major findings in this study concluded that there was no statistical significance between economic and psychosocial barriers and receiving adequate prenatal care among racial minority women.

Gender relations as well as the social situation of Manchu women have long been ignored in studies of the cultural evolution of the Manchu. By setting the discussion of Manchu women in the context of cultural adaptation, this study reintroduces gender and women's problems into the research on the Manchu culture by outlining the social changes in Manchu society over 300 years, which in turn have affected the social position of Manchu women. A literature review provides a theoretical framework to the understanding of the interaction between the social system of Manchu society and environmental stress. An emphasis is laid on the role of the state in cultural evolution and its influence on Manchu women. Two factors significantly affecting Manchu women's lives are the introduction of the Banner system and the process of systematic sinification. Cultural assimilation and maintenance are also major topics covered in this study. The results of a field investigation at Outer Firearm Camp In Beijing reveal a pattern of a mixture of Han and Manchu customs, which serves as a good example of how a cultural system be partially destroyed and partially preserved in the process of adaptation, and how women's status remains higher among the Manchu than among the Han. The Manchu's basic cultural value system with its emphasis on women's equality has proven to be remarkably stable despite many social adaptations to extreme pressures from the outside world. / Graduation date: 1996 / Best scan available for p.53 and p.106.

Background: Decades of research indicate that physical activity is an important behavior for health promotion and disease prevention. Despite dissemination of these research findings, many American adults are sedentary. The rates for sedentary behavior vary by race/ethnicity and gender. Women and adults from minority groups are most likely to be sedentary. Research on adults who are physically active has identified several factors that predispose, enable, and reinforce this behavior. The presence of social support is one such factor. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the nature and extent of social influence on physical activity in a nationally-representative sample of minority women. Methods: A telephone survey of 2912 women ages 40 and older from various racial/ethnic groups was conducted from July 1996 to June 1997. Information on physical activity as well as other preventive health behaviors was collected. Analysis: Descriptive analyses were done on physical activity levels (including an accumulation of household and occupational physical activity), physical activity-related social support (PASS), support network, and measures of social contact. Logistic regression was used to determine differences in PASS levels and physical activity. Linear Regression was used to determine the relationship between social influence and physical activity level. Results: Women with high levels of physical activity- related social support were more likely to meet recommended levels of physical activity. There was no difference by racial/ethnic group. An index of social influence was not a significant predictor or physical activity level among all women in the sample. Conclusion: While women with higher levels of specific support for physical activity were more likely to be physically active, a more general measure of social support did not predict level of physical activity. More research is needed in assessment of both physical activity and social support in this population. / Graduation date: 1999

Sexual minority women have been repeatedly overlooked in violence against women research. As a result, we know little about the experiences and needs of non-heterosexual or gender non-conforming survivors. Given the paucity of information available on this topic, this study was exploratory in nature and used a phenomenological approach. Open-ended, unstructured interviews focused on the lived experience of surviving sexual violence and the impact that this experience has had on the survivors’ same-sex sexuality. While a number of reoccurring themes generated from this project are well represented within the broad and well-developed canon of sexual violence research, participants also introduced features unique to LBQ and same-sex attracted women. Results from this project are intended to begin a long overdue dialogue about the needs of this understudied community of survivors.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.