Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa cujo objeto é a percepção da enfermeira sobre a prática do aleitamento materno no contexto da feminilização da Aids. Tem por objetivos: analisar a percepção das enfermeiras de maternidade sobre a prática do aleitamento materno e a feminilização da Aids e discutir a prática da enfermeira em relação ao aleitamento materno a partir da feminilização da Aids. Os sujeitos do estudo foram nove enfermeiras de três maternidades municipais do Rio de Janeiro que possuem título de Hospitais Amigo da Criança. A coleta de dados foi realizada através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas. A técnica de análise do conteúdo foi baseada em Bardin. Emergiram três categorias: a) A percepção da enfermeira sobre sua prática quanto ao aleitamento materno; b) As percepções da enfermeira sobre a feminilização da Aids; c) A prática da enfermeira em relação ao aleitamento materno a partir da feminilização da Aids. Constatamos que a enfermeira percebe sua prática em relação ao aleitamento materno sob influência das Políticas Públicas voltadas para a promoção e proteção do mesmo, como a Iniciativa Hospital Amigo da Criança e o Alojamento Conjunto. Em relação à Aids, o advento da feminilização surpreende as enfermeiras que reagem com indignação, tristeza, medo e angústia. Estes sentimentos justificam-se, pois, para elas, pensar soropositividade em mulheres significa privá-las de exercer sua saúde reprodutiva e sexual plenamente, ou seja, os papéis esperados socialmente de uma mulher, como ser mãe e amamentar. A condição social e sexual da mulher (gênero) também emergiu dos depoimentos como determinantes para soropositividade. Ao perceberem sua prática às mulheres soropositivas nas maternidades, as enfermeiras apontam dificuldades geradas pela dicotomia (incentivo ao aleitamento materno e inibição da lactação) tanto para elas profissionais quanto para as mulheres que não podem amamentar. O processo de feminilização e os investimentos e recursos voltados para este acarretaram mudanças na prática da enfermeira, que refere mais segurança pessoal após disponibilização de teste rápido para HIV e cursos de capacitação para os profissionais. Além da prática voltada para as questões técnicas, apontam uma nova abordagem às mulheres soropositivas, como o objetivo de não expô-las às outras puérperas nas enfermarias de alojamento conjunto. Desta maneira, constatamos que as mudanças ocorridas nas práticas das enfermeiras estão relacionadas com o estabelecimento de políticas públicas voltadas para a amamentação e o HIV/Aids. Os valores pessoais ainda interferem na prática das enfermeiras, e a Aids ainda é vista como uma doença possuidora de estigmas tanto sociais quanto culturais. Reforçamos a necessidade de estratégias que possam diminuir a divergência das Políticas de Incentivo ao Aleitamento Materno e as de Prevenção à Transmissão Vertical, a fim de qualificar a prática de enfermagem às mulheres soropositivas. / This is a qualitative research whose object is the nurses perception about the practice of breastfeeding in the context of the feminization of Aids." The objectives: to analyze the maternity nurses perceptions on breastfeeding practices and the feminization of Aids and discuss the nurse's practice in relation to breastfeeding from the feminization of Aids. The subjects of the study were nine nurses from three maternity hospitals in Rio de Janeiro which possess the title Hospital Amigo da Criança. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews. The technique of content analysis was based on Bardin. Three categories emerged: 1) The nurses perception about her/his practice regarding breastfeeding, 2) The nurses perceptions on the feminization of Aids, 3) The nursing practice in relation to breastfeeding from the feminization of Aids. We found out that nurses perceive their practice in relation to breastfeeding under the influence of public policies that aim its promotion and protection, as the Iniciativa Hospital Amigo da Criança and Alojamento Conjunto. Regarding Aids, the advent of the feminization surprised the nurses who react with anger, sadness, fear and anxiety. These feelings are justified, because to them, thinking soropositivity in women means to deprive them from exercising their full sexual and reproductive health, in other words, the socially expected roles of a woman as to become a mother and to breastfeed. The social and sexual condition of women (gender) also emerged from interviews as determinants for soropositivity. Realizing their practice to HIV positive women in maternity wards, the nurses pointed the difficulties created by the dichotomy (breastfeeding promotion and inhibition of lactation) for both them, professionally, and the women who cannot breastfeed. The process of feminization and the investment and resources toward it led to changes in nursing practice, which refered to more security with the availability of fast HIV testing and training courses for the professionals. Besides the practice focused on technical issues, the nurses pointed to a new approach to HIV positive women, as the intention of not exposing them to other mothers in rooming wards. Thus, we found out that the changes in the nurses practices are related to the establishment of public policies for breastfeeding and HIV / Aids. Personal values continue to influence the practice of nurses and Aids is still seen as a disease with both social and cultural stigmas. We emphasize the need for strategies that can reduce the divergence between the Policies Encouraging Breastfeeding and the ones for Prevention of Vertical Transmission in order to qualify the practice of nursing women living with HIV.

The objective of this study is to compare two non-invasive thermometer technologies in pregnant women admitted for labor at the Family Birthing Center in Johnson City Medical Center. A total of 50 patients were recruited in the study. Temperature measurements using the oral 3M® Tempa.Dot and the Exergen 5000 Temporal Artery Thermometer (TAT) were obtained by trained personnel. These recordings were obtained once upon admission, at 2-hour intervals until delivery (to a maximal time of 20 hours), 1 hour before and after epidural placement, and 2 hours after vaginal delivery. The temperatures readings were then compared over all time points, and at each time point using SPSS and Student paired t-test. Trends of temperature changes in labor between both thermometers were also evaluated. We noted that over all time points, the skin temperature was 0.38°F higher than the oral temperature. This difference was statistically significant as well (98.19°F ±0.681 vs. 97.81°F ±0.750, p

abstract: In the last 200 years, advancements in science and technology have made understanding female sexual function and the female body more feasible; however, many women throughout the US still lack fundamental understanding of the reproductive system in the twenty-first century. Many factors contribute to the lack of knowledge and misconceptions that women still have. Discussing sexual health tends to make some people uncomfortable and this study aims to investigate what aspects of somewhat recent US history in women’s health care may have led to that discomfort. This thesis examines the question: what are some of the factors that shaped women’s reproductive medicine in the US from the mid 1800s and throughout the 1900s and what influence could the past have had on how women and their physicians understand female sexuality in medicine and how physicians diagnose their female patients in the twenty-first century. A literature review of primary source medical texts written at the end of the 1800s provides insight about patterns among physicians at the time and their medical practice with female patients. Factors like gendered expectations in medical practice, misconceptions about the female body and behaviors, and issues of morality in sex medicine all contributed to women lacking understanding of sex female reproductive functions. Other factors like a physician’s role throughout history and non-medical reproductive health providers and solutions likely also influenced the reproductive medicine women received. Examining the patterns of the past provides some insight into some of the outdated and gendered practices still exhibited in healthcare. Expanding sexual education programs, encouraging discussion about sex and reproductive health, and checking gendered implicit bias in reproductive healthcare could help eliminate echoes of hysteria ideology in the twenty-first century medicine. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biology 2019

This study investigated the association of race, age, and census tract area poverty level on breast cancer stage at diagnosis. The study was limited to women residing in Missouri, aged 18 years and older, diagnosed with breast cancer, and whose cases were reported to the Cancer Registry between 2003 and 2008. The risk, relative risk, and increased risk of late-stage at diagnosis by race, age, and census tract area poverty level were computed. We found that the odds of late-stage breast cancer among African-American women were higher when compared with their white counterpart (OR 1.433; 95% CI, 1.316, 1.560). In addition, the odds of advanced stage disease for women residing in high-poverty areas were greater than those living in low-poverty areas (OR 1.319; 95% CI 1.08; 1.201). To close the widening cancer disparities gap in Missouri, there is the need for effective and programmatic strategies to enable interventions to reach areas and populations most vulnerable to advanced stage breast cancer diagnosis.

Social support plays a crucial role in both the physical and mental adjustment to the diagnosis of breast cancer and its treatment. However, the mediating effects of social support are embedded within the larger, social and cultural contexts in which support given and received. Due to language, culture and economic issues, immigrants may find themselves without the social support and networks that had previously enabled them to cope with illness and disease. This research grounds our understanding of social support and breast cancer within that larger context that includes the social environment and the experience of health disparities. Ethnographic methods were used to explore the cultural domains of social support and to examine cultural and structural factors that influence this multifaceted construct. Participant observation, key informant interviews and 28 in-depth interviews with Latina immigrants diagnosed with breast cancer were conducted in Phase I. The qualitative data gathered in Phase 1 informed the development of the structured questionnaire that was administered in Phase II to 60 Latina immigrants in West Central Florida who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer not only affects individuals, it impacts their social relationships, finances, work, and social roles. The analysis provides a rich and in-depth understanding of social support and contextualizes the breast cancer experience of Latina immigrants. Results suggest that cultural expectations about gender roles shape what kinds of support and assistance is provided by men and women. Spirituality and prayer were identified as non verbal sources of support. Beliefs about not burdening the family with personal concerns and beliefs that family needs should come before one's own were negatively associated with social support. English proficiency and length of time in the United States were not associated with social support. Regardless of length of time in the US there appears to be strong ties with family in their native country. While family both in the US and in their native country were identified as sources of support, they were also identified as a source of stress. Recommendations for clinicians, practitioners and community-based organizations that provide supportive services and programs to Latinos are included.

Cervical cancer is the primary cause of cancer deaths among Haitian women; however, the social context of cervical cancer among Haitian immigrant women has not been systematically examined. The ways in which women assign meaning to this disease, understand its causality and situate it within the broader context of gynecological health are poorly understood. Further, Haitian immigrant women's perceptions of disease risk, including knowledge and understanding about Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the primary etiologic factor in cervical cancer, have not been explored. Few studies have assessed health behaviors, including culturally mediated feminine hygiene practices, among Haitian immigrant women, which may negatively impact gynecological health. This exploratory study examines these dimensions of gynecological health using ethnographic methods including participant observation, observation, informal and semistructured interviewing and surveys. Ethnographic data contextualize this disease in larger cultural and historical contexts. In addition, these data informed the construction of a 92-item survey, ensuring content validity of the personal questions women were asked about feminine hygiene practices and the agents they use. This survey, administered to 246 women in Little Haiti, Miami, represents an application of medical anthropology to epidemiologic research. Each survey respondent also was evaluated for cytology and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HPV, using a self-sampling medical device. Quantitative analysis of survey data indicates that prevalent STIs (Chlamydia) are significantly associated with feminine hygiene practices; however, HPV infection and cervical cancer are not associated with the practices. The practices are likely underreported in the survey sample. Qualitative analysis reveals that women's constructions of gynecological health are inseparable from cultural beliefs that emphasize feminine hygiene. Beliefs guide behaviors, which include vaginal douching and intravaginal washing, using plant-based therapies, imported commercial products and chemical compounds. These practices serve the purpose of not only cleaning, but also drying and tightening the vaginal environment for increased sexual pleasure of male partners. Attempts to preserve relationships, and reduce the chance that partners will take mistresses, occur through maintaining intimate hygiene and, in some cases, by other ethnomedical means.

Obstetric analgesia and anesthesia is an important concern today. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of analgesia used in labor and delivery on the mother and newborn. The information obtained in this study evaluated the amount, time and types of analgesia and the effects on the mother and the newborn. Previous research has indicated adverse effects of analgesia and anesthesia on both mother and newborn, but conclusive results have not been obtained. Depressed respiratory function, increased use of oxygen, and low Apgar scores are among the effects reported for the newborn. Decreased uterine function, decreased satisfaction of the birth process, and risks attendant upon analgesia and anesthesia have been reported regarding the mother. Apgar scores, oxygen administered, and length of hospitilization for mother and newborn were the dependent variables measured by this study. The independent variables were amount, time, and administration of medication during labor and delivery. The control variables were the number of prenatal visits, number of previous pregnancies, and the stage of pregnancy at first visit to the physician. The subjects were grouped according to the amount of Demerol (the most commonly prescribed analgesia) administered, and comparisons were made between the highest and lowest groups. No significant differences were observed between the high and low Demerol groups in any of these variables. Significant differences were found in the area of Apgar scores and oxygen administration. These findings support the conclusion that analgesia and anesthesia administered during labor and delivery can have adverse effects in the newborn. Thus, the null hypothesis of no significant differences of effects of analgesia or anesthesia on mother and newborn was partially rejected. This research lends support to findings which suggest adverse effects of medication during labor. These supportive results could serve as a basis for future research investigating the amount of medication given in labor and delivery.

No description available.

Introduction: The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in 1987 was 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births compared to 18.0 deaths in 2015. This increase in MMR has occurred disproportionately. The same report demonstrates that black women are more than 3 times as likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than non-Hispanic white women. The present study explores how structural differences in the economy, education system, and public policy affect the health of black, pregnant women in the U.S. Methods: This research examined epidemiological studies of maternal mortality in the U.S. Data from previous studies was used to investigate the relationship between the racial disparity in MMR and societal, economic, and political factors that contribute to said relationship. Data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the U.S. Census Bureau, the United Nations (UN), and the Claremont Colleges Library network was examined. Results: Studies show that between 2008-2012, black women were found to have the greatest prevalence of preexisting conditions prior to pregnancy. Furthermore, white women are more likely to have their labor induced than black, Asian, and Hispanic women. The increased prevalence of preexisting conditions among black women can be greatly attributed to factors stemming from institutional racism. These factors include less access to health care, education, and equal economic opportunities. Conclusion: Implicit bias among practicing health professionals must be addressed via multiethnic education. It is necessary to create an equally safe environment for women of all races. Additionally, health care providers should take on the responsibility of educating pregnant women about any possible preexisting chronic conditions to properly care for themselves. Prenatal health education must be made readily available and accessible to all demographics. Reports demonstrate that the creation of standardized, disease-specific procedures that target chronic conditions may reduce the U.S. MMR. For black women to overcome the current rates of comorbidity, U.S. public policy must change in a way that decreases the disparity in the socioeconomic status of all Americans.

Objectives: Adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for ovarian cancer treatment improves patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess disparities associated with ovarian cancer treatment in the state of Kentucky and central Appalachia. Methods: Data on patients diagnosed as having ovarian cancer from 2007 through 2011 were extracted from administrative claims-linked Kentucky Cancer Registry data. NCCN compliance was defined by stage, grade, surgical procedure, and chemotherapy. Selection criteria were reviewed carefully to ensure data quality and accuracy. Descriptive analysis, logistic regression, and Cox regression analyses were performed to examine factors associated with guidelines compliance and survival. Results: Most women were age 65 years or older (62.5%), had high grade (65.9%) and advanced stage (61.0%) ovarian cancer. Two-thirds of cases (65.9%) received NCCN-recommended treatment for ovarian cancer. The hazard ratio (HR) of death for women who did not receive NCCN-compliant care was 62% higher compared to the women who did receive NCCN compliant treatment (HR 1.62, 95% CI 1.11-2.35). Results from the logistic regression showed that NCCN-compliant treatment was more likely for: women age 65-74 years compared to age 20-49 (OR=3.32, 95% CI=1.32- 8.32), late stage compared to early stage cancers (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.20-0.53), receipt of care at tertiary hospitals (OR=1.92, 95% CI=1.10-3.34), and privately insured compared to Medicaid (OR=0.31, 95% CI=0.13-0.77) or Medicare (OR=0.31, 95% CI=0.15-0.66). Conclusions: When the treatment of ovarian cancer did not follow NCCN-recommendations, patients had a significantly higher risk of death. Women were less likely to receive NCCN-compliant care if they were of younger age (20-49 years), had early stage disease, were not privately insured, or had care provided at a non-tertiary hospital.