Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2013 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of periodontal disease (PD) among Brazilian low-risk pregnant women and\r\nits association with sociodemographic factors, habits and oral hygiene.\r\nMethod: This cross-sectional study included 334 low-risk pregnant women divided in groups with or without PD.\r\nIndexes of plaque and gingival bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level and gingival\r\nrecession were evaluated at one periodontal examination below 32 weeks of gestation. Independent variables\r\nwere: age, race/color, schooling, marital status, parity, gestational age, smoking habit, alcohol and drugs\r\nconsumption, use of medication, presence of any systemic diseases and BMI (body mass index). Statistical analyses\r\nprovided prevalence ratios and their respective 95%CI and also a multivariate analysis.\r\nResults: The prevalence of PD was 47% and significantly associated with higher gestational age (PR 1.40; 1.01 -\r\n1.94 for 17-24 weeks and PR 1.52; 1.10 - 2.08 for 25-32 weeks), maternal age 25-29 years, obesity (PR 1.65; 1.02 -\r\n2.68) and the presence of gingival bleeding on probing (ORadj 2.01, 95%CI 1.41 - 2.88). Poor oral hygiene was\r\nassociated with PD by the mean values of plaque and bleeding on probing indexes significantly greater in PD\r\ngroup.\r\nConclusions: The prevalence of PD is high and associated with gingival bleeding on probing, more advanced\r\ngestational age and obesity. A program of oral health care should be included in prenatal care for early pregnancy,\r\nespecially for low-income populations....
Background: Rural-to-urban migration involves a high proportion of females because job opportunities for female\r\nmigrants have increased in urban industrial areas. Those who migrate may be healthier than those staying in the\r\nvillage and they may benefit from better health care services at destination, but the ââ?¬Ë?healthyââ?¬â?¢ effect can be\r\nreversed at destination due to migration-related health risk factors. The study aimed to explore the need for health\r\ncare services for reproductive tract infections (RTIs) among female migrants working in the Sai Dong industrial\r\nzone as well as their services utilization.\r\nMethods: The cross sectional study employed a mixed method approach. A cohort of 300 female migrants was\r\ninterviewed to collect quantitative data. Two focus groups and 20 in-depth interviews were conducted to collect\r\nqualitative data. We have used frequency and cross-tabulation techniques to analyze the quantitative data and the\r\nqualitative data was used to triangulate and to provide more in-depth information.\r\nResults: The needs for health care services for RTI were high as 25% of participants had RTI syndromes. Only 21.6%\r\nof female migrants having RTI syndromes ever seek helps for health care services. Barriers preventing migrants to\r\naccess services were traditional values, long working hours, lack of information, and high cost of services.\r\nEmployers had limited interests in reproductive health of female migrants, and there was ineffective collaboration\r\nbetween the local health system and enterprises. These barriers were partly caused by lack of health promotion\r\nprograms suitable for migrants. Most respondents needed more information on RTIs and preferred to receive these\r\nfrom their employers since they commonly work shifts - and spend most of their day time at work.\r\nConclusion: While RTIs are a common health problem among female migrant workers in industrial zones, female\r\nmigrants had many obstacles in accessing RTI care services. The findings from this study will help to design\r\nintervention models for RTI among this vulnerable group such as communication for behavioural impact of RTI\r\nhealth care, fostered collaboration between local health care services and employer enterprises, and on-site service\r\n(e.g. local or enterprise health clinics) strengthening....
Background: One factor that contributes to high maternal mortality in developing countries is the delayed use of\r\nEmergency Obstetric-Care (EmOC) facilities. The objective of this study was to determine the factors that hinder\r\nmidwives and parturient women from using hospitals when complications occur during home birth in Sistan and\r\nBaluchestan province, Iran, where 23% of all deliveries take place in non- hospital settings.\r\nMethods: In the study and data management, a mixed-methods approach was used. In the quantitative phase, we\r\ncompared the existing health-sector data with World Health Organization (WHO) standards for the availability and\r\nuse of EmOC services. The qualitative phase included collection and analysis of interviews with midwives and\r\ntraditional birth attendants and twenty-one in-depth interviews with mothers. The data collected in this phase\r\nwere managed according to the principles of qualitative data analysis.\r\nResults: The findings demonstrate that three distinct factors lead to indecisiveness and delay in the use of EmOC\r\nby the midwives and mothers studied. Socio-cultural and familial reasons compel some women to choose to give\r\nbirth at home and to hesitate seeking professional emergency care for delivery complications. Apprehension about\r\nbeing insulted by physicians, the necessity of protecting their professional integrity in front of patients and an\r\ninability to persuade their patients lead to an over-insistence by midwives on completing deliveries at the mothers�\r\nhomes and a reluctance to refer their patients to hospitals. The low quality and expense of EmOC and the\r\nmothers� lack of health insurance also contribute to delays in referral.\r\nConclusions: Women who choose to give birth at home accept the risk that complications may arise. Training\r\nmidwives and persuading mothers and significant others who make decisions about the value of referring women\r\nto hospitals at the onset of life-threatening complications are central factors to increasing the use of available\r\nhospitals. The hospitals must be safe, comfortable and attractive environments for parturition and should give\r\nappropriate consideration to the ethical and cultural concerns of the women. Appropriate management of financial\r\nand insurance-related issues can help midwives and mothers make a rational decision when complications arise....
Background: In Ethiopia, little is known about pregnancy among rural women. Proper maternal health care\r\ndepends on clear understanding of the reproductive health situation. The objective of this study was to identify\r\npredictors of unintended pregnancy in rural eastern Ethiopia.\r\nMethodology: This study was part of pregnancy surveillance at Kersa Demographic Surveillance and Health\r\nResearch Center, East Ethiopia. Pregnant women were assessed whether their current pregnancy was intended or\r\nnot. Data were collected by lay interviewers using uniform questionnaire. Odds Ratio, with 95% confidence interval\r\nusing multiple and multinomial logistic regression were calculated to detect level of significance.\r\nResults: Unintended pregnancy was reported by 27.9% (578/2072) of the study subjects. Out of which, 440 were\r\nmistimed and 138 were not wanted. Unintended pregnancy was associated with family wealth status (OR 1.47;\r\n95% CI 1.14, 1.90), high parity (7 +) (OR 5.18; 95% CI 3.31, 8.12), and a longer estimated time to walk to the nearest\r\nhealth care facility (OR 2.24; 95% CI: 1.49, 3.39).\r\nIn the multinomial regression, women from poor family reported that their pregnancy was mistimed (OR 1.69; 95%\r\nCI 1.27, 2.25). The longer estimated time (80 + minutes) to walk to the nearest health care facility influenced the\r\noccurrence of mistimed pregnancy (OR 2.58; 95% CI: 1.65, 4.02). High parity (7+) showed a strong association to\r\nmistimed and unwanted pregnancies (OR 3.11; 95% CI 1.87, 5.12) and (OR 14.34; 95% CI 5.72, 35.98), respectively.\r\nConclusions: The economy of the family, parity, and walking distance to the nearest health care institution are\r\nstrong predictors of unintended pregnancy. In order to reduce the high rate of unintended pregnancy Efforts to\r\nreach rural women with family planning services should be strengthened....
Background: Infertility is a serious problem for those who suffer. Some of the risks for infertility are preventable\r\nand the individual should therefore have knowledge of them. The purposes of this study were to investigate highschool\r\nstudentsâ�� knowledge about fertility, plans for family building and to compare views and knowledge\r\nbetween female and male students.\r\nMethods: A questionnaire containing 34 items was answered by 274 students. Answers from male and female\r\nstudents were compared using studentâ��s t-test for normally distributed variables and Mann-Whitney U-test for nonnormal\r\ndistributions. The chi-square test was used to compare proportions of male and female students who\r\nanswered questions on nominal and ordinal scales. Differences were considered as statistically significant at a pvalue\r\nof 0.05.\r\nResults: Analyses showed that 234 (85%) intended to have children. Female students felt parenthood to be\r\nsignificantly more important than male students: p = <0.01. The mean age at which the respondents thought they\r\nwould like to start to build their family was 26 (�± 2.9) years. Men believed that womenâ��s fertility declined\r\nsignificantly later than women did: p = <0.01. Women answered that 30.7% couples were involuntarily infertile and\r\nmen answered 22.5%: p = <0.01. Females thought it significantly more likely that they would consider IVF or\r\nadoption than men, p = 0.01. Men felt they were more likely to abstain from having children than women: p =\r\n<0.01. Women believed that body weight influenced fertility significantly more often than men: p = <0.01 and\r\nmen believed significantly more often that smoking influenced fertility: p = 0.03. Both female and male students\r\nanswered that they would like to have more knowledge about the area of fertility.\r\nConclusions: Young people plan to start their families when the womanâ��s fertility is already in decline. Improving\r\nyoung peopleâ��s knowledge about these issues would give them more opportunity to take responsibility for their\r\nsexual health and to take an active role in shaping political change to improve conditions for earlier parenthood....
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