A hospital-based therapeutic food pantry study for people living with cancer in New Orleans.

Introduction: Food pantries have the potential to improve health outcomes and quality of life for individuals living with cancer. Gender has been linked to certain cancer symptoms and dietary patterns. Nevertheless, the extent of research on the utilization of food pantries among this population, particularly with regard to gender differences, remains limited.

Missed opportunity for family planning counselling along the continuum of care in Arusha region, Tanzania.

Introduction: Adequate sexual and reproductive health information is vital to women of reproductive age (WRA) 15 to 49 years, for making informed choices on their reproductive health including family planning (FP). However, many women who interact with the health system continue to miss out this vital service. The study aimed to identify the extent of provision of FP counselling at service delivery points and associated behavioral factors among women of reproductive age in two districts of Arusha region.

Predictors of contraceptive discontinuation among postpartum women in Arusha region, Tanzania.

Background: Postpartum contraceptive discontinuation refers to cessation of use following initiation after delivery within 1 year postpartum. Discontinuation of use has been associated with an increased unmet need for family planning that leads to high numbers of unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortion or mistimed births. There is scant information about contraceptive discontinuation and its predictors among postpartum women in Tanzania.

Initiation of postpartum modern contraceptive methods: Evidence from Tanzania demographic and health survey.

Background: Postpartum contraceptive use is vital to improve maternal and child survival. It helps to have optimal child spacing, prevent unplanned pregnancies and associated adverse birth outcomes. However, postpartum contraceptive use in Tanzania remains low.

The Patient-Provider Continuum of Care: Narratives of People Living With Comorbid HIV and Diabetes in Northern Thailand.

Background: Among South-East Asia Region countries, Thailand has a high prevalence of HIV with an increasing significant comorbidity of diabetes mellitus (DM).

Objective: Guided by syndemics, the purpose of this qualitative study is to develop insight into the experience of patients living with comorbid HIV and DM in Northern Thailand for quality improvement.

Methods: Interviews were conducted in 2 groups for content analysis: (1) people living with comorbid HIV and DM and (2) health-care staff providing care to patients living with the comorbidity.

Estimating the lifetime incidence of induced abortion and understanding abortion practices in a Northeastern Tanzania community through a household survey.

Objectives: All Tanzanian abortion estimates rely on health facility data that do not take into account completely the incidence of abortion. This papers aims to estimate the lifetime incidence of induced abortion in Arusha, Tanzania via direct and double list-experiment methods using community data and evaluate outcomes and behaviors of women who had an abortion.

Methods: From January to May 2018, a face-to-face interview survey was conducted on a representative sample of sexually active women (n = 3658) living in Arusha, Tanzania.

Trends and predictors of changes in modern contraceptive use among women aged 15-49 years in Tanzania from 2004-2016: Evidence from Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys.

Introduction: Modern contraceptive use provides opportunities for women and couples to achieve optimal child spacing, achieve desired family size and reduce unsafe abortions. Despite these facts, modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) in Tanzania remains as low as 32%. This study aimed to determine trends and factors associated with changes in modern contraceptive use among women of reproductive age in Tanzania from 2004-2016.

The association of chronic diseases and mammography among Medicare beneficiaries living in Appalachia.

Objective: This study assessed the relationship between presence and number of chronic disease and reception of mammogram in women 65 years and older, and how this relationship is influenced by primary care provider visits.

Methods: A total of 3306 women diagnosed with breast cancer from 2006 to 2008 from cancer registries in four Appalachian states were analyzed.

Results: Having a mammogram within the past 2 years was associated with having at least one chronic disease.

Why do women discontinue contraception and what are the post-discontinuation outcomes? Evidence from the Arusha Region, Tanzania.

In Africa, high discontinuation of contraceptive use is thwarting goals for healthy birth spacing or limiting childbearing. This paper investigates how well the contraception program is addressing the needs of women and couples in the Arusha region, Tanzania by studying contraceptive use continuation. We measured the overall and method-specific discontinuation rate, reasons for discontinuation, post-discontinuation reproductive behaviours/outcomes, and examined the determinants of contraceptive discontinuation.

The distance-quality trade-off in women's choice of family planning provider in North Eastern Tanzania.

Introduction: Studies on the determinants of contraceptive use often consider distance to the nearest health facility offering contraception as a key explanatory variable. Women, however, may not seek contraception from the nearest facility, rather opting for a more distant facility with better quality services or to ensure greater privacy and anonymity.

Methods: The dataset used include the name of facility where each women obtained contraception, measures of facility quality, and the distance between each woman's home and 39 potential facilities she might visit.

The influence of socio-cultural factors on breast cancer screening behaviors in Lagos, Nigeria.

Culture has been shown to influence health beliefs and health-related behaviors by influencing the type of health information to which women have been exposed and shapes health and illness perceptions and practices. To increase screening rates, cultural influences should be considered as important correlates of screening behaviors for breast cancer. This study used semi-structured interviews of women attending a cancer screening facility in Lagos, Nigeria guided by the PEN-3 model to describe culturally relevant factors that shape attitudes toward breast cancer and breast cancer screening.

Diabetes Knowledge, Management, and Prevention Among Haitian Immigrants in Philadelphia.

Purpose Guided by the PEN-3 Cultural Model, the purpose of this study is to generate culturally framed insight into diabetes knowledge, management, and prevention among Haitians. Despite the disproportionate distribution of type II diabetes mellitus among US minorities, limited research explores outcomes within racial ethnic groups. It is particularly important to disaggregate the large racial-ethnic groups of black given the population growth among foreign-born blacks, such as Haitians, whose population has more than quadrupled in recent decades.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Influenza Vaccine Uptake in US Children.

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly used in the United States. Although CAM is mostly used in conjunction with conventional medicine, some CAM practitioners recommend against vaccination, and children who saw naturopathic physicians or chiropractors were less likely to receive vaccines and more likely to get vaccine-preventable diseases. Nothing is known about how child CAM usage affects influenza vaccination.

Using mammograms to predict preventive health services behavior and mortality in women.

This study examined whether mammography receipt was associated with mortality due to causes other than breast cancer, hypothesizing that mammography screening was a proxy for the predisposition to seek preventive health behaviors. Using data on 89,574 women from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey and National Death Index, a discrete-time hazard model estimated the mortality from any cause except breast cancer as a function of screening status. Receiving a mammogram was associated with a 24% reduction in the likelihood of death all causes except breast cancer.

Examining Mammography Use by Breast Cancer Risk, Race, Nativity, and Socioeconomic Status.

Minority and foreign-born women report lower rates of mammograms compared to non-Hispanic white, U.S.-born women, even though they have increased risk for developing breast cancer.

Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Immigrants.

Immigrants face barriers to accessing conventional health care systems. Hence, they are expected to have comparatively greater use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). This study examines the prevalence of and reason for CAM use in the U.

The association of generation status and health insurance among U.S. children.

Background: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has the potential to reduce the number of uninsured children in the United States by as much as 40%. The extent to which immigrant families are aware of and interested in obtaining insurance for their children is unclear.

Methods: Data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health were analyzed to examine differences by immigrant generational status in awareness of children's health insurance options.