Publications by authors named "Ingrid Rowlands"
Article Synopsis
- Childhood adversity has been linked to various health issues, but its impact on gynecological conditions like endometriosis, fibroids, and PCOS is less understood.
- A systematic review of seven observational studies indicated that experiences of childhood adversity, particularly sexual and physical abuse, correlate with an increased risk of developing endometriosis and fibroids later in life.
- The results suggest the need for more extensive research with standardized methods to better understand the relationship between childhood adversity and these gynecological conditions.
Background: Women with lower body mass index (BMI) have a higher risk of surgically confirmed endometriosis but this finding runs counterintuitive to the oestrogen-dependent theory for the disease. Increasingly, endometriosis is diagnosed via non-surgical methods. We examined BMI at age 18-23 years, and changes in BMI, and the risk of endometriosis according to the diagnostic method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the reproductive, gastrointestinal, and urinary systems. We examined changes in labor force participation amongst women with endometriosis following diagnosis.
Methods: We analyzed data from 4494 women born in 1973-78 from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.
Background: Women's physical and mental health are strongly inter-related and may influence patterns of contraceptive use. We examined the longitudinal associations between young women's physical and mental health and method of contraceptive use over a 5-year period.
Methods: Data from 4952 young women (≤27 years) participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health who completed four self-reported surveys between 2013 and 2017 were analysed.
Objectives: To examine the prospective association between menstrual symptoms before pregnancy and preterm birth.
Methods: Secondary analysis of data from 14 247 young Australian women born between 1973 and 1978 who participated in a longitudinal, population-based cohort study between 1996 and 2015. Women were first surveyed at 18-23 years, and seven waves of data were collected at roughly three-yearly intervals.
We examined reporting of lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) among 7,917 young women who completed two surveys, 12 months apart. At the first survey, 32% reported a history of IPV with a current or former partner. Of these, one third of women did not report IPV 12 months later (inconsistently reported IPV).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Many women with ovarian cancer experience significant chemotherapy-related adverse effects during treatment and thus cannot complete it without dose reductions and/or delays. There is some indication that chemotherapy completion is associated with improved survival, although currently little is known about what helps women get through chemotherapy.
Objective: The aim of this study was to explore women's accounts of the factors they believed were helpful during their ovarian cancer treatment.
Background: Experiencing stillbirth is devastating and leaves parents searching for causes. Autopsy is the gold standard for investigation, but deciding to consent to this procedure is very difficult for parents. Decision support in the form of clear, consistent, and parent-centered information is likely to be helpful.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: People with pancreatic cancer have high levels of anxiety and depression and reduced quality of life (QoL), but few studies have assessed these outcomes for patient-carer dyads. We therefore investigated these issues in an Australian population-based study.
Methods: Patients with pancreatic cancer (n = 136) and many of their carers (n = 84) completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy QoL questionnaire at a median of three months after diagnosis.
Is It Safe to Vape? Analyzing Online Forums Discussing E-Cigarette Use during Pregnancy.
Womens Health Issues
December 2017
Introduction: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use, or vaping, is increasing against a backdrop of declining smoking rates. E-cigarettes contain fewer toxicants than cigarettes, but their appearance and mode of use has the potential to satisfy the habitual aspects of smoking. To date, we know little about lay perceptions of the safety of using e-cigarettes in pregnancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This study aims to determine if the supportive care needs of people with pancreatic cancer change over time and identify the factors associated with current and future unmet needs.
Methods: Australian pancreatic cancer patients completed a self-administered survey at 0-6 months post-diagnosis (n = 116) then follow-up surveys 2 (n = 82) and 4 months (n = 50) later. The validated survey measured 34 needs across five domains.
Introduction: Very little is known about the extent of physical health issues among young women in early adulthood and whether this is changing over time.
Methods: We used data from two national samples of young women aged 18-23 years, surveyed 17 years apart, who participated in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. We used multinomial logistic regression to compare the women's physical health (i.
We explored how people negotiate, and respond to, identity transitions following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Interviews with 19 people with pancreatic cancer were analysed using thematic discourse analysis. While discursively negotiating two transitions, 'moving from healthy to ill' and 'moving from active treatment to end-of-life care', participants positioned themselves as 'in control', 'optimistic' and managing their health and illness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: People diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have the worst survival prognosis of any cancer. No previous research has documented the supportive care needs of this population. Our objective was to describe people's needs and use of support services and to examine whether these differed according to whether or not patients had undergone surgical resection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Relatively little is known about the extent to which young adults use the Internet as a health information resource and whether there are factors that distinguish between those who do and do not go online for health information.
Objective: The aim was to identify the sociodemographic, physical, mental, and reproductive health factors associated with young women's use of the Internet for health information.
Methods: We used data from 17,069 young women aged 18-23 years who participated in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.
Background: Faced with the challenge of recruiting young adults for health studies, researchers have increasingly turned to the Internet and social networking sites, such as Facebook, as part of their recruitment strategy. As yet, few large-scale studies are available that report on the characteristics and representativeness of the sample obtained from such recruitment methods.
Objective: The intent of the study was to describe the sociodemographic and health characteristics of a national sample of young Australian women recruited mainly through the Internet and social networking sites and to discuss the representativeness of their sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle characteristics relative to the population.
Objectives: Few studies have assessed the risk and impact of lymphedema among women treated for endometrial cancer. We aimed to quantify cumulative incidence of, and risk factors for developing lymphedema following treatment for endometrial cancer and estimate absolute risk for individuals. Further, we report unmet needs for help with lymphedema-specific issues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To discuss an example of mixed methods in health psychology, involving separate quantitative and qualitative studies of women's mental health in relation to miscarriage, in which the two methods produced different but complementary results, and to consider ways in which the findings can be integrated.
Methods: We describe two quantitative projects involving statistical analysis of data from 998 young women who had had miscarriages, and 8,083 who had not, across three waves of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. We also describe a qualitative project involving thematic analysis of interviews with nine Australian women who had had miscarriages.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence, sociodemographic and clinical predictors, and physical and psychosocial correlates of unmet needs among women 3-5 years following treatment for endometrial cancer.
Methods: Women with endometrial cancer completed a survey around the time of diagnosis and again 3-5 years later. The follow-up survey asked women about their physical and psychosocial functioning and supportive care needs (CaSUN).
Background: Few studies have examined the long-term changes experienced by women treated for endometrial cancer.
Objective: The objectives of this study were to describe what women perceived important to their lifestyle and quality of life in the years following their diagnosis and to provide new insights that might inform healthcare practice.
Methods: This was a thematic analysis of 237 open-ended comments from Australian women diagnosed with endometrial cancer 3 to 5 years previously.
Purpose: We examined whether sociodemographic, physical, reproductive, psychological and clinical factors at the time of diagnosis were related to women's sexual well-being 3-5 years following treatment for endometrial cancer.
Methods: Of the 1,399 women in the Australian National Endometrial Cancer Study, 644 completed a follow-up questionnaire 3-5 years after diagnosis. Of these, 395 women completed the Sexual-Function Vaginal Changes Questionnaire, which was used to assess sexual well-being.
Objective: To quantitatively assess and compare the quality of life (QoL) of women with a self-reported diagnosis of lower limb lymphedema (LLL), to women with lower limb swelling (LLS), and to women without LLL or LLS following treatment for endometrial cancer.
Methods: 1399 participants in the Australian National Endometrial Cancer Study were sent a follow-up questionnaire 3-5 years after diagnosis. Women were asked if they had experienced swelling in the lower limbs and, if so, whether they had received a diagnosis of lymphedema by a health professional.
Objective: Although the survival outcomes among women diagnosed with endometrial cancer are very favorable, little is known about the long-term impact of their cancer experience. This study identifies the extent of positive and negative impacts of cancer and factors associated with this, amongst long-term survivors of endometrial cancer.
Methods: Australian women diagnosed with endometrial cancer (N=632) were sent questionnaires at the time of diagnosis and 3-5 years later.