Perceptions of Rural Access to Prenatal Care in the United States by Patients, Nurses, Midwives, and Physicians: An Integrative Review.

Background: Despite substantial investments in maternity care, the United States continues to experience higher maternal mortality rates than most high-income countries. Rural regions lack adequate prenatal care services, a contributing factor to disparate maternal health outcomes.

Methods: This integrative review on patient, nurse, midwife, physician, and community perspectives on accessing prenatal care in rural areas of the United States follows Whittemore and Knafl's integrative review framework, including a systematic literature search in various databases from January 1, 2010, to May 1, 2024.

Parent-identified gaps in preparation for the postpartum period in the United States: An integrative review.

Background: In the United States, 35% of all pregnancy-related deaths occur between 24 h and 6 weeks after delivery, yet the first outpatient visit is not typically scheduled until 6 weeks postpartum. Thus, the ability to independently navigate this period is critical to maternal well-being and safety. However, previous research suggests that many women feel unprepared to manage the challenges they encounter during this time, and there is a current need to synthesize the existing evidence.

Contraceptive Behavior in Appalachia: Exploring Use, Nonuse, and Contraceptive Attitudes.

Very little is known about contraceptive behavior in Appalachia, a large geographic region in the eastern United States where even basic prevalence estimates of contraceptive use/nonuse are lacking. This study characterizes contraceptive behavior among Appalachians, including contraceptive use, reasons for use, and methods used; contraceptive nonuse and reasons for nonuse; and attitudes about contraception, including acceptability. This is a secondary analysis of a subsample of survey data collected on sexual and reproductive health attitudes, behaviors, and needs among reproductive-age women (18-49 years) living in the Appalachian region ( = 332).

WhatsApp-propriate? Exploring "WhatsApp" as a Tool for Research Among Ghanaian Immigrants in the United States.

African immigrants remain underrepresented in research due to challenges in recruitment. Mobile instant messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, present novel, and cost-effective opportunities for conducting health research across geographic and temporal distances, potentially mitigating the challenges of maintaining contact and engagement in research with migrant populations. Moreover, WhatsApp has been found to be commonly used by African immigrant communities.

An Integrative Review of the Relationship Between Intrauterine Devices and Bacterial Vaginosis.

Objective: To examine the relationship between intrauterine devices (IUDs) and bacterial vaginosis (BV) through an integrative review of the current literature.

Data Sources: CINAHL, MEDLINE, Health Source, Evidence-Based Medicine's Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched.

Study Selection: Cross-sectional, case-control, cohort, quasi-experimental, and randomized controlled trials examining copper (Cu-IUD) and levonorgestrel (LNG-IUD) use in reproductive- age users with BV occurrence confirmed with Amsel's criteria or Nugent scoring were included.

Mistreatment in health care among women in Appalachia.

Good quality patient care requires health care providers to respect the humanity and autonomy of their patients. However, this is not achieved in all settings. This study used cross-sectional survey data including open-ended text responses to explore negative experiences with health care providers among women in Appalachia.

Reproductive Autonomy in Appalachia: An Investigation into Perceived Contraceptive Pressure.

The reproductive autonomy of persons who can give birth can be impeded through forms of interpersonal violence and coercion. Moreover, macro-level factors (e.g.

Barriers to HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Uptake and Ways to Mitigate Them: Perspectives of Ghanaian Immigrants in the United States.

African immigrants in the United States experience disparities in HIV incidence. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) effectively prevents HIV infection, yet uptake is low among racial and ethnic minorities. To better understand PrEP adoption among African immigrants, in March 2020, we conducted interviews with Ghanaian immigrants ( = 40) to explore the barriers and ways to overcome these barriers to PrEP adoption.

Family Planning Research in African Immigrant and Refugee Women: A Scoping Review.

Introduction: African immigrants are a vulnerable population who are seldom seen in the literature, however, the scant research available reports that they experience increased challenges when making family planning decisions. A robust understanding of their specific family planning practices is imperative to providing appropriate, culturally congruent care. Considering this disparity, a scoping review was conducted to synthesize empirical knowledge and identify gaps in the literature around family planning in African immigrant populations in the United States.

Exploring Awareness, Perceptions, and Willingness to Use HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis: A Qualitative Study of Ghanaian Immigrants in the United States.

HIV/AIDS disproportionately burdens African immigrants in the United States. Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective prevention tool for people at high HIV risk, yet uptake is low among racial and ethnic minorities-particularly immigrants. This study explores the awareness, perception, and willingness to use PrEP among Ghanaian immigrants in the United States.

A Review of Unintended Pregnancy in Opioid-Using Women: Implications for Nursing.

Background: Opioid use among reproductive-age women has greatly increased, resulting in high rates of opioid-exposed pregnancies, which are associated with negative outcomes, such as neonatal abstinence syndrome. Prevention of unintended pregnancy among opioid users is a critical pathway to reducing opioid-exposed pregnancies; however, little is known about pregnancy intention in this group. This article estimates the prevalence of unintended pregnancy among opioid-using women, thereby supporting efforts to develop interventions to reduce unintended pregnancy.

Validation of the short-form reproductive coercion scale with Appalachian women.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale among a sample of Appalachian women.

Study Design: We recruited a purposive sample of Appalachian women, using targeted Facebook ads to collect data via an online survey in fall 2019. We randomly split our sample into two independent samples and used exploratory factor analysis on sample 1 (N = 314) and confirmatory factor analysis on sample 2 (N = 314) in order to cross-validate our findings.

A Scoping Review of the Health of African Immigrant and Refugee Children.

Migration is a growing phenomenon around the world, including within the African continent. Many migrants, especially African children, face challenges related to health and social inclusion and can face increased health risks. A systematic scoping review of available literature on the health of African migrant children across the globe was conducted to offer insight into these health risks.

A Review of Cultural Influences on Risk for HIV and Culturally-Responsive Risk Mitigation Strategies Among African Immigrants in the US.

There is a paucity of research on HIV risk factors and risk reduction among African immigrants living in the US. This is despite the fact that the literature on HIV prevention and treatment continues to grow. We conducted a focused review to identify cultural factors contributing to the high incidence of HIV among African immigrants and best practices to increase engagement in HIV prevention services in this population.

Contraceptive use in Appalachian women who use drugs and were recruited from rural jails.

This study describes a secondary data analysis of contraceptive use across the lifetime and within the six months prior to incarceration in a sample of 400 currently incarcerated women recruited from rural, Appalachian jails, who were using drugs prior to incarceration. Phase 1 (baseline) data from an NIH funded study were used to examine rates of contraceptive use, reasons for nonuse of condoms, and correlates of condom use. Results indicate that the majority (96.

An Exploration of the Experiences of Florida Abortion Fund Service Recipients.

This article describes a secondary data analysis of a health data set representing the experiences of abortion fund service recipients (ASRs) who received financial assistance to help pay for unaffordable abortion costs. The authors analyzed 3,216 ASR cases from 2001 to 2015. Demographic characteristics, service utilization rates, and the personal hardships reported by the sample were assessed.

Family planning trends among community-dwelling African refugee women.

Purpose: From 2009 to 2019, more than 175,000 refugees were admitted into the United States from African countries. What is known about sexual and reproductive health in this population is focused on perinatal outcomes; beliefs and attitudes towards family planning and related behaviors, which can impact perinatal health, have not been explored. Understanding these beliefs and attitudes can guide future work with this population.

HIV attitudes and beliefs in U.S.-based African refugee women.

The Buffalo, New York region is one of the leading refugee resettlement areas in the country, settling 94% of African refugees in 2014. However, little is known about their health beliefs, particularly regarding sexual health and HIV. This study's purpose was to describe HIV attitudes and beliefs in a sample of African refugee women, a population that is increasingly present in the country, yet seldom represented in the literature.

Family Planning Practices in Appalachia: Focus Group Perspectives on Service Needs in the Context of Regional Substance Abuse.

Reproductive health disparities in the Appalachian region may be driven by barriers to healthcare access. However, the barriers specific to accessing family planning services in Appalachia have not yet been identified from the perspectives of Appalachian community members. Moreover, it is unclear how community members might perceive elevated levels of opioid use in the region to impact family planning practices.

Avoiding obstetrical interventions among US-based Somali migrant women: a qualitative study.

Somali refugee women are known to have poor health-seeking behavior with a higher proportion of adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to US-born women. Yet unknown is how they avoid obstetrical interventions. This study sought to identify perceived protective mechanisms used to avoid obstetric interventions as well as the underpinning factors that influence aversion to obstetrical interventions by Somali refugee women.

Reproductive Health Outcomes in African Refugee Women: A Comparative Study.

African refugee women in the United States are at risk of poor reproductive health outcomes; however, examination of reproductive health outcomes in this population remains inadequate. We compared: (1) prepregnancy health and prenatal behavior; (2) prenatal history and prenatal care utilization; and (3) labor and birth outcomes between African refugee women and U.S.

Factors Associated with Access to Maternal and Reproductive Health Care among Somali Refugee Women Resettled in Ohio, United States: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

This study examined maternal and reproductive health (MRH) access of Somali refugees in the U.S. across four access dimensions (willingness to seek care, gaining entry to the health system, seeing a primary provider and seeing a specialist).

Access to choice: Examining differences between adolescent and adult abortion fund service recipients.

The results of a study examining differences between U.S. adolescent and adult abortion fund service recipients are presented in this paper.

"We feel like it was better back home:" Stress, Coping, and Health in a U.S. Dwelling African Immigrant Community.

Background: This study examines stress and stress management from the perspective of African immigrants in southwestern Pennsylvania. Our research questions explore how participants define stress, the most common causes of stress, manifestations of stress, and common strategies for stress management.

Methods: We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional, qualitative study with 34 African immigrants.