National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Health Sciences, Oxford University, Headington, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Published: December 2002
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Background: Ultrasound has become a routine part of care for pregnant women in most countries with developed health services. It is one of a range of techniques used in screening and diagnosis, but it differs from most others because of the direct access that it gives parents to images of the fetus. A review of women's views of ultrasound was commissioned as part of a larger study of the clinical and economic aspects of routine antenatal ultrasound use.
Methods: Studies of women's views about antenatal screening and diagnosis were searched for on electronic databases. Studies about pregnancy ultrasound were then identified from this material. Further studies were found by contacting researchers, hand searches, and following up references. The searches were not intentionally limited by date or language. Studies that reported direct data from women about pregnancy ultrasound were then included in a structured review. Studies were not excluded on the basis of methodological quality unless they were impossible to understand. They were read by one author and tabulated. The review then addressed a series of questions in a nonquantitative way.
Results: The structured review included 74 primary studies represented by 98 reports. Studies from 18 countries were included, and they employed methods ranging from qualitative interviewing to psychometric testing. The review included studies from the very early period of ultrasound use up to reports of research on contemporary practice. Ultrasound is very attractive to women and families. Women's early concerns about the safety of ultrasound were rarely reported in more recent research. Women often lack information about the purposes for which an ultrasound scan is being done and the technical limitations of the procedure. The strong appeal of diagnostic ultrasound use may contribute to the fact that pregnant women are often unprepared for adverse findings.
Conclusions: Despite the highly varied study designs and contexts for the research included, this review provided useful information about women's views of pregnancy ultrasound. One key finding for clinicians was the need for all staff, women, and partners to be well informed about the specific purposes of ultrasound scans and what they can and cannot achieve.
Objectives: To determine ADHD research priorities from the perspective of ADHD professionals internationally.
Method: A two-stage modified Delphi design was used. In Stage 1 (qualitative), participants listed research questions relating to ADHD that they perceived to be most important ( = 132).
Background: New Zealand guidelines stipulate that patient consent is obtained for medical student involvement in clinical care, however, patients' preferences regarding consent for medical student teaching have not been widely explored. This study examined patient preferences for consent for medical student teaching with the aim to increase patient empowerment, to optimise care and to reflect societal expectations more accurately.
Method: Observational, semi-qualitative, cross-sectional study of in-patients.
Objective: Menopausal hormone therapy (HT) has been shown to be effective in alleviating symptoms of menopause. While previous literature has described the frequency of HT use for the relief of menopausal symptoms in both the general and veteran female populations, there is currently no literature describing this frequency within the female active duty population. This study aims to address this gap in knowledge by conducting a retrospective cross-sectional study of HT receipt in active duty service women (ADSW) ages 45 to 64 during fiscal years (FYs) 2018 to 2022.
Objectives: To enhance evidence-based knowledge about sexual function and the prevalence of sexual dysfunction after surgical therapy for congenital anomalies with menstrual outflow obstruction.
Materials And Methods: In this long-term case-control study, all patients underwent surgical correction of an obstructive Müllerian anomaly between 1980 and 2013. At the start of the case-control study, patients were at least 18 years old and were two years post their initial operation.
Background: The Adiana® Permanent Contraception System was a hysteroscopic tubal occlusion device but was withdrawn from the market in 2012.
Objective: To evaluate the safety, feasibility and efficacy of the Adiana hysteroscopic tubal occlusion.
Materials And Methods: A prospective observational multicentre cohort study of 300 women undergoing hysteroscopic sterilisation using the Adiana® was conducted in the Netherlands between 2009 and 2012.
