News

Contraceptive Use Among Traditional Medicare And Medicare Advantage Enrollees

The freedom to use one’s preferred contraceptive method—or no method—is fundamental to reproductive autonomy, which is a particularly salient issue for disabled people, who face substantial barriers to person-centered contraceptive care while also being subjected to interference in reproductive decision making.

Young Black Women's Desired Pregnancy and Birthing Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Black pregnant women encounter structural racism and intersectional bias from healthcare providers. By centering their perspectives and experiences of racial discrimination in healthcare settings, public health and medical professionals can utilize anti-racist frameworks to create more equitable, just practices in reproductive healthcare.

Read more about Drs. Ashley Hill and Natacha De Genna's findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38106375/

Calling all Pennsylvania Doulas!

We are looking for doulas who have provided care to pregnant and postpartum people in Pennsylvania during the last year to join our research study on medical insurance and racial health equity by participating in one, 40-60-minute interview. You will receive $50 in compensation for your time.
 

Proceedings Release: Defining and Evaluating In-Home Drug Disposal Systems For Opioid Analgesics Workshop

Dr. Tamar Krishnamurti was one of the panelists discussing real world implementation considerations for in-home opioid disposal systems for National Academies Sciences Engineering Medicine's drug forum publication on drug disposal systems for opioids. 

Creating Healing-Centered Spaces for Intimate Partner Violence Survivors in the Postpartum Unit: Examining Current Practices and Desired Resources Among Health Care Providers and Postpartum People

Drs. Chang, Miller, and Ragavan explored how intimate partner violence (IPV) is currently discussed with postpartum people in the postpartum unit as well as future methods and strategies for intervention and support.

Read more about their findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37971822/

Calling all Pennsylvania clinicians!

We are looking for clinicians across the state of Pennsylvania to join our research study on medical insurance and racial health equity by participating in one, 40-60 minute interview.
Who's eligible:
Clinicians (e.g., physicians, midwives, nurses, NPs, PAs, and others) who:
- Provide care for pregnant and postpartum populations, infants, and children
- Serve Black families
- Serve Medicaid beneficiaries

Understanding Medical Students' Concerns about Explicit Informed Consent for Pelvic Exams Under Anesthesia

Findings by Dr. Judy Chang and her team highlight the justifications provided by medical students who do not support explicit informed consent for pelvic exams under anesthesia.

Read more about Dr. Chang's findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37845168/

Calling All Doulas!

Are you a Doula who provides reproductive health and family services in Pennsylvania? The PA Doula Commission invites you to share your insights about doula services and the prosed PA Medicaid benefits package. Share your thoughts in our brief survey!

Clinician perspectives and practices related to sexual and reproductive care provision for males with cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) clinicians perceive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for men with CF as important but report low SRH discussions. With a total of 297 clinicians completing Dr. Kazmerski's survey (41% pediatric, 36% adult, 23% both; 27% physicians, 24% social workers, 11% nurses, 41% other), nearly all (98%) believed the CF team had a role in SRH care with 75 % believing they should be primarily responsible.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37953183/

Co-production of online educational resources for adolescent and young adult females with epilepsy

Dr. Traci Kazmerski and her team co-developed with patients, parents or caregivers, and multi-disciplinary healthcare providers who care for this population an online patient education materials about epilepsy for adolescent and young adult females with epilepsy. This work is a structured and reproducible methodology that could inform future educational intervention development in epilepsy.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37716326/

A case series measuring campus and clinic level factors during implementation of a sexual violence prevention intervention in campus health and counseling centers: does environment matter?

Dr. Liz Miller and her team examined campus and clinic factors that may influence likelihood of implementing sexual violence (SV) prevention for college students seeking care in campus health and counseling centers. Their findings suggest that high performance regarding SV policy and prevention on a campus do not necessarily translate to implementation of appropriate SV prevention and care for students seeking care on campus, including assessments, resources, referrals, and services.

Factors associated with pubertal growth outcomes in cystic fibrosis: Early Growth and Puberty in CF

In a recent study, Dr. Traci Kazmerski and her team found that early height, but not early weight-for-length/body mass index trajectories, may be associated with pubertal growth outcomes. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator modulator therapy shows the potential to improve pubertal growth outcomes, but further research is necessary.

Read more about their findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37981481/

Placental syndromes and long-term risk of hypertension

Dr. Janet Catov's team reviewed the relationship between blood pressure and maternal health in pregnancy. They concluded that there is a pressing need for studies with a range of detailed measures of cardiac and vascular structure and function taken before, during, and after pregnancy. This will help inform effective precision medicine prevention and treatment of both placental syndromes and chronic hypertension in women.

Read more about Dr. Catov's findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36702879/

Carotid intima media thickness and white matter hyperintensity volume among midlife women

Dr. Rebecca Thurston's research found that greater carotid intima media thickness (IMT) is associated with greater brain white matter hyperintensities (WMH) among older individuals, yet few studies consider these associations at midlife. Even fewer studies focus on women. The neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias accumulate at midlife. For women, midlife includes the menopause transition.

Read about Dr. Thurston's findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36722746/

Characteristics of Premature Myocardial Infarction Among Women With Prior Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

We are highlighting the work of Dr. Janet Catov around characteristics of premature myocardial infarction among women with prior adverse pregnancy outcomes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37694271/