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Results for “Women In Development”

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PubMedDate not supplied

Pesticide usage and health consequences for women in developing countries: out of sight, out of mind?

Pesticide exposures of women in developing countries are aggravated by economic policy changes associated with structural adjustment programs and globalization. Women in these countries, particularly in the agricultural sector, are increasingly exposed. Since they are concentrated in the most marginal positions in the formal and informal workforces, and production is organized in a gender-specific way, opportunities for women to control their exposures are limited. Data from developing countries show that: 1) women's exposures to pesticides are significantly higher than is recognized; 2) poisonings and other pesticide-related injuries are greatly underestimated for women; 3) for a given adverse outcome from exposure, the experience of that outcome is gender-discriminatory; 4) erroneous risk perception increases women's exposures. The hiatus in knowledge of gender-specific exposures and effects is related to gender biases in the nature of epidemiologic inquiry and in the literature, and the gendered nature of health workers' practices and surveillance. Recommendations are made for strong, independent organizations that provide opportunities for women to control their environments, and the factors affecting their health, as well as gender-sensitive research to address the particularities of women's pesticide exposures.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Profile of Alzheimer's disease in women].

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease is 1.5 to 3 times more frequent in women than in men. This fact can be biased as women as a group have more long life survival. Semantic memory and naming are more frequently and severely impaired in women. DEVELOPMENT: Both genetic and environmental factors can contribute when one determined case develops Alzheimer's disease. A known risk factor for this development in women is oestrogen deprivation in menopause: accumulated evidence does exist. After menopause, plasmatic levels of two main oestrogens, oestradiol and oestrone, fall. It has been suggested that this estrogenic deprivation would increase the risk of development of Alzheimer's disease in women. Conversely, estrogenic replacement could decrease that risk. There are several neurotransmitters whose systems were influenced by estrogens. Amongst them, there are included acetylcholine, serotonin and norepinephrine. Estrogenic replacement could ameliorate the brain function or also delay the development of Alzheimer's dementia syndrome, by acting over a number of metabolic targets. Prospectively, some action on certain groups of women at risk must be analyzed. Neuropsychological testing ad hoc will be evaluated, both for the patients with clinical disease and for the population at risk, in this late case to ascertain a possible delay in the appearance of Alzheimer's disease symptoms.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Violence against women and the Millennium Development Goals: facilitating women's access to support.

Violence against women is a serious health and development concern, as well as a violation of women's human rights. Violence against women has a devastating effect on women's sexual and reproductive health, as well as the health of their children, and is rooted in gender inequality. Reducing violence against women is therefore a key strategy for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Key lessons have emerged from more than two decades of experiences dealing with violence against women within the health sector. Interventions must go beyond training and curricula reform and utilize a system-wide approach, including changes in policies, procedures and attention to privacy and confidentiality. Providers must work together with other sectors, particularly at a community level, to strengthen local networks for support of survivors of violence. Prevention activities are critical, particularly those that seek to change cultural norms and laws that encourage violence and discriminate against women and girls.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Struggling with paradoxes: the process of spiritual development in women with cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To examine the process of spiritual development in women diagnosed with cancer within five years of initial treatment. DESIGN: Exploratory, qualitative. SETTING: Outpatients in the mid-central and southwestern United States. SAMPLE: 10 Caucasian women, ages 45-70, who completed initial treatment, were not undergoing treatment for recurrence, and were within five years of diagnosis for breast or ovarian cancer or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. METHODS: Data collected during two semistructured interviews, coded and analyzed using grounded theory techniques. Frame of reference--symbolic interactionism. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Developmental processes of spirituality; responses to diagnosis, treatment, and survival of cancer. FINDINGS: Diagnosis of cancer threatened the meaning of the women's lives, resulting in a sense of disintegration. This problem was resolved through the basic social psychological process of Struggling With Paradoxes, a three-phase process of Deciphering the Meaning of Cancer for Me, Recognizing Human Limitations, and Learning to Live with Uncertainty. In phase I, the paradoxes focused on the possibility of death, distress, vulnerability, and maintaining connection. In phase II, the paradoxes involved confronting death, asking difficult questions, and letting go of ultimate control of their lives. In phase III, the paradoxes centered on uncertainty, redefining meaning, and identifying spiritual growth. Reintegration occurred over time, although when threatened by the possibility of recurrence, disintegration resurfaced for a time. CONCLUSIONS: Findings emphasize not only the importance of spirituality, but also that spiritual experience is individualized and developmental in nature. Spiritual growth occurs over time following the diagnosis of cancer and is not necessarily related to age. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Spiritual concerns may be painful for patients to address; spiritual caregiving requires an acknowledgment of need by the woman with cancer and a caring, sensitive caregiver. Nurses should be aware of the phases of spiritual development so that interventions can be designed to address individual needs that may vary over time.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

Maternal thyroid peroxidase antibodies during pregnancy: a marker of impaired child development?

Women with antibodies against the enzyme thyroid peroxidase [TPO-Ab; formerly microsomal antibodies (MsAb)] are at particular risk for developing postpartum thyroid dysfunction; the latter is significantly associated with postpartum depression. Although the negative effect of postpartum maternal depression on child development is well documented, the consequences of elevated titers of TPO-Ab during pregnancy and subsequent postpartum thyroid dysfunction on child development are not known. In a prospective study of a cohort of 293 pregnant women, the occurrence of TPO-Ab during gestation, thyroid dysfunction, and depression was investigated. Five years after delivery, child development was assessed in 230 children of the original cohort using the Dutch translation of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. Children of women with TPO-Ab during late gestation (n = 19, with normal thyroid function) had significantly lower scores (by t test) on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities than antibody-negative women. The difference on the General Cognitive Scale, which reflects IQ scores, was substantial (10.5 points; t = 2.8; P = 0.005). After correction for possibly confounding variables, maternal TPO-Ab during gestation was found to be the most important factor related to the scores on the General Cognitive Scale (odds ratio = 10.5; 95% confidence interval = 3-34; P = 0.003). We conclude that children of pregnant women who had elevated titers of TPO-Ab but normal thyroid function are at risk for impaired development.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Emerging concepts of women's development. Implications for psychotherapy.

This article highlights the essence of the new theories concerning the development of girls and women. The discussion centers on the implications for reinterpretation of women's actual lives, women's mental health, and the conduct of outpatient psychotherapy with adolescent girls and women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Rates, barriers and outcomes of HIV serostatus disclosure among women in developing countries: implications for prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes.

This paper synthesizes the rates, barriers, and outcomes of HIV serostatus disclosure among women in developing countries. We identified 17 studies from peer-reviewed journals and international conference abstracts--15 from sub-Saharan Africa and 2 from south-east Asia--that included information on either the rates, barriers or outcomes of HIV serostatus disclosure among women in developing countries. The rates of disclosure reported in these studies ranged from 16.7% to 86%, with women attending free-standing voluntary HIV testing and counselling clinics more likely to disclose their HIV status to their sexual partners than women who were tested in the context of their antenatal care. Barriers to disclosure identified by the women included fear of accusations of infidelity, abandonment, discrimination and violence. Between 3.5% and 14.6% of women reported experiencing a violent reaction from a partner following disclosure. The low rates of HIV serostatus disclosure reported among women in antenatal settings have several implications for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (pMTCT) programmes as the optimal uptake and adherence to such programmes is difficult for women whose partners are either unaware or not supportive of their participation. This article discusses these implications and offers some strategies for safely increasing the rates of HIV status disclosure among women.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2002

Defining nutritional status of women in developing countries.

OBJECTIVE: To define a de facto reference body mass index (BMI) for women in developing countries and compare its performance with the Quetelet BMI. DESIGN: A logarithmic equation for elite wt/ht references was developed using the weight (wt) and height (ht) of 10,524 non-pregnant elite mothers. Functional outcomes were compared using both BMIs. SETTING: Forty-six national surveys from 36 developing countries. SUBJECTS: Mothers 15-49 years old. RESULTS: The defacto reference standard deviation showed 2.2% of elite women were undernourished and 6.3% overnourished; lower and upper limits for 'ideal' wt/ht were 73% and 137%, respectively. Compared with the age-based and medium frame standards of the First and Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES I & II), the defacto reference defined fewer women as undernourished (5.3% vs. 10.5% and 14.4%, respectively), but more as overnourished (20.4% vs. 13.7% and 15.9%, respectively). In the de facto reference, BMI = wt/ht(1.6). Using the age-based and medium-frame-based Quetelet BMI (wt/ht2), 28.5% and 31.7% had a low and 13.0% and 14.7% a high BMI, respectively. For the defacto reference, 18.4% of the elite mothers had a low BMI and 19.3% a high BMI. Applying the de facto reference to all women showed that the distribution of BMI was similar irrespective of the reference used. Functional outcomes were similar for both BMIs. CONCLUSIONS: The NHANES I & II growth curves define more women as overnourished than the de facto curve, but the opposite for defining the undernourished. Functional outcomes were similar for both BMIs, suggesting there is no great advantage to using a defacto BMI based on national-level data from these 46 national surveys.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

An exploration of adolescent feminine and occupational behavior development.

Women in the United States have become more involved in the dual roles of homemaker and worker. This article traces briefly the development of the feminine role and occupational choice through a review of the literature; and stresses the need for occupational therapists who work with adolescents to be aware of such development. Three theoretical approaches to sex-role development are explored, and developmental aspects of occupational choice are examined. An assessment tool is included, and may be used to help identify areas of developmental lag and thereby aid in treatment planning.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

A systematic approach to faculty development in Women's health: lessons from education, feminism, and conflict theory.

The authors present a strategy for residency faculty development in women's health, the reasons that such a strategy is necessary (e.g., women's health encompasses much more than reproductive and disease issues, and is cross-disciplinary and intrinsic to all of family practice), and their residency program's experience with its development and implementation from 1994 to the present. In creating the program, the residency program's faculty used as a context some lessons learned from family medicine, since the rapid growth of family medicine provides a historical example of dealing with a critical shortage of faculty for new residency programs and the need for a new way to train educators. Also, the faculty reviewed the literature about faculty development in medicine, models of teaching and learning from women's studies, and group theory, specifically the skills concerning conflict and diversity. They used the salient elements from each (which the authors outline) in fashioning their new faculty development program. The resulting program also grew out of focus groups with patients, input from staff, residents, and faculty, and meetings and workshops, including some intense and highly charged discussions in which the faculty participants, both men and women, confronted their own views and biases and worked hard to successfully forge a common and relevant vision of women's health. The program has fostered faculty who are knowledgeable about the diverse educational skills required to teach women's health. They use these skills in all curricular content, thus demonstrating a new way to educate residents as well as faculty.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1995

Meeting the changing health needs of women in developing countries.

Demographic, epidemiological and socio-economic trends in developing countries are creating new mortality and morbidity patterns for both women and men. Women's health needs will increasingly include problems beyond reproduction, and health interventions must take into consideration the important characteristics of women's lives that affect their ability to address these problems. Meeting the changing health needs of women in developing countries will require more comprehensive health interventions guided by innovative, interdisciplinary research. A broader conceptualization of women's health needs, and the constraints and opportunities associated with meeting those needs, is necessary to avoid overly simplistic assigning of responsibility, which can lead to blaming organizations, disciplines and individuals, including women themselves, for persistent health problems and underutilization of existing services.

Developing Countries↗
PubMed1988

Decree No. 18238-C setting forth Regulations on the National Centre for the Development of Women and the Family, 9 May 1988.

This Decree sets forth Regulations on the Costa Rica National Center for the Development of Women and the Family. It provides that the Center is organized around a Directive Board, an Executive Directorate, and a Technical Council. The Technical Council has five areas of competence: 1) investigation; 2) dissemination and information; 3) training and organization; 4) economics; and 5) administration. Further provisions of these Regulations set forth the specific functions of the various departments of the Center.

Americas↗
PubMed2001

Serum insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I, and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 in women who develop preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether second-trimester serum concentrations of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) were altered in women before they developed clinical signs of preeclampsia. METHODS: A nested case-control study used serum obtained during second-trimester pregnancies from 12 women who developed preeclampsia matched with 24 controls who remained normotensive. Nine preeclamptic subjects and 18 controls were necessary to have 80% power to discern a 20% difference between groups with regard to the analytes under consideration. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between cases and controls with respect to many demographic factors. Women who developed preeclampsia had insulin concentrations that were not significantly different from controls, but serum concentrations of IGF-I were significantly higher and IGFBP-1 were significantly lower than those of the controls. The IGF-I/IGFBP-1 ratio helped to identify those at risk for developing preeclampsia. CONCLUSIONS: Serum concentrations of IGF-I and IGFBP-1 were abnormal long before women manifested clinical evidence of preeclampsia in this study. These alterations might be related to abnormalities in trophoblastic invasion and prove useful as potential markers for the identification of women who are at high risk of developing preeclampsia.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Population and women in development: gender issues in the context of population and development.

"The objective of this paper is to examine women's productive and reproductive roles and their intricate linkages and the interplay with the demographic variables of population and development. Although these interactions...are not yet fully understood, attempts will be made utilizing available data and literature to make an analysis of the linkages and interplays that exist between population variables with factors associated with the role, status and participation of women in the social and economic lives of African societies.... The paper will analyze the linkages and integrate the implications for population policies and programmes towards the enhancement of women's role and status and their participation in the development process."

Africa↗