Alaska MCH facts--Women's health: Knowledge of folic acid benefits

In an age where health professionals lead very busy working lives, electronic information sources provide ease of access to vast amounts of health information on an unprecedented scale. Health professionals have the ability to access the information they require from a location convenient to them and can do so at any time, day or night. This convenience has resulted in an increasing reliance upon electronic sources of information amongst women’s health professionals. As technologies develop, both the importance placed on the electronic dissemination of information by women’s health professionals and the use of such resources will increase dramatically. This chapter outlines the different sources of electronic information available to women’s health professionals, the constantly evolving online accessibility issues, the importance of critical appraisal when assessing the validity of online resources, and the role of the information specialist in the health sector. As this topic is currently under-researched a number of future research directions are also proposed.

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Building oral health capacity in a women's health service

Australian Journal of Primary Health ◽

10.1071/py17102 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (5) ◽

pp. 417

Author(s):

Angela Durey ◽

Susan Kaye Lee ◽

Bola Adebayo ◽

Linda Slack-Smith

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

Health Service ◽

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

Primary Healthcare ◽

Health Knowledge ◽

Health Resources ◽

Adult Women ◽

Service Workers ◽

Dental Hospital

Adult women in Australia are more likely than men to have no teeth, more missing teeth or have a dental hospital admission. Experiences of war, family and domestic violence, mental health or alcohol and other drug use problems may also negatively affect women’s oral health. Yet, oral health is often excluded from primary healthcare. Little is known about what helps or inhibits primary healthcare service workers to promote oral health to women in need. Identifying the perceptions and experiences of such workers is a step towards a strategy to develop resources to support them in raising oral health issues with disadvantaged clients. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study conducted at a community-based women’s health service, which used focus groups to investigate workers’ perceptions of promoting oral health and accessing services for their clients. Findings indicated how structural issues informed oral healthcare, where workers generally did not consider oral health their responsibility, were reluctant to raise the issue with clients and had limited oral health knowledge and resources. To overcome these barriers, workers identified the need for oral health resources and better linkages to the dental system to help support their clients.

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Pregnancy Intentions and Folic Acid Supplementation Exemplars: Findings from the Central Pennsylvania Women's Health Study

Journal of Health Communication ◽

10.1080/10810730802467093 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 366-383 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Roxanne Parrott ◽

Julie E. Volkman ◽

Marianne M. Hillemeier ◽

Carol S. Weisman ◽

Gary A. Chase ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Folic Acid ◽

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

Folic Acid Supplementation ◽

Health Study ◽

Pregnancy Intentions ◽

Acid Supplementation ◽

Central Pennsylvania

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EXPLORING THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH DECISION EXPERIENCES AND PREFERENCES OF WOMEN WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ◽

10.1093/ibd/izaa347.116 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 27 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S49-S49

Author(s):

Zach Picciarelli ◽

Olivia Stransky ◽

Hilary Michel ◽

Sandra Kim ◽

Marc Schwartz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Health ◽

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ◽

Health Knowledge ◽

Bowel Diseases ◽

Health Decision ◽

Inflammatory Bowel ◽

Contraceptive Choice ◽

Reproductive Health Knowledge

Abstract Background Women with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, have normal fertility and can have healthy pregnancies and children. However, many have fewer children than the general population, with up to a third of women choosing “voluntary childlessness.” Given that IBD diagnoses can elicit reproductive concerns related to contraception choice, pregnancy, and parenthood, this study explored the reproductive health decision-making experiences and preferences of women with pediatric-onset IBD. Methods In this qualitative study, we recruited women ages 18–44 years old with a childhood diagnosis of IBD who are followed by gastroenterology at one pediatric and one adult academic medical center in Western Pennsylvania to participate in individual, semi-structured interviews. We conducted interviews between July 2019 and July 2020, exploring experiences and attitudes toward parenthood, pregnancy, contraception, and family planning care provision. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Two independent coders performed analyses using a deductive and inductive coding approach and identified dominant themes and representative quotations. We conducted interviews until thematic saturation was reached. Results Twenty-one women with IBD participated in interviews (average age 24.7 +/-5.9 years, range 18–43 years; average age of diagnosis 14.1 +/- 2.0 years). Five women had been pregnant, and 16 wanted to have children in the future. We identified 4 key themes: (1) Nulliparous women who do not currently desire pregnancy appear to lack reproductive health knowledge; (2) Women with IBD lack clarity regarding the role IBD plays in contraceptive choice; (3) Related to pregnancy, women are concerned about the heredity of IBD, antepartum disease activity, and the safety of their current medications; (4) Women with IBD typically default to their women’s health provider for reproductive healthcare and counseling, but they expect their gastroenterologist to initiate relevant reproductive health discussions with them and to provide information in the context of their disease. Conclusions Women have concerns about the effects of IBD on pregnancy, parenthood, and contraceptive choice; however, many have had limited or no discussion with their gastroenterologist about these topics. They have gaps in their reproductive health knowledge and report receiving conflicting advice from different providers. Obtaining the perspectives of a larger sample of women with IBD and both women’s health and gastroenterology providers may further guide the development of interventions to improve this aspect of comprehensive care.

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Supplementation in pregnancy: determinants of the compliance with guidelines in Portugal, 2019

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.870 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

C Ribeiro ◽

D a Silva ◽

E Pinto

Keyword(s):

Folic Acid ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Antenatal Care ◽

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

Adverse Outcomes ◽

World Health ◽

Clinical Practices ◽

Iodine Supplementation ◽

In Pregnancy

Abstract Background Folic acid (FA) and iodine supplementation in pregnancy are nutritional interventions recommended by the World Health Organization, which are widespread in Portugal. Since there isn`t available reimbursed medicine containing only 400µg of FA and the increasing evidence that excessive supplementation in FA can lead to adverse outcomes for mothers and their offspring, make interesting to assess the clinical practice. Therefore, it`s important to understand the actual adherence to FA and iodine supplementation in periconceptional period, as well as to identify its determinants. Methods Telephonic interviews (n = 140) were conducted with mothers enrolled in Primary Health Centers, recruited in their children's vaccination appointment (aged 0-6 months). Among the variables studied are sociodemographic, medical and obstetric history, diet and supplements used during pregnancy. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences® program. Results The prevalence of iodine and FA supplementation among mothers was high (98%). About 3/4 of the interviewees reported having planned their pregnancy, and of these, 1/4 did not have a preconception consultation. The first pregnancy consultation took place at 6-10 weeks, on average. FA supplementation has the greatest discrepancies with the guidelines: only 29% (n = 40) started at the recommended time, 3% (n = 4) stopped at 12 weeks of pregnancy, and only 33% (n = 34) had 400µg of FA. Fifty one percent of the mothers indicated that they were unaware that they should start supplementation before the interruption of the contraceptive method. Conclusions These results suggest the need for enhanced antenatal care and interventions that increase women's health literacy. Public Health strategies in order to increase preconception consultations are needed as well as a national joint effort towards the homogenization of clinical practices regarding the prescription of supplementation in pregnancy. Key messages Folic acid (FA) and iodine supplementation in pregnancy are widespread practices in Portugal despite the fact that no available reimbursed medicine containing the recommended 400 µg of FA is available. Antenatal care and women's health literacy should be improved in order to comply with the recommendations, as well as the availability of a reimbursed medicine containing 400µg of folic acid.

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