Patient-Centered Care for Women.

Patient-centered care for women acknowledges the unique differences between men and women, considers women's concerns, and allows for a partnership between women and providers.

Implementing a Respectful Maternity Care Guideline During Childbirth Experiences.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the impact of an evidence-based guideline on respectful maternity care on nurses' attitudes and beliefs about childbirth practices. DESIGN: A quality improvement pilot project with a pretest/posttest design examining the attitudes and beliefs of intrapartum nurses about childbirth practices of respectful care. SETTING: High-risk intrapartum unit at a tertiary care center in the southeastern United States. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 130 registered nurses were invited to participate, and nine completed the pre- and posttests. INTERVENTION/MEASUREMENTS: The intervention included a recorded webinar, access to printed and electronic copies of the guideline, discussions in daily huddles, and a virtual journal club. Data were collected using the 42-item Nurse Attitudes and Beliefs Questionnaire-Revised. Lower scores are reflective of attitudes and beliefs that support a medical model of care, whereas higher scores are reflective of a physiologic model of care. Descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to analyze changes in attitudes and beliefs based on the aggregate scores of the nurse participants. RESULTS: Although there was no change in nurse attitude and beliefs about childbirth practices after 3 months (p = .058), the aggregate scores on a scale of 42 to 168 increased by 5.6 points. Two subscales of the Nurse Attitudes and Beliefs Questionnaire-Revised-Medical Model of Conflict and Women's Autonomy-had the greatest increase in aggregate scores. CONCLUSION: Understanding nurses' attitudes and beliefs can assist in identifying barriers to the provision of respectful care, particularly during labor and birth, when patients are most vulnerable. Measurement of nurse attitudes and beliefs regarding respectful maternity care may require a longer immersion in a respectful maternity care program to allow for changes over time.

Increasing U.S. Maternal Health Equity Among Immigrant Populations Through Community Engagement.

Immigrant women in the United States are at an elevated risk of poor maternal health outcomes due to cultural, linguistic, or socioeconomic barriers that may lead to critical delays in obtaining adequate health care. Ensuring access to high-quality, culturally appropriate perinatal health care is crucial to improve the health and well-being of immigrant mothers and their children. Various aspects of perinatal health care for immigrant women can be improved through community engagement strategies. Barriers can be addressed by involving community members in designing and delivering culturally appropriate maternal health services. Some strategies discussed in this commentary include working with community health workers, encouraging telehealth through community health workers, providing breastfeeding and mental health support within cultural norms, and involving community-based doulas and midwives.

How to Get Your Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project Published.

Publication of doctor of nursing practice scholarly projects is an important way to disseminate clinically relevant scholarship to support evidence-based practice.

Top Issues for Maternal/Child and Women's and Gender-Related Health.

Nurses must consider the complex and intersecting issues that affect the health of individuals and work toward a collective goal of health equality.

The Role of Nurses in Health Promotion.

Nurses promote health through consistent application of screening protocols for health conditions.

Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy During the Perinatal Period.

Nurses play a significant role in addressing vaccine hesitancy, encouraging immunizations, and understanding the evidence base that supports immunization recommendations.

Promoting Scholarship and Publication.

The promotion, dissemination, and utilization of clinically relevant scholarship is essential for nurses.

Our Commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

The editors and Editorial Advisory Board of Nursing for Women's Health are committed to promoting the principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Promoting Women's Health and Gender Equality.

Inequities increase the marginalization of women in society and negatively affect the health of women.

In Support of Reproductive Health Justice.

Restrictions to the provision of essential health care during pregnancy is dangerous, erodes efforts to improve maternal health and reduce inequities, and violates the code of ethics we pledge to uphold.

In Support of Reproductive Health Justice.

Restrictions to the provision of essential health care during pregnancy is dangerous, erodes efforts to improve maternal health and reduce inequities, and violates the code of ethics we pledge to uphold.

The Importance of Mentoring for Publication.

Mentorship for manuscript preparation and publication is important for the success of novice authors.

Publishing Decisions and Clinical Relevance.

The clinical relevance of published manuscripts needs to be considered when discussing implications for practice.

Coming Together and Moving Forward.

The AWHONN convention can help inspire and revitalize nurses as they move forward in their careers and develop their own scholarship.

Combating Misinformation.

Nurses have a responsibility to provide accurate, evidence-based information to help combat misinformation that threatens public health.

Don't Miss the Call.

Introducing Heidi Collins Fantasia, the new editor of Nursing for Women's Health.

The Lived Experience of Postpartum Women Attending Outpatient Substance Treatment for Opioid or Heroin Use.

INTRODUCTION: The current opioid crisis and associated heroin epidemic have exhausted the limited community services that are available to substance users, with only about 12% of substance use treatment facilities offering special programs for pregnant women. Little information is known about the lived experience of postpartum women in outpatient substance use treatment programs, who are working toward abstinence and caring for a newborn. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of postpartum women attending outpatient substance use treatment for illicit opioid or heroin use. METHODS: Individual interviews were conducted between December 2017 and November 2018, with 10 postpartum women with opioid use disorder (OUD) engaged in outpatient substance use treatment programs. A 4-step conceptual framework as suggested by Moustakas was used to understand and synthesize the lived experiences shared by the women. RESULTS: Five themes emerged from the raw data: the presence of a stigma in providers of health care services, a fear of being reported to family services, children are primary motivators to remain engaged in treatment, concern for the welfare of the infant, and barriers to treatment. DISCUSSION: Postpartum women with OUD and their infants have complex needs that may best be served by treatment programs that offer comprehensive care. The fear of being reported to family services and possible loss of custody influenced all aspects of their decision-making.

Individual and Institutional Predictors of IPV/SV Screening in College Health Centers.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence (SV) are significant public health issues for women, particularly for college women. IPV and SV have been associated with numerous adverse health consequences and involvement in unhealthy behaviors. Given the health risks and high rates of IPV/SV among college women, it is important to understand and promote screening in this population. The purpose of this study was to examine college women's experiences with IPV/SV screening at college health centers and identify individual and institutional characteristics associated with screening. Random samples of female undergraduate college students from five colleges in the northeast United States were recruited to participate in an anonymous online survey in January 2015. Inclusion criteria included at least one visit to the college health center during the preceding fall semester. Participants were questioned regarding demographics and whether they were screened or asked about IPV/SV at the college health center. A total of 873 women met the inclusion criteria and completed surveys. Only 10.2% of the college women in the study reported that they were screened for IPV/SV at their most recent visit to the college health center. Participants from public colleges/universities were 3 times more likely than others to report screening, whereas participants from urban college/university campuses were more than twice as likely as others to report screening. College women who went to the college health center for a gynecological or sexual health reason were nearly 4 times as likely as other women to report being screened for IPV/SV. Low rates of IPV/SV screening at college health centers represent missed opportunities. Further research across more numerous and diverse college sites is needed to understand the factors that promote or inhibit IPV/SV screening in college health centers to develop interventions to facilitate routine screening practices.

Interventions and Practice Implications for the Management of Endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disorder in which endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus. Although the disorder is currently estimated to affect approximately 10% of reproductive-age women, there is evidence to suggest that many women remain undiagnosed. Women with endometriosis may experience pain, abnormal menstruation, gastrointestinal symptoms, chronic fatigue, and infertility. Because of the varying symptomatology, the disorder may also foster negative psychosocial outcomes and decrease overall quality of life. Because there is no known cure, an effective patient-clinician relationship is crucial to successful long-term management of the condition. Several interventions exist, including nonsurgical and surgical management. Here, we provide an overview of endometriosis and current treatment options, as well as evidence-based practice implications for nurses who work with women who have endometriosis.