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Background: Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities 2.0 (SHHC-2.0) was a 24-week cardiovascular disease prevention program that was effective in improving physical activity and nutrition behaviors and clinical outcomes among women in 11 rural New York, USA towns. This study evaluated the delivery of SHHC-2.0 to prepare the intervention for further dissemination. Methods: This process evaluation was guided by the Medical Research Council recommendations and engaged program leaders and participants (i.e., women over age 40) using quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative evaluation included examination of enrollment and retention data, a participant survey, and a fidelity checklist completed after classes. Descriptive and comparative statistics were used to assess implementation measures: program reach, participant attendance, dose delivered, program length, perceived effectiveness, fidelity, and participant satisfaction. The qualitative evaluation included focus groups (n = 13) and interviews (n = 4) using semi-structured guides; audio was recorded and transcripts were deductively coded and analyzed using directed content analysis and iterative categorization approaches. Comparisons across towns and between intervention and waitlist control groups were explored. Results: Average reach within towns was 7.5% of the eligible population (range 0.7-15.7%). Average attendance was 59.8% of sessions (range 42.0-77.4%). Average dose delivered by leaders was 86.4% of curriculum components (range 73.5-95.2%). Average session length was 51.8 ± 4.8 min across 48 sessions. Leaders' perceived effectiveness rating averaged 4.1 ± 0.3 out of 5. Fidelity to curricular components was 81.8% (range 67.4-93.2%). Participants reported being "more than satisfied" with the overall program (88.8%) and the health benefits they obtained (72.9%). Qualitative analysis revealed that participants: (1) gained new knowledge and enjoyable experiences; (2) perceived improvements in their physical activity, nutrition, and/or health; (3) continued to face some barriers to physical activity and healthy eating, with those relating to social support being reduced; and (4) rated leaders and the group structure highly, with mixed opinions on the research elements. Conclusions: SHHC-2.0 had broad reach, was largely delivered as intended, and participants expressed high levels of satisfaction with the program and its health benefits. Our findings expand on best practices for implementing cardiovascular disease prevention programs in rural communities. Clinical trials Registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov #NCT03059472. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual health literacy (SHL) is a set of skills related to sexual behaviors that can affect sexual behavior and empower individuals to maintain as well as improve their sexual health. This study aimed to investigate the rural women's sexual health literacy and its related factors in Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 married women of reproductive ages referring to health center in Benaroyeh region along with six sub-villages in the South of Fars, Iran. Using convenience sampling method, we collected data via demographic-reproductive characteristics questionnaire and sexual health literacy for adult's questionnaire. We analyzed data using SPSS-16. Approximately 33.5% of the women obtained their sexual information online. The mean total SHL score was 75.64 ± 12.81. The SHL level was considered desirable in 82.5% of the participants. Among the four domains of SHL, the scores of most subjects on access skills and analysis-evaluation skills were unfavorable, 24.5% and 35.5%, respectively. The results show that the SHL level was correlated with education (P = 0.021) and inversely related to the gravidity (P = 0.04). There was also a statistically significant relationship between SHL level and women's career (P = 0.026), spouse's career (P = 0.01), and parity (P = 0.05). Most rural women had desirable levels of SHL. Given the lower levels of SHL in access and analysis-evaluation skills, and given the prevalence of Internet use, the provision of high quality and accessible online sexual health content within social and cultural norms is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Breast cancer is a significant public health issue, especially among women, and early detection through breast self-examination (BSE) is crucial. However, inadequate infrastructure and facilities in rural areas make it challenging for women to access healthcare. Aims: This study aims to evaluate the practices of BSE, attitudes towards breast health, willingness to perform BSE, the influence of cultural and religious beliefs, and associated factors that may influence the practice of BSE among women. Settings and Design: The study design is a cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: In the current study a sample size of 330 women aged 18-49 who are at risk of developing breast cancer. The methodology involves data collection through a structured questionnaire that explores the practice of BSE, associated factors, and barriers or misconceptions that may prevent women from regularly performing self-examinations. Statistical analysis used: Data was expressed in the form of percentage Results: The majority of the participants were aged 26-35 years, followed by the 36-49 age group. Most were married, identified as Hindus, and had attained secondary and higher secondary education. They belonged to the rural population. Of the total sample size, only 29.7% had heard of BSE, and out of these, only 25.5% had performed BSE. Among those who did not perform BSE, the majority expressed that they did not have any breast problems, and 23.9% expressed that they did not know how to perform it. Family and friends were the primary source of their awareness. Of the participants who performed BSE, the majority expressed that they did not know the exact positions to perform it and performed it randomly once a year. The most common symptoms of breast cancer that the participants knew were blood nipple discharge, skin changes, and the presence of lumps. The majority of participants spoke out after noticing a breast abnormality, discussed with their spouse, and consulted a doctor/nurse. Both groups expressed ignorance and fear as potential obstacles to BSE implementation. Conclusions: Overall, the findings indicate a lack of awareness and low practice of breast self-screening and highlight the need to increase awareness and provide the right information to the public for early detection of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present study aimed to evaluate the implementation of a civic engagement curriculum (HEART Club) designed to catalyze positive environmental change in rural communities. Design: The HEART Club curriculum was integrated into a six-month community-based health behavior intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease risk. Setting: Participants were recruited from eight rural towns in Montana and New York. Subjects: 101 midlife and older women. Intervention: Participants worked to address an issue related to their local food or physical activity environment and establish progress monitoring benchmarks. Method: Evaluation components included after-class surveys, program leader interviews (n = 15), participant focus groups (n = 8), and post-intervention surveys. Results: Intervention sites reported high fidelity (78%) to the curriculum. Average attendance was 69% and program classes were rated as highly effective (4.1 out of 5). Despite positive participant feedback, low readiness for civic engagement and insufficient time were implementation challenges. The majority of HEART Club groups had accomplished two or more benchmarks post-intervention. Facilitators of progress included community support, effective leadership, and collective effort. Participants also indicated that trying to affect community change while simultaneously making personal health improvements likely stalled initial progress. Conclusion: These findings highlight the potential and challenges associated with civic engagement within the context of rural lifestyle interventions. Future implementation efforts should focus on reframing civic engagement as an approach to support and maintain behavior change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the relations of power, of knowledge and of being that, since colonialism, have constituted hierarchies around gender classifications. Our culture labels as non-civilized and non-human those who do not fit the hegemonic model; this label is used to understand the role of women in rural contexts. In rural areas, modern women seek to break with established relations of power, seeking greater independence and access to public leadership. Given these questions, it is worth asking: what are the factors that empower rural women? It is observed that education and non-agricultural income alternatives make it possible to break their invisibility in rural establishments. For the construction of the analysis, the statistical data are presented from a sample of 95 cases of the rural population of Itapejara d'Oeste / PR. The initial survey was carried out in 2005 and later updated in 2010 and 2015. Econometric tools, based on the limited dependent variable model (LDVM) were used. The results indicated the occurrence of a greater emigration of women related to higher education, as well as a decrease of this emigration when women started to have greater access to non-agricultural income in rural areas. Both forms of access to public space have given rural women greater independence and probably helped to break out of their invisibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends our understanding of employment and gendered rural ageing by examining the latent benefits of paid work for mid-life women in rural Ireland. Existing social gerontology literature deals extensively with manifest financial reasons to work, consequences of gendered pay and pension inequalities, work-related health concerns and the negative impacts to an extended working life for women. However, there is much less focus on the latent non-financial positive contributions that work provides for the older woman, especially within a rural context. Findings from this study show how mid-life women, even if in lower-paid, precarious work or in poorer health may choose to continue working into older age. Paid work provides not only financial autonomy, but also temporal structure, life purpose, personal agency, social connectivity and a self-identity that most women are reluctant to relinquish to retirement. Meaningful work plays a critical role in the ageing experience of older rural women. A qualitative study of 25 women aged 45–65 in Connemara, Ireland was undertaken from a lifecourse perspective and analysed using constructivist grounded theory to allow rich, novel narrative to emerge. Narrative from seven, who best represent all participants, are utilised in this paper. Conclusions suggest that the latent benefits of paid work are at least as, if not more important than financial gain for rural mid-life women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carcinoma cervix is a major health problem faced by Indian women and situation is very alarming in rural population because of illiteracy and poverty. There is urgent need of creating awareness regarding the risk factors of cervical cancer such as early marriage and multiparity in the rural women and the importance of early detection of the cervical cancer. With aim for providing single life time Pap smear cover to the rural women, cervical cancer screening program was initiated in May 2013 by Era's Lucknow, Medical College and Hospital, Lucknow, through organizing camps in the villages of Lucknow, west. Till December 2019, a total of 183 camps have been organized and 5209 women attended these camps (28.5%). Pap smear examination could be done in only 2912 women (55.9%). The incidence of squamous intraepithelial lesions of cervix (SIL) was found to be very high in these women (17.1%) though majority of SIL were of low grade (LSIL). This may be related to the poor personal genital hygiene prevailing in rural women due to illiteracy. In the present review, the SIL incidence has been extensively analyzed in relation to different predisposing factors of cervical carcinogenesis and problems faced during camp organization and the benefits derived from these camps to rural women have been highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal mortality remains a major challenge to health systems in low and middle-incoming countries. Some pregnant women develop potentially life-threatening complications during childbirth. Therefore, home delivery is a precursor for maternal mortality. In this study, we aimed at not only estimating the percentage of deliveries occurring at home and examining the factors associated with home delivery, but we also explored the reasons for home delivery among women in rural Ghana. Methods: The study was conducted among mothers with delivery experience in selected communities in the Builsa South district located in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guide respectively. A total of 456 mothers participated in this study. Regression models were used in the quantitative analysis whereas a thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the qualitative data. Results: Of the 423 mothers in the quantitative research, 38.1% (95% CI: 33.5–42.8) delivered their index child at home. In adjusted analysis, women who were not exposed to information (AOR = 13.64, p<0.001) and women with 2 (AOR = 4.64, p = 0.014), 3 (AOR = 4.96, p = 0.025) or at least 4 living children (AOR = 9.59, p = 0.001) had higher odds of delivering at home. From the qualitative analysis, the poor attitude of nurses (midwives), lack of, and cost of transportation, cost of delivery kits, and traditional beliefs and practices were cited as reasons for home delivery. Conclusion: Despite the government's efforts to provide free maternal care services to women in Ghana, a significant proportion of rural women still deliver at home due to other 'hidden costs'. Addressing poor staff attitude, transportation challenges, and negative traditional beliefs and practices through awareness creation may contribute to improving health facility delivery by rural pregnant women in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Global evidence on psychosis is dominated by studies conducted in Western, high-income countries. The objectives of the Study of Context Of Psychoses to improve outcomes in Ethiopia (SCOPE) are (1) to generate rigorous evidence of psychosis experience, epidemiology and impacts in Ethiopia that will illuminate aetiological understanding and (2) inform development and testing of interventions for earlier identification and improved first contact care that are scalable, inclusive of difficult-to-reach populations and optimise recovery. Methods: The setting is sub-cities of Addis Ababa and rural districts in south-central Ethiopia covering 1.1 million people and including rural, urban and homeless populations. SCOPE comprises (1) formative work to understand care pathways and community resources (resource mapping); examine family context and communication (ethnography); develop valid measures of family communication and personal recovery; and establish platforms for community engagement and involvement of people with lived experience; (2a) a population-based incidence study, (2b) a case-control study and (2c) a cohort study with 12 months follow-up involving 440 people with psychosis (390 rural/Addis Ababa; 50 who are homeless), 390 relatives and 390 controls. We will test hypotheses about incidence rates in rural vs. urban populations and men vs. women; potential aetiological role of khat (a commonly chewed plant with amphetamine-like properties) and traumatic exposures in psychosis; determine profiles of needs at first contact and predictors of outcome; (3) participatory workshops to develop programme theory and inform co-development of interventions, and (4) evaluation of the impact of early identification strategies on engagement with care (interrupted time series study). Findings will inform development of (5) a protocol for (5a) a feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial of interventions for people with recent-onset psychosis in rural settings and (5b) two uncontrolled pilot studies to test acceptability, feasibility of co-developed interventions in urban and homeless populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analyzes the relevance of the role of rural women in ensuring proper water chlorination, taking into account an evaluation at the national rural level, as well as the differences between the concentrated and dispersed population centers. Specifically, this study focuses its analysis on those population centers with under 2000 inhabitants that are supplied with water and sewerage services by a rural service provider known as a communal organization in Peru. Based on a review of the literature, it is suggested that the low female participation in these communal organizations is one of the factors contributing to the persistently low rate of water suitable for human consumption. To conduct this study, data were collected from the Diagnóstico sobre el abastecimiento de agua y saneamiento en el ámbito rural - DATASS 2020 of the Ministerio de Vivienda, Construcción y Saneamiento (MVCS) (2020). This report provides information about sanitation services in rural population centers. Furthermore, the hypotheses formulated in this study were validated in the Results section through probabilistic regression analysis, utilizing a water service quality index represented by proper chlorination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural midlife and older women have high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and lower access to healthy living resources. The Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities (SHHC) intervention, tailored to the needs of rural women, demonstrated effectiveness on many outcomes. The purpose of the Strong Hearts for New York (SHNY) study is to evaluate the efficacy of an enhanced version of the curriculum (SHHC-2.0). SHNY is a randomized controlled efficacy intervention, comparing participants receiving the SHHC-2.0 curriculum with a delayed intervention control group. SHHC, informed by formative research, includes core elements from three evidence-based programs. Changes based on extensive outcome and process evaluation data were made to create SHHC-2.0. Classes will meet twice weekly for 24 weeks and include individual, social, and environmental components. Overweight women age 40 and over will be recruited from 11 rural, medically underserved communities in New York; data will be collected at baseline and 12, 24, 36, and 48 weeks across individual, social, and environmental levels. Primary outcome is body weight. Secondary outcomes include Simple 7 (composite CVD risk score), anthropometric, physiologic, biochemical, physical activity, and dietary intake measures; healthy eating and exercise self-efficacy and attitudes; and self-efficacy of the social network of participants. The aims of this study are to evaluate the efficacy of the enhanced SHHC-2.0 program for participants, changes among participants' social networks, and the difference in outcomes when participants are and are not provided with technological tools (Fitbit and body composition scale). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women have been the major victims of the Colombian armed conflict for more than 50 years. Nowadays, when the country faces an aftermath focused on reconciliation, understanding women's experiences during the conflict is key to providing them tools for social justice and effective fulfilling of their needs. This qualitative synthesis of literature includes publications in Spanish and English of electronic databases over the past 20 years regarding rural women and the Colombian armed conflict. Studies were included for review if they were published between 2000 and 2019, were qualitative peer-reviewed articles, and addressed directly or indirectly the pregnancy process as well as the women's sexual and reproductive health in rural Colombia. Seven of 169 articles initially identified were included for an inductive analysis of categories and themes. After the analysis process, three main themes emerged from the literature: (a) crumbling families, (b) being a woman: the challenges between being a peacemaker and a victim, and (c) protecting and caring of life. These three themes comprise 10 categories and 20 subcategories that provide support to the inductive qualitative synthesis. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the Colombian armed conflict focused on the victimization of women. It concludes with reflections about the Colombian women's role in transitioning toward peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to investigate the association between sociodemographic factors and alcohol, tobacco and hypnotic consumption in rural women. Method: cross-sectional study conducted with 259 rural women. For data collection, a structured form was used and the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test was used. For the analysis, the Chi-Square and/or Fisher’s Exact Test with a 95% confidence interval was used. Results: there was an association between tobacco use and color (p=0.041), religious belief (p=0.001) and governmental benefit (p=0.006). There was an association between alcohol consumption and religious belief (p≤0.001). Regarding the need for intervention, there was an association between tobacco and color (p=0.009), income (p=0.001) and government benefit (p=0.006), as well as alcohol and age (p=0.035), religious belief (p=0.006) and income (p=0.002). Conclusion: factors such as religion, color, income, age and government benefit are associated with alcohol and tobacco use in rural women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the peripartum transfusion rates for rural women compared with urban women in the United States.Methods: In this population-based retrospective cohort study, geocoded birth records from 2014 to 2016 from the National Center for Health Statistics were used to examine the rural-urban differences in blood transfusion among nulliparous women delivering singleton, vertex pregnancies at term. We compared transfusion rates across the counties on a continuum from urban to rural. We generated a multivariable logistic regression model controlling for age, race, nativity, education, insurance, prenatal care, maternal health, gestational age, intrapartum care, mode of delivery, peripartum factors, and county of delivery.Results: Among 3,346,816 births, the transfusion rates based on maternal county of residence increased as the counties became more rural: large metropolitan-center (1.9/1,000 live births); large metropolitan-fringe (2.4); medium metropolitan (2.6); small metropolitan (2.6); micropolitan (4.5); and noncore rural (5.3). Rural women living and delivering in a rural county had more transfusions (8.5/1,000 live births) than women in more urban counties (2.5/1,000). After adjusting for key covariates, the odds of transfusion were higher among women living in micropolitan (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.25, 95% CI 2.09-2.43) and noncore rural (aOR 2.59, 95% CI 2.38-2.81) counties when compared with women living in large metropolitan counties. County of delivery had a higher association with transfusion than resident county. After adding delivery county to the regression model, the association of transfusion and living in a micropolitan (aOR 1.39, 95% CI 1.19-1.63) or noncore rural (aOR 1.32, 95% CI 1.12-1.55) county diminished.Conclusion: The odds of blood transfusion were higher for women in rural areas. The results indicate that the rurality of the county where the birth occurred was associated with more transfusion. This may reflect differences in maternity and blood banking services in rural hospitals and warrants further study to identify opportunities for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Given the increasing prevalence of hysteromyoma among the Chinese rural women of childbearing age, it is imperative that more attention should be given to researching risk factors that predispose women to this condition so that early preventive measures may be taken. Our study investigates potential risk factors for uterine fibroids such as participants' demographic characteristics (age, ethnicity, education), physiological characteristics (age at menarche, primiparous age), and the occurrence of several different female reproductive diseases (vaginitis, pelvic inflammatory disease). Methods: 2200 rural women of reproductive age were screened from a cross‐sectional study carried out in the northern Anhui province. Data were collected by questionnaire surveys, gynecological and laboratory examinations and were subjected to univariate and multivariate analysis to evaluate the risk factors for uterine fibroids. Results: Of the 2200 women, 440 had uterine fibroids. In general, women with endometriosis, ovarian cysts and early menarche were more likely to suffer from hysteromyoma. Factors including higher parity, late age of first childbirth, and a regular menstrual cycle were associated with the reduced risk of uterine fibroids. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that parameters such as earlier age of menarche, early primiparous age, lower parity and a variety of female reproductive diseases were associated with an increased risk of uterine fibroids. These findings may be used to guide the formulation of effective prevention and intervention protocols to improve the reproductive health of rural women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background-Male preference is deeply entrenched in the society. Gender disadvantage predisposes to limited education, employment opportunities and healthcare. Aims and objectives: To assess the Gender disadvantage in rural married females and its impact on their psychological morbidity. Methodology: Analytical Cross sectional study was conducted in a randomly selected village of a rural health block. All the eligible women were interviewed using Door Knock Procedure. Psychological morbidity was assessed using 20 items Self Rating Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Statistical Analysis: Data was analysed using SPSS ver 20.0. Tests of significance applied were Chi square test and ANOVA. P value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Prevalence of Female gender disadvantage was 59.89%. Parental male predisposition and socioeconomic status were found to be statistically associated (p<0.05). The women's own preference for a male child was strongly predicted by their own gender disadvantage from the parents. Statistically significant difference in psychological morbidity was found amongst women who had both parental male predisposition and lack of empowerment in comparison to those who did not have these (p=0.00). Conclusion: Psychological morbidity due to gender disadvantage is a cause of concern. Social awareness and strongly enforced laws like PC-PNDT can reduce these preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The ministry of health (MOH) of Ethiopia recommends 4 or more focused antenatal care (ANC) visits at health centre (HC) or at a higher level of health facility (HF). In Ethiopia, few studies investigated time dimension of maternal health continuum of care but lack data regarding place dimension and its effect on continuum of care. The aim of this study is to estimate effect of place of ANC-1 visit and adherence to MOH's recommendations of MOH for ANC visits on continuum of care rural in Ethiopia. Methods: We used data collected from 1431 eligible women included in the National Health Extension Program (HEP) assessment survey that covered 6324 households from 62 woredas in nine regions. The main outcome variable is continuum of care (CoC), which is the uptake of all recommended ANC visits, institutional delivery and postnatal care services. Following descriptive analysis, Propensity Score Matching was used to estimate the effect of place of ANC-1 visit on completion of CoC. Zero inflated Poisson regression was used to model the effect of adherence to MOH recommendation of ANC visits on intensity of maternal health continuum of care. Result: Only 13.9% of eligible women completed the continuum of care, and place of first antenatal care (ANC) visit was not significantly associated with the completion of continuum of care (β = 0.04, 95% CI = -0.02, 0.09). Adherence of ANC visit to the MOH recommendation (at least 4 ANC visits at higher HFs than health posts (HPs)) increased the likelihood of higher intensity of continuum of care (aIRR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.26, 1.33). Moreover, the intensity of continuum of care was positively associated with being in agrarian areas (aIRR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.29), exposed to HEP (IRR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.16, 1.28), being informed about danger signs (aIRR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.18) and delivery of second youngest child at HF (IRR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.20). Increasing age of women was negatively associated with use of services (IRR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.87, 0.94). Conclusion: Completion of maternal health continuum of care is very low in Ethiopia, however most of the women use at least one of the services. Completion of continuum of care was not affected by place of first ANC visit. Adherence to MOH recommendation of ANC visit increased the intensity of continuum of care. Intensity of continuum of care was positively associated with residing in agrarian areas, HEP exposure, danger sign told, delivery of second youngest child at health facility. To boost the uptake of all maternal health services, it is crucial to work on quality of health facilities, upgrading the infrastructures of HPs and promoting adherence to MOH recommendations of ANC visit. Plain language summary: Maternal health continuum of care is an integrated service delivery of antenatal care, facility delivery and postnatal care on appropriate time and place. Continuum of care averts more maternal mortality than individual service provision. In Ethiopia a small percent of women complete continuum of care. Previous studies in Ethiopia explored the effect of time on CoC, however the effect of place of service delivery on subsequent continuum of care were not addressed. This study, therefore, assessed the effect of place of service delivery on completion of subsequent continuum of care using data from 1431 fixed cohort of women during the National HEP assessment survey. The proportion of women who took all essential maternal health services was very low. Whether first antenatal care is at health post or at health centre did not have a significant effect on the completion of maternal health continuum of care. Adherence to the existing recommendations of Ministry of Health for antenatal care visit increases the uptake of maternal health continuum of care. Better completion of maternal health services was observed in agrarian than pastoralist areas, among those who have exposure to health extension program, who have information about danger signs, and who deliver their previous child at health facility. We can conclude that good implementation of the health extension program, and improving service quality at health facilities increase the uptakes of maternal health service. Moreover, promoting adherence of women to the ministry of health ANC recommendations increase uptakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey has a total land potential of 78 million ha with a population about 74 million. About one third of the land is arable, and 26% of the population has lived in rural areas. The active population, work in the rural area of Turkey, is 14,767,000 and women have about 51% of that population. The population of women working in agriculture has shown an increase from year to year. In that regard, importance of women in agricultural activities and rural development is very clear. In agricultural enterprises, the individuals are comprised from 54% men and 46% women whose main work is agricultural activities and female economically active population in agriculture is about 55% in Turkey. The Social Gender Inequality Index, SGII, can be used to make some recommendations for policy makers. SGII is still at a high rate of 0.366 in Turkey. In present paper, some secondary data such as reports and statistical data were analyzed about the contributions of women labor uses in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Breastfeeding is the natural way of feeding an infant with mother’s milk by direct nipple contact with the baby’s mouth in order to provide nutritional, metabolic and physiological needs, as well as to protect the baby from morbidity and mortality. However, inadequate knowledge and negative attitudes lowers the prevalence rate of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) among rural mothers. Objectives. To assess the level of knowledge, attitudes and practice of breastfeeding among rural women and to determine the factors that affect this practice. Material and methods. This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted on 130 conveniently selected mothers aged 18–35 years having at least one child (aged 1 week to 6 years). Simple descriptive statistics were used to identify the general characteristics of the participants, where univariate logistic regression was used to determine the factors considering p-values less than < 0.01 and < 0.05. Results. Most of the women had a positive attitude towards breastfeeding, where 68.46% of mothers had properly given breast milk to their children up until 6 months, while 91.6% fed them colostrum; respectively, 78.5% and 73.1% of mothers washed their hands and cleaned their baby’s mouth before and after the child’s mouth contact with the breast. The mother’s age and education (OR = 0.428 [CI = 0.176–1.039] p < 0.001), (OR = 1.627 [CI = 0.870–3.046] p < 0.001), the father’s education and occupation (OR = 0.987 [CI = 0.828–1.177] p < 0.001), (OR = 0.906 [CI = 0.574–1.429] p < 0.005) and dwellings structure (OR = 2.555 [CI =0.722–9.042] p < 0.001) are associated with the practice of breastfeeding. Conclusions. Breastfeeding and EBF should be promoted through primary care and counseling programs together with programs designed to uplift the socio-economic status of rural women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of biomass fuel is associated with the deterioration of human health and women are more likely to develop health conditions due to their exposure to indoor air pollution during cooking. This study was conducted to assess the pattern of fuel used for cooking in households as well as to determine the association between the types of fuel used with respect to socio-demographic characteristics and health status of women. A community based cross-sectional survey was conducted between August 2016 and September 2018 in four rural areas and one semi-urban area of Udupi district, Karnataka, India. The study comprised 587 families including 632 women. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the type of fuel as well as self-reported health conditions. Overall, 72.5% of the families used biomass, where 67.2% families were currently using both biomass and liquefied petroleum gas while only biomass was used in 5.3% of the families for cooking. Among women, being ever exposed to biomass fuel was significantly associated with their age, literacy level, occupation and socio-economic status (p < 0.001). Those who were exposed to biomass fuel showed a significant association with self-reported ophthalmic (AOR = 3.85; 95% CI: 1.79–8.29), respiratory (OR = 5.04; 95% CI: 2.52–10.07), cardiovascular (OR = 6.07; 95% CI: 1.88–19.67), dermatological symptoms /conditions (AOR = 3.67; 95% CI: 1.07–12.55) and history of adverse obstetric outcomes (AOR = 2.45; 95% CI: 1.08–5.57). A positive trend was observed between cumulative exposure to biomass in hour-years and various self-reported health symptoms/conditions (p < 0.001). It was observed that more than two-thirds of women using biomass fuel for cooking were positively associated with self-reported health symptoms. Further longitudinal studies are essential to determine the level of harmful air pollutants in household environment and its association with various health conditions among women in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tobacco consumption is a public health problem in Tamil Nadu. Objectives: The current study was done to estimate the prevalence of tobacco consumption among rural women and to identify the sociodemographic characteristics with high prevalence of tobacco consumption. Materials and Methods: It was a community-based cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among women ≥18 years of age. Mixed methods were employed to obtain the comprehensive picture about the substance use among women. Multistage random sampling method was used to interview 210 women using a semi-structured and pretested schedule. This was followed by key informant interviews, in which nine women were interviewed. Frequency distributions and Chi-square test were employed to study the association. In addition, manual content analysis was done to identify the reasons for the initiation of tobacco consumption and the measures to curb the practice. Results: The prevalence of tobacco consumption among the women was estimated as 15.2%. Women in the lower socioeconomic status group showed a higher prevalence of tobacco consumption than the middle and high socioeconomic status group. All 32 (100%) women were consuming tobacco products in the smokeless forms. Further, 28 (87.5%) women were not willing to quit tobacco consumption. Conclusion: The prevalence of tobacco consumption among the women was estimated to be above expectation of the national figures. Lower socioeconomic class and poor educational status were found to be major determinants for tobacco consumption among rural women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The phenomenon of gender-based violence is a pertinent social problem in South Africa. The fear of reporting gender-based violence contributes to its continuation, marginalisation and silencing of victims. Objectives: The study sought to explore the psychosocial effects of gender-based violence among women in Vhembe district. Methods: An exploratory phenomenological research design was used and sampling was performed purposively from a population of women who experienced gender-based violence in a low-resource, rural setting of Vhembe district. Semi-structured telephonic interviews were used as the main method of data collection after permissions and informed consent were sought for conducting the study. Thematic content analysis was applied to convert the participants' statements into a meaningful framework to derive the findings. Results: A total of 15 participants aged from 19 to 35 years participated in the study. Their psychosocial experiences of gender-based violence were depression, worthlessness, social isolation and anger directed towards children. Conclusion: This research confirms that gender-based violence remains one of the most challenging problems associated with mental health problems in Vhembe district. It affirms the need to focus on awareness in rural areas afflicted by patriarchal attitudes, norms and stereotypes. Gender-based violence should to be viewed as human rights violation for victims' protection. Contribution: The study contributes to the body of knowledge on the experiences of gender-based violence among marginalised women from rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need for coordinated action to boost rural women's access to maternity services in Australia in 2022. Topics covered include such women's need of high quality care in the perinatal period, very remote communities' lesser likelihood of having birthing service, and the relocation and away-from-home birth options of expecting women in remote locations. Also noted is the lack of a consistent national strategy on the issue despite support by major stakeholders.

Background: Breast milk is also called life fluid for the baby. Exclusive breastfeeding has a number of benefits. Hence; the present study was undertaken for assessing the knowledge and attitude of rural women about breast feeding. Materials & methods: A total of 100 rural women attending the OPD of tertiary care center were enrolled. Complete demographic details of all the subjects were obtained. A self-framed questionaries' was given to all the subjects for assessing their knowledge and attitude of rural women about breast feeding. Grading of the knowledge and attitude of the subject was done as: Good, Fair and poor. All the results were compiled in Microsoft excel sheet and were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: Among 100 rural subjects, good knowledge about breastfeeding was present in 45 subjects, while fair and poor knowledge was present in 35 and 20 subjects respectively. Among 100 rural subjects, good attitude about breastfeeding was present in 40 subjects, while fair and poor attitude was present in 30 and 30 subjects respectively. Conclusion: Breast feeding habits among rural population are still suboptimal. Therefore adequate educational programs are required for increasing the awareness of general population about breast feeding habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Determining the effective factors on the adoption of preventive behaviors capable of reducing the risk of skin cancer is an important step in designing interventions to promote these behaviors. Based on the protection motivation theory, the present study is aimed to conduct a path analysis of skin cancer preventive behaviors in rural women to explore these factors.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 243 rural women were randomly selected from the west of Iran to receive a valid and reliable questionnaire assessing constructs from the protection motivation theory, as well as demographic information. Fully completed questionnaires were returned by 230 women and the data were analyzed by SPSS 22 and LISREL8.8.Results: Concerning skin cancer preventive behaviors, 27.8% of women wore sun-blocking clothing when working under the sun, 21.7% used sunscreen cream, 5.7% wore a cap, and 4.8% used gloves and sunglasses. Protection motivation theory and per capita income explained 51% of motivation variance and 25% of the variance of skin cancer preventive behaviors. The response efficacy construct was the strongest predictor of the motivation of protection (ß = - 0.44, p < 0/001). Per-capita income (ß = - 0.34, p < 0/001) and motivation (ß = - 0.33, p < 0/001) were the strongest predictors of these behaviors.Conclusions: This study showed that protection motivation theory is efficient in predicting skin cancer preventive behaviors and the interventions can be designed and implemented by this theory. Proper planning is also necessary for promoting these behaviors among people with low per-capita income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present text proposes a comparative analysis of two groupings of rural women, one Uruguayan, the Red de Grupos de Mujeres Rurales, and one Chilean, the Asociación Nacional de Mujeres Rurales e Indígenas. Firstly, the author seeks to investigate the “rural” character of both groupings and, in second place, understand what space the search for the constitution of a “female” subject occupies in those groups. It is understood that such conceptions reverberate in the self-definition of the collectives, in the way in which they seek to be seen, in the possibilities of forming alliances with other collectives and, ultimately, in the social order to which they aspire. [TRANSLATION]

Women constitute the greater percentage of the rural population in Nigeria and form an important part of the labor force by engaging in subsistence trade. However, this role is grossly hindered as a result of lack of information on how to tackle their problems, which cut across health care, illiteracy, early marriages, poverty and ignorance. This study is an investigation of the information needs and information-seeking behavior of rural women in Nigeria with particular reference to Borno State. Questionnaires and oral interviews were the main instruments used for data collection. The analysis revealed varying information needs, sources, channels and seeking behavior. Barriers to information needs are identified and suggestion on how to tackle them are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to measure the prevalence and potential factors related to HPV 16/18 infection among middle-aged and older Chinese rural women. The study was conducted among women aged 35–65 years in rural villages within Wufeng in Hubei Province. Data were collected using a pretested questionnaire between July and August 2015. Cervical specimens were collected for HPV DNA detection and typing by using careHPV. Pearson's Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations with HPV positivity. Among 1001 participants, the prevalence of HPV 18/16 positive genotyping was 15.88% (n = 159). Husbands' extramarital sex (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 15.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.76–43.59), cervicitis (adjusted OR = 9.27, 95% CI 5.06–16.99), condom usage (adjusted OR = 0.16, 95% CI 0.05–0.53), higher average number of live births (adjusted OR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.32–2.96 for two live births; adjusted OR = 3.29, 95% CI 1.39–7.81 for three or more live births) were associated with HPV infection. The prevalence of HPV infection among participating women from rural areas was higher than that in several other areas in China. Our findings can aid efforts to prevent HPV infection to lower the risk of cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the explorations for the period 1877-81, looking for recurring themes that might serve as both a reflection of and a window into the thoughts and feelings of Michigan women Grangers and thus, by extrapolation, rural women more generally. The Order of the Patrons of Husbandry, more familiarly known as the Grange, arose from rural conditions during the post-Civil War depression. In 1866, Oliver Hudson Kelley, originally from Boston and a some-time Minnesota farmer, was commissioned by President Andrew Johnson to travel throughout the South and survey conditions among the farmers there. Although Kelley was obviously a Northerner, he found that his membership in the Masons, an organization whose numbers were on the ascendance, earned him ready access and acceptance among southern farmers. He was struck by the rural people's social, economic, educational, legal, and political isolation. Further travel and experience convinced him that these conditions were not regional but had parallels throughout rural North and Midwest, as well as the developing West, in addition to the South. This was a period in which the embryos of unions were starting to develop to advance the interests of urban labor.

Breast Cancer incidence rate has risen consistently as the leading female cancer in Sri Lanka among rural population. Hence this study focused to identify the reflexive responses of Sri Lankan rural women living with breast cancer to Emotional challenges under three themes; Stress and depression, feeling solation and spiritual directions. Qualitative research approach was adopted for this study and the data collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews from twenty-four respondents. Research themes have been derived from First-level analytical coding approach and thematic analysis was used in analysis of collected data. Most of the women in the unit of analysis are stressed and feared more at the very first beginning of the breast cancer diagnosis. As a positive note no one could identify with depression conditions. Feeling isolation could identify with reduced social interaction mostly in younger women rather than elder. Finally, a greater extent of spiritual directions could reveal after the diagnosis of breast cancer as a coping mechanism of this illness and psychological well-being. Findings of this research can be applied to real world context when dealing with rural women who are living with breast cancer by everyone in the society. Application of identified reflexive responses may significantly contribute in building up coping strategies in counselling and psychology for breast cancer patients. There seemed to be no a considerable number of research studies in line with breast cancer and its challenges and responses in Sri Lankan rural context. Thus, along with these research findings, future researchers can investigate more depth in to this study including women in urban areas, different races, different religions, professionals and workers in variety of occupations also under many other research themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper refers to the relation between migratory processes, employment and education in women of rural origin, focusing the analysis on the domestic work. The ethnographic approach that guides our investigations analyses the practices of two groups of women: one of them, resident in the north of Cordoba, whose members did not attend educative centers at the time of fieldwork in schools,' and other composed by ladies who were students of an adult educational center. In both cases the individual histories, the way they faced survival, the decision to the move to the city and how those processes articulated with educative strategies, show tensions. These tensions may appear as subjective, but on several occasions they express deep structures of the social world. We asked ourselves: How does education takes part in the configuration of these processes, both in regarding the moment of leaving the country and the decision to move, and in the later stages of settlement and stabilization in the city? What are the meanings that women give to the migratory experience and how do they tie it with their educative and labor trajectories? We will approach answers these questions in this communication, but first we will refer to our viewpoint of the migratory phenomenon and the characteristics that domestic employment assumes in the process of relocation and settlement in a new space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, more studies have suggested that the age at menarche (AAM) has continued to decline. However, the AAM for women in resource-constrained areas is not clear. Moreover, the association between the Chinese famine and AAM is still unclear in rural regions. The study aimed to investigate the secular trends of AAM for women born between 1935 and 2000 and to further explore the effect of famine on AAM in rural China. The study included 23,444 women participants from the baseline study of the Henan Rural Cohort study. Changing AAM over time was analysed using linear regressions. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to analyse the association between famine exposure and AAM subgroups. The age-standardised mean AAM was 14.74 years. The average AAM declined from 16.98 years for those born in 1935 to 13.87 years for those born in 2000, a decline of 0.077 years per 1 year and 0.729 years per decade. Compared to the reference group, women exposed to famine during foetal, early childhood, middle childhood, and late childhood were 1.376 (95% CI = 1.071–1.769), 1.848 (95% CI = 1.512–2.259), 2.084 (95% CI = 1.725–2.518), and 2.146 (95% CI = 1.788–2.576) times more likely to be ≥18 years AAM than women unexposed to famine, respectively. AAM showed a decreasing trend in rural China. Furthermore, both foetal and childhood famine exposure, especially in late childhood, were positively associated with increased AAM compared to unexposed famine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection is the main cause of cervical cancer development, and the most common types were included in the last approved nonavalent vaccine (9vHPV). Geographical, socioeconomic and ethnic barriers in developing countries challenge primary and secondary prevention measures of cervical cancer. We aimed to determine the prevalence of HPV infection and the viral load of HR-HPV 9vHPV-related types black women resident in rural semi-isolated communities.Methods: A descriptive study was conducted with 273 cervical samples of women from rural communities of Southeastern Brazil. Viral DNA was amplified by PCR, the genotype was identified by Reverse Line Blot (RLB) and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), and real-time PCR was applied to determine the viral load.Results: HPV frequency was 11.4% (31/273), associated with the presence of cytological abnormalities (32.3%; p < 0.001). Thirty-one distinct genotypes were detected; HR-HPV occurred in 64.5% (20/31) of the samples and the most prevalent type were HPV52 > 58, 59. Multiple infections occurred with up to nine different genotypes. The viral load of HR-HPV 9vHPV-related types was higher in lesions than in normal cytology cases (p = 0.04); "high" and "very high" viral load occurred in HSIL and LSIL, respectively (p = 0.04).Conclusions: We highlight that despite the low HPV frequency in the black rural women population, the frequency of HR-HPV was high, particularly by the HR-HPV52 and 58 types. Moreover, the HR-HPV viral load increased according to the progression from normal to lesion, being a potential biomarker to identify those women at higher risk of developing cervical lesions in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation of environment as one of the main pillars of human life requires the attention and effort of all people, especially women, and the prerequisite for that is the Environmental Literacy (EL). The purpose of this mixed-method research was to assess rural women's EL level, and identify appropriate methods of EL extension among them. Statistical population of the study consisted of 203,504 rural women (15-64 ages), of whom 384 women were selected as sample using modified stratified random sampling technique. In order to gather the information, a questionnaire was developed including components of environmental attitudes, concerns, knowledge, skills, and behavior. Validity of questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of expert, and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha (0.86-0.93). In the qualitative section, the study population consisted of experts in agriculture extension, environment and natural resources, as well as rural women. Samples were selected using purposeful sampling and snowball technique. Results of quantitative section showed that the level of EL of rural women was moderate (M= 61.427, SD= 8.003) and means of environmental knowledge (M= 10.292, SD= 3.293) and concern (M= 11.926, SD= 2.328) were lower than other dimensions. MANOVA analysis also revealed that there were significant differences in level of EL of rural women among townships of Kermanshah Province with different degrees of agricultural development. Rural women in more developed regions had higher environmental knowledge and skills, but their environmental behavior was similar to underdeveloped and developing regions. The results of the qualitative section also indicated that EL extension methods of women in the villages of different regions were almost the same, but the women from the developed villages had higher tendency to participatory extension methods Results from this study could contribute to improvement of environmental program in order to promote EL across the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. This study sought to explore the barriers to the uptake of cervical cancer screening and treatment in the North Tongu district of Ghana. Methods. Twenty-five in-depth interviews were conducted, while three focus group discussions were held among respondents. The data were analysed with the R package for qualitative data analysis using a thematic analytical approach. Results. Low level of knowledge about the disease and screening services, personal or psychological convictions, and cost of screening and treatment coupled with a low level of income were the barriers at the individual level. Perceived health personnel attitude, perceived lack of privacy, and misdiagnosis were the barriers at the institutional level while the sociocultural belief system of the communities about the etiology of the disease was the barrier at the community level. Inadequate education about the disease, lack of funding and access to screening facilities also constrained screening and treatment at the policy level. Conclusions. Cervical cancer screening and treatment are constrained at multiple levels in rural Ghana. This study underscores the need to address the low uptake of cervical cancer screening and treatment at the individual, community, institutional, and policy levels simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of a pilot study that promoted productive and capacity-building activities among deprived rural women of Mexico. The evaluation design is observational; 1,278 women are interviewed, and the comparison group is estimated by propensity score matching. The results show a positive impact on the carrying out of agricultural activities, in the autonomy of women in decision making, as does their perception of their role in the household. However, the project does not decrease the number of hours set aside for household chores or improve the women's technical and administrative skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Young children require high-quality care for healthy growth and development. We defined "maternal capabilities" as factors that influence mothers' caregiving ability (physical and mental health, social support, time, decision-making autonomy, gender norm attitudes, and mothering self-efficacy), and developed survey tools to assess them.Objectives: We hypothesized that mothers with stronger capabilities during pregnancy would be more likely to practice improved care behaviors after their child was born.Methods: We assessed maternal capabilities among 4667 pregnant women newly enrolled in the Sanitation Hygiene Infant Nutrition Efficacy (SHINE) trial. Several improved child-care practices were promoted until 18 mo postpartum, the trial endpoint. Care practices were assessed by survey, direct observation, or transcription from health records during postpartum research visits. We used logistic regression to determine the predictive association between maternal capabilities during pregnancy and child-care practices.Results: Mothers with more egalitarian gender norm attitudes were more likely to have an institutional delivery [adjusted OR (AOR), 2.06; 95% CI, 1.57-2.69], initiate breastfeeding within 1 h of delivery (AOR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.03-1.84), exclusively breastfeed (EBF) from birth to 3 mo (AOR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.95-3.35) and 3-6 mo (AOR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.36-2.25), and, among households randomized to receive extra modules on sanitation and hygiene, have soap and water at a handwashing station (AOR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.29-2.39). Mothers experiencing time stress were less likely to EBF from birth to 3 mo (AOR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66-0.93). Greater social support was associated with institutional delivery (AOR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.37-1.98) and, among mothers randomized to receive extra complementary feeding modules, feeding children a minimally diverse diet (AOR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.01-1.37). Depressed mothers were 37% and 33%, respectively, less likely to have an institutional delivery (AOR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.44-0.88) and a fully immunized child (AOR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.50-0.90).Conclusions: Interventions to reduce maternal depression, time stress, inadequate social support, and inequitable gender norms may improve maternal child caregiving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of the study were to explore the differences in perceived exercise barriers across three age groups of Taiwanese rural women (30–50, 51–70, and >70 years old) and to examine the associations between perceived exercise barriers and regular exercise behavior. A total of 227 women completed the Self-Reported Exercise Behavior and the Perceived Exercise Barrier Scale. Women older than 70 reported higher physical and psychological barriers and lower administrative barriers than did the younger group. Women who did not exercise regularly tended to have a higher perception of exercise barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite an official policy of exemption from health care costs, pregnant women in Niger still face some out-of-pocket costs (OPC) in addition to time costs when they attend antenatal care (ANC) services. We aimed to: 1) assess the OPC for pregnant woman attending ANC, 2) estimate the time spent to attend ANC and the opportunity cost of that time, and 3) assess how OPC and time spent to attend ANC affected ANC attendance.Methods: Data were obtained from a quasi-experimental descriptive study carried out in the region of Zinder, Niger, which compared pre- and post-intervention cohorts of pregnant women (n = 1736 women who reported attending ANC during their current pregnancy). An ANC attendance score was developed to describe the timing of ANC attendance in regard to the WHO recommendation of attending 4 ANC sessions. OPC and time spent were evaluated separately for associations with ANC attendance using Spearman correlations.Results: The mean (±SD) age of pregnant women was 25.0 ± 6.4 yr, 19.0% were ≤ 19 yr and 99.7% were in their second or third trimester of gestation at the time of the interview. Among those who were > 13 weeks and > 27 weeks of gestation, 4.0 and 74.4% had attended ANC during their first and second trimesters, respectively. The median (1st quartile (Q1), 3rd quartile (Q3)) ANC score was 0 (- 1, 0), reflecting that the majority of women failed to follow the WHO recommendation. More than half of the women (72.5%) experienced OPC related to ANC. The majority of women (> 80%) reported spending ~ 3 h for an ANC visit, including travel and waiting time. Time spent to attend ANC was not associated with ANC attendance score. Women who experienced OPC, and those who received iron folic acid (IFA) or long-lasting insecticide-treated bednets during an ANC visit, were more likely to have a higher ANC attendance score compared to those who did not.Conclusion: OPC and time spent were not identified as barriers to ANC visits, and IFA and long-lasting insecticide-treated bednets distribution could be used to motivate pregnant women to attend ANC.Trial Registration: The NiMaNu project was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01832688 . Registered 16 April 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural women in Southern Mexico link their diabetes to distressful life experiences rooted in ordinary violence. While much has been written on the use that diabetes sufferers make of their morbid condition as an idiom of distress, I investigate the personal and social effects that such an idiom has on women. As I illustrate, diabetes reflects an ambivalence that helps women to speak about the unspeakable and, at the same time, reinforces their ideas of culpability, namely that they are to blame for both the gendered violence that they endure and the diabetes from which they suffer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoice is a qualitative research method that can have very positive outcomes, including making marginalized populations visible. Yet we found that traditional Photovoice methods were not fully effective and needed to be adapted with women aged 85 and older in rural Prince Edward Island, Canada. Concerns that required adaptation were time constraints for the researcher and participants, taking appropriate photographs, balancing power between researcher and participants, and ensuring that the women's voices were heard and presented clearly for them and their communities. Our purpose in this article is to enrich conversations on applying and adapting Photovoice as a research method with older, rural women. With Photovoice, the women in our study learned to use digital cameras to take photographs and told stories about how and why they made choices for their photographs and how they depicted how they were supported or limited to fulfill their vision of aging in place. We address the key features of the data collection process that contributed to the effective use of Photovoice with this population, including photography training and ethical instructions, guiding them in a process for identifying their most important photographs, working out methods for engaging them in codifying the photographs, and involving them in knowledge mobilization with policy makers directly. In addition, we present key benefits they reported from participation in the Photovoice process and the value of Photovoice for them in influencing policies on aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marriage poses a high risk of HIV infection among Cambodian women due to the country's double standards regarding extramarital sexual behaviour. Married men are much more likely than married women to engage in extramarital sex, and, among men, such activity is often socially and culturally condoned. Understanding the sexual beliefs young people possess is important as these beliefs may affect their future sexual behaviour and HIV-related risk. This study explored how young women in rural Cambodia conceptualise men's extramarital affairs. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted in the Khmer language with 43 female high school students in three rural provinces. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes and sub-categories from the participants' responses. Many participants accepted men's infidelity and verbally supported traditional cultural beliefs and practices regarding male dominance within sex and relationships. They attributed their future husbands' infidelity to their own behaviour and/or justified the act as a consequence of work-related mobility. Findings point to the need for new interventions as part of future HIV prevention programmes to increase their effectiveness among young Cambodian adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines the ways in which satisfaction with health care may be associated with the lives of rural women. One hundred thirty one rural women between the ages of 45 and 70 years completed measures of community esteem, life satisfaction, satisfaction with health care, health status, and mood. The results showed that rural women's satisfaction with their health care was associated with the extent to which they hold their community in esteem and their degree of life satisfaction. Moreover, women who had poor health were less satisfied with the available health care than were healthier women. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the well-being of rural communities in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study's aim was to assess the impact of a nutrition-sensitive intervention on dietary diversity and home gardening among non-participants residing within intervention communities.Design: The study was a cross-sectional risk factor analysis using linear and logistic multivariate models.Setting: In Tanzania, women and children often consume monotonous diets of poor nutritional value primarily because of physical or financial inaccessibility or low awareness of healthy foods.ParticipantsParticipants were women of reproductive age (18-49 years) in rural Tanzania.Results: Mean dietary diversity was low with women consuming three out of ten possible food groups. Only 23·4 % of respondents achieved the recommended minimum dietary diversity of five or more food groups out of ten per day. Compared with those who did not, respondents who had a neighbour who grew crops in their home garden were 2·71 times more likely to achieve minimum dietary diversity (95 % CI 1·60, 4·59; P=0·0004) and 1·91 times more likely to grow a home garden themselves (95 % CI 1·10, 3·33; P=0·02). Other significant predictors of higher dietary diversity were respondent age, education and wealth, and number of crops grown.Conclusions: These results suggest that there are substantial positive externalities of home garden interventions beyond those attained by the people who own and grow the vegetables. Cost-effectiveness assessments of nutrition-sensitive agriculture, including home garden interventions, should factor in the effects on the community, and not just on the individual households receiving the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To identify key behavioral factors that contribute to physical activity and weight management in overweight, rural women and determine the degree to which social support, stage of behavior change, and self-efficacy for physical activity and depressive symptoms are linked to physical activity, body weight, and body mass index (BMI). Data sources Twenty-five overweight or obese rural women completed self-report scales and height and weight measurements; BMI was calculated. Self-report scales included the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (physical activity level), Social Support for Exercise and Social Support Questionnaire (social support), Stage of Exercise Adoption (stage of behavior change), Self-efficacy for Exercise (self-efficacy), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (depressive symptoms). Conclusions Higher levels of physical activity were associated with greater self-efficacy and the self-esteem domain of social support. Rural women reported more depressive symptoms over the year. Women did not significantly increase physical activity and gained weight during the 1-year study. Implications for practice Rural women have limited resources available to increase physical activity to facilitate weight loss. Routine screening and treatment for depression in rural women may need to be initiated concurrently with interventions to promote health behavior changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a small-scale research study that explores the impact of climate change on rural women. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with 7 women, who came from a regional centre and were either employed by women's services or who had activist roles within the community pertaining to women's services. Outcomes of the study identified a range of areas of impact, including increased hardship for rural women, implications of household roles, and subsequent organisational responsibilities. A high level of concern, particularly for the vulnerability of women in crisis, was identified among participants. We contend that the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly relevant to the social work profession and that specific groups such as women are at risk of further disadvantage unless collective action is taken to circumvent the impact of climate change. Strategies for social work practice and policy initiatives are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the baseline sociodemographic characteristics of the Health Resources and Services Administration's Special Programs of National Significance Women of Color (WOC) Initiative. Between November 2010 and July 2013, 921 WOC were prospectively enrolled in HIV medical care at nine sites, six urban ( N=641) and three rural sites ( N=280) across the US. We describe the study sample, drawing comparisons between urban and rural sites on sociodemographics, barriers to HIV care, HIV care status at study entry, substance use and sexual risk factors, and the relationship among these variables. Urban sites' participants differed from rural sites on all sociodemographic variables except age (median=42.3). Women at urban sites were more likely to be Hispanic, less educated, single, living alone, unstably housed, unemployed, and to have reported lower income. More urban women were transferring care to HIV care or had been lost to care. Urban women reported more barriers to care, many relating to stigma or fatalism about HIV care. Urban women reported more substance use and sexual risk behaviors. A better understanding of how HIV care is embedded in communities or fragmented across many sites in urban areas may help understand barriers to long-term engagement in HIV care encountered by WOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommends that all pregnant women are offered prenatal screening for fetal trisomies as combined first trimester screening or non-invasive prenatal screening. Topics include the women receiving high‐risk prenatal screening results are offered invasive diagnostic tests, and the women in Far North Queensland giving birth in Cairns Hospital had not been offered prenatal screening.