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Hesperian is developing an action resource (book- and web-based tool) that will complement its widely used Where Women Have No Doctor and help community activists work more effectively on all the topics in that book, published originally in 1997. One issue the international team developing the new resource has prioritized is how to help community activists foster sexual empowerment for women. Lucille C. Atkin et al. describe the approach to sexuality in the book Taking Action (working title). Development (2009) 52, 114–117. doi:10.1057/dev.2008.81

All trauma cases flown over a 3.5 year period by the Metropolitan Helicopter Ambulance (MHA) from the accident scene to the Alfred Hospital were analysed. The MHA carries paramedics trained in advanced life support and is not under direct medical control. There were 254 patients (226 males, 28 females, mean age 34 years) of whom 242 had sustained blunt trauma. The mean distance from the accident scene to hospital was 28 nautical miles. The mean time from dispatch of the MHA to arrival at the Alfred was 82 min. The mean ground time at the scene was 32 min. Major trauma (an injury severity score (ISS) of 15 or more) was present in 62% of patients, and the mean ISS was 22.4. The major treatments at the accident scene by the paramedics were insertion of an intravenous (i.v.) cannula (242 cases), application of splints (197 cases), endotracheal intubation (35 patients) and needle thoracostomy to exclude tension pneumothorax (18 cases). There were 25 patients with a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) less than 8 who were not intubated at the scene. Review of paramedic management identified four cases where prehospital care could have been improved but it is unlikely the final outcome would have changed: delay in transport (1 case), inadequate i.v. fluid resuscitation (2 cases) and delay in intubation (1 case). There was 1 case of undiagnosed tension pneumothorax that contributed to the patient's death and 1 case of non-intubation where the outcome may have been altered. Overall there were 38 deaths (14% mortality), which was not significantly different from the predicted mortality of 17%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Which adolescent mothers are most likely to become pregnant soon after their first delivery? This study identifies and explores selected background, pregnancy, and postpartum predictors of short-interval repeat pregnancy among urban Mexican adolescents who were single when they conceived their first pregnancy. Of 137 adolescents followed until their second postpartum year, 26 had short-interval repeat pregnancies. These pregnancies were most likely to occur if the teenager was married or in consensual union by 5 months postpartum, was not using an IUD, and had a mother who had been an adolescent mother. Being married or in consensual union postpartum was, in turn, predicted by positive reactions of the adolescent and her partner during the first pregnancy. Nonuse of IUD was more likely if the adolescent had left school prior to pregnancy, did not receive support from her partner during the first pregnancy, and had not obtained an IUD before hospital discharge after first delivery. Adolescents whose mothers had been teen mothers came from more disadvantaged families.