Search

Disabled people have the same sexual needs as other people. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to the provision of sexual health services for people with disabilities. The review was conducted on quantitative and qualitative studies on barriers to provision of sexual health services to people with disability using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) approach for systematic review research. Several databases including: Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Science Direct, were searched to retrieve studies on the topic in English biomedical literature from 2006 to 2022. A manual search of reference lists was also performed. Primary studies were reviewed to identify barriers to providing sexual health services to people with disabilities from the perspectives of people with disabilities and health care providers. Two researchers used Newcastle-Ottawa tool for observational studies and JBI-QARI tool for qualitative studies to assess the quality of the articles and extracted their main findings independently. A total of 207 studies were identified. Of these, only 21studies were eligible for analysis. A total of 32 barriers were identified and classified into four levels: structural and organizational, individual, socio-cultural, and policy-related barriers. people with disabilities faced numerous barriers in receiving sexual health services. Indeed, identifying problems, and implementing interventions to reduce or remove these barriers is vital to improve the access of People with disabilities to sexual health services and their sexual rights. LAY SUMMARY: Sexual health is the foundation of reproductive health. People with disabilities have many unmet needs in sexual health and have less access to sexual health services due to social, economic and cultural barriers. Attention to sexual needs and identifying barriers and removing them can improve their sexual and reproductive health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There is little evidence regarding the effect of trunk‐stabilizing muscle training on the improvement of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) symptoms. Objective: To investigate the effect of trunk‐stabilizing muscle training on transabdominal ultrasonography (TAUS) and clinical urological indices, and on the quality of life (QoL) in women with SUI. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: A university hospital. Participants: Forty‐six women with SUI, ages 20–55 years, were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 23) and control group (n = 23). Interventions: The experimental group performed trunk‐stabilization exercises according to the Sapsford protocol, whereas the control group performed pelvic floor muscle (PFM) exercises for 8 weeks. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measure was bladder base displacement (BBD), assessed by TAUS during PFM contraction (PFMC), Valsalva, and abdominal curl. The secondary outcome measures were PFM strength, the severity of urinary incontinence (UI), voiding diary, and QoL, assessed by the Modified Oxford Grading System, the severity index, frequency chart, and lower urinary tract symptoms‐QoL questionnaire, respectively. All variables were assessed at baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention. Results: The interaction of group and time was not significant for BBD during PFMC (p =.98), Valsalva (p =.28), abdominal curl (p =.34), and secondary variables (p >.05). The main effect of time was significant in both groups for BBD during PFMC, PFM strength, the severity of UI, voiding diary, and QoL (p <.001), with effect size (d) of 0.30, 0.80, 2.05, 1.07, and 1.03 in the control; and 0.49, 0.52, 1.75, 0.66, and 0.88 in the experimental group, respectively. The main effect of the group was not significant for BBD during PFMC (p =.68), Valsalva (p =.22), abdominal curl (p =.53), and secondary variables (p >.05). Conclusions: Trunk‐stabilizing muscle training and PFM exercise are equally effective in the improvement of PFM function, UI symptoms, and QoL in women with SUI. Both methods can be used interchangeably by physical therapists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Immigration could affect people's sexual health. The present study aimed to compare sexual quality of life of Afghan immigrant women living in Tehran province with Iranian women. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that conducted from August 2022 to March 2023, in health centers of three counties in Tehran province with a continence sample of 218 Iranian and 218 Afghan immigrant women who met the inclusion criteria. The data was collected by a questionnaire containing items on women's sexual quality of life and demographic characteristics, history of fertility and menstruation, use of modern methods of family planning, and frequency of intercourse with spouse per week. The descriptive analysis of the data included reporting of frequencies, mean and standard deviation. To investigate the factors affecting quality of sexual life, multiple linear regression model was used. Results: The results showed that the mean (SD) score of total sexual quality of life in Iranian women was 89.57 (17.34) and it was 81.40 (18.79) in Afghan immigrant women (P < 0.001). Age (P = 0.01), occupation (P < 0.001) and contraceptive method (P = 0.02) had an inverse and significant effect and education (P = 0.03), husband's occupation (P = 0.02) and number of sexual intercourses per week (P < 0. 001) had a significant direct effect on the sexual quality of life of Afghan immigrant women, and husband's occupation (P = 0.04), contraceptive method (P = 0.02), and number of sexual intercourses per week (P < 0.001) had a significant direct effect on the sexual quality of life of Iranian women. Conclusion: Based on the findings, Iranian women had a higher sexual quality of life than Afghan immigrant women. These differences may be due to marginalization and lower education and cultural differences between Iranian and Afghan immigrant women. It is suggested that health centers provide sexual health promotion services for immigrant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ovarian cysts are common forms of gynecological problems that can be range from physiological cysts to highly aggressive neoplastic lesions. The purpose of this study was to investigate prevalence and frequency of different histopathological patterns of ovarian lesions and their correlation with various parameters in Ahvaz, Iran.Materials and Methods: This is the retrospective study of patients with the ovarian masses at Ahvaz Imam Khomeini Hospital from 2010 - 2015. The relevant clinical details about the patient were retrieved from hospital data. Clinical characteristics of patients such as patient's age, presenting signs and symptoms, histopathological diagnosis, mass type, mass subtype, size of cysts and ovary which is involved were noted. Results: Two hundred sixty seven specimens of ovarian tumor obtained for histopathological examination. Of these, 163(61.0%) were tumor like, 96(36.0%) were benign tumor and 8(3.0%) were malignant. The most common tumor like conditions was Corpus luteum cyst (43.4% cases), among benign and malignant tumors, mature cystic teratoma (17.2% of total) and Epithelial tumors (n=4) were most common. There is a statistically significant positive relation between age and various ovarian masses. (P= 0.002). Histopathological diagnosis wasn't correlated with ovarian involvement.Conclusion: Benign tumors are more common than malignant tumors in all age groups. Germ cell tumors followed by surface epithelial cell tumors are the commonest tumor. Mature cystic teratoma was the most common tumor. Unilaterality is more frequently seen in ovarian tumors and various tumors are seen in various age groups.

The goal of this study was to see whether the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index (WOMAC), Lequesne Algofunctional index and the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale-short form (AIMS2-SF) could changes after physiotherapy interventions (i.e., responsiveness) and to determine Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) in the performance of the people with knee osteoarthritis. A convenient sample of 116 people with knee osteoarthritis completed the tools at baseline and then again after 10 sessions physiotherapy intervention. Two techniques were used to determine responsiveness: The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) method and the correlation analysis. All of the tools showed the AUC of greater than 0.70 (AUC ranges = 0.72 − 0.83). For the WOMAC, Lequesne Algofunctional index, AIMS2-SF and VAS-pain, optimal cutoff points were 12.5, 2.75, 4.5 and 2.5 points, respectively. The gamma correlation between WOMAC, Lequesne Algofunctional index, AIMS2-SF, VAS-pain, and Global Rating Change (GRC) scores was 0.55, 0.52, 0.40, and 0.46, respectively. In people with knee osteoarthritis, the WOMAC has the maximum responsiveness to clinical changes. The MCID values identify in this study will aid in determining whether or not an individual with knee osteoarthritis has undergone a true improvement since receiving physiotherapy. The results of this study provide valuable information regarding to the ability of outcome measures to detect treatment effects in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The WOMAC questionnaire is a responsive tool to measure the changes in functional activity due to physiotherapy intervention in patients with knee osteoarthritis. A patient with knee osteoarthritis had to change at least 12.5 scores on the WOMAC to be judged as having clinically changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on new perspectives on women's reproductive rights. Topics include the intersection of reproductive rights with medical ethics and law, the impact of COVID-19 on maternal and neonatal outcomes, and the challenges faced by women with genital warts. The authors, experts in reproductive health, emphasize the importance of understanding and addressing these issues to improve women's health and rights.

Objective Chronic Multiple Sclerosis (MS) often occurs in middle-aged people, who are supposed to take their most important roles in the family and community and thus affect their self-advocacy. This study aimed to identify the barriers to self-advocacy in women with MS. Materials & Methods This study was conducted using a qualitative content analysis method. The participants were 10 female members of the MS Association of Khuzestan Province of Iran aged 30-40 years with different educational levels, marital status, and occupations. They were selected using a purposive sampling method. The study data were collected through semi-structured interviews and continued until data saturation from June to November 2019. The content analysis was performed using Lundman and Graneheim's qualitative content analysis method with an inductive approach conducted continuously and simultaneously with data collection. To evaluate the validity and reliability of qualitative data, we used Lincoln and Guba criteria (credibility, dependability, conformability, and transferability). Results The data analysis revealed 900 codes, 21 subcategories, and 6 themes of family barriers, medical barriers, job-related barriers, environmental barriers, sociocultural barriers, and psychological barriers. Conclusion Women with MS face a variety of barriers to self-advocacy; most of them are related to family, environment, and society, in addition to personal barriers. Social support and the availability of sufficient and appropriate information about MS can play an important role in confronting these women with mentioned barriers and realizing their self-advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the effect of shallomin (pure fraction of Allium hirtifolium) with podophyllin 25% solution on external genital human papillomavirus warts in women. Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial which was performed on two groups of 25 Iranian women with external genital warts at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran. In the first group, shallomin was used once a day for six weeks at home. In the second group, 25% podophyllin solution, was applied on the lesion once weekly for six weeks. Results: Shallomin and podophyllin resulted in wart clearance in 13/23 (56.5%), and 12/24 (50%) of patients, respectively. The clearance rate for shallomin was not significantly different from that of podophyllin (P=0.082). Six weeks after the treatment, the sizes of the lesions in the shallomin group and the podophyllin group decreased by (1.43±0.53) mm and (1.64±0.70) mm, respectively. Conclusion: Shallomin is an effective treatment for genital warts, with similar efficacy to that of podophyllin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]