Women and Health Research

Women and Health Research
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 286
Release: 1994-02-01
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 030904992X

In the nineteenth century some scientists argued that women should not be educated because thinking would use energy needed by the uterus for reproduction. The proof? Educated women had a lower birth rate. Today's researchers can only shake their heads at such reasoning. Yet professional journals and the popular press are increasingly criticizing medical research for ignoring women's health issues. Women and Health Research examines the facts behind the public's perceptions about women participating as subjects in medical research. With the goal of increasing researchers' awareness of this important topic, the book explores issues related to maintaining justice (in its ethical sense) in clinical studies. Leading experts present general principles for the ethical conduct of research on womenâ€"principles that are especially important in the light of recent changes in federal policy on the inclusion of women in clinical research. Women and Health Research documents the historical shift from a paternalistic approach by researchers toward women and a disproportionate reliance on certain groups for research to one that emphasizes proper access for women as subjects in clinical studies in order to ensure that women receive the benefits of research. The book addresses present-day challenges to equity in four areas: Scientificâ€"Do practical aspects of scientific research work at cross-purposes to gender equity? Focusing on drug trials, the authors identify rationales for excluding people from research based on demographics. Social and Ethicalâ€"The authors offer compelling discussions on subjectivity in science, the evidence for male bias, and issues related to race and ethnicity, as well as the recruitment, retention, and protection of research participants. Legalâ€"Women and Health Research reviews federal research policies that affect the inclusion of women and evaluates the basis for researchers' fears about liability, citing court cases. Riskâ€"The authors focus on risks to reproduction and offspring in clinical drug trials, exploring how risks can be identified for study participants, who should make the assessment of risk and benefit for participation in a clinical study, and how legal implications could be addressed. This landmark study will be of immediate use to the research community, policymakers, women's health advocates, attorneys, and individuals.

Improving Diagnosis in Health Care

Improving Diagnosis in Health Care
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 473
Release: 2015-12-29
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309377722

Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsâ€"has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of Improving Diagnosis in Health Care contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety.

Unequal Treatment

Unequal Treatment
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 781
Release: 2009-02-06
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 030908265X

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care are known to reflect access to care and other issues that arise from differing socioeconomic conditions. There is, however, increasing evidence that even after such differences are accounted for, race and ethnicity remain significant predictors of the quality of health care received. In Unequal Treatment, a panel of experts documents this evidence and explores how persons of color experience the health care environment. The book examines how disparities in treatment may arise in health care systems and looks at aspects of the clinical encounter that may contribute to such disparities. Patients' and providers' attitudes, expectations, and behavior are analyzed. How to intervene? Unequal Treatment offers recommendations for improvements in medical care financing, allocation of care, availability of language translation, community-based care, and other arenas. The committee highlights the potential of cross-cultural education to improve provider-patient communication and offers a detailed look at how to integrate cross-cultural learning within the health professions. The book concludes with recommendations for data collection and research initiatives. Unequal Treatment will be vitally important to health care policymakers, administrators, providers, educators, and students as well as advocates for people of color.

Unwell Women

Unwell Women
Author: Elinor Cleghorn
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2021-06-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 0593182960

A trailblazing, conversation-starting history of women’s health—from the earliest medical ideas about women’s illnesses to hormones and autoimmune diseases—brought together in a fascinating sweeping narrative. Elinor Cleghorn became an unwell woman ten years ago. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease after a long period of being told her symptoms were anything from psychosomatic to a possible pregnancy. As Elinor learned to live with her unpredictable disease she turned to history for answers, and found an enraging legacy of suffering, mystification, and misdiagnosis. In Unwell Women, Elinor Cleghorn traces the almost unbelievable history of how medicine has failed women by treating their bodies as alien and other, often to perilous effect. The result is an authoritative and groundbreaking exploration of the relationship between women and medical practice, from the "wandering womb" of Ancient Greece to the rise of witch trials across Europe, and from the dawn of hysteria as a catchall for difficult-to-diagnose disorders to the first forays into autoimmunity and the shifting understanding of hormones, menstruation, menopause, and conditions like endometriosis. Packed with character studies and case histories of women who have suffered, challenged, and rewritten medical orthodoxy—and the men who controlled their fate—this is a revolutionary examination of the relationship between women, illness, and medicine. With these case histories, Elinor pays homage to the women who suffered so strides could be made, and shows how being unwell has become normalized in society and culture, where women have long been distrusted as reliable narrators of their own bodies and pain. But the time for real change is long overdue: answers reside in the body, in the testimonies of unwell women—and their lives depend on medicine learning to listen.

Women and Health

Women and Health
Author: Marlene B. Goldman
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 1616
Release: 2012-12-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0123849799

Women and Health is a comprehensive reference that addresses health issues affecting women of all ages — from adolescence through maturity. It goes far beyond other books on this topic, which concentrate only on reproductive health, and has a truly international perspective. It covers key issues ranging from osteoporosis to breast cancer and other cancers, domestic violence, sexually transmitted diseases, occupational hazards, eating disorders, heart disease and other chronic illnesses, substance abuse, and societal and behavioral influences on health. In this second edition of Women and Health, chapters thoughtfully explore the current state of women's health and health care, including the influences of sex and gender on the occurrence of a wide variety of diseases and conditions. All chapters have been extensively updated and emphasize the epidemiology of the condition — the etiology, occurrence, primary and secondary prevention (screening), risk factors, surveillance, changing trends over time, and critical analysis of the diagnostic and treatment options and controversies. Treatment sections in each chapter have been expanded to create a stronger dialogue between epidemiologists and women's health practitioners. - Saves researchers and clinicians time in quickly accessing the very latest details on a broad range of women's health issues, as opposed to searching through thousands of journal articles - Provides a common language for epidemiologists, public health practitioners, and women's health specialists to discuss the behavioral, cultural, and biological determinants of women's health - Researchers and medical specialists will learn how the gender-specific risks and features of one organ system's diseases affect the health of other organ systems - For example: Hormone replacement therapy used to treat imbalance within the endocrine system is also being used to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease; Drugs developed for type 2 diabetes are now being used in chemoprevention - Orients the non-gerontologist about the importance of considering the entire life cycle of women within research designs and treatment plans - Professors teaching courses in women's health will use slides and additional materials to structure lectures/courses; students will use slides as a unique resource to study for exams

CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment in Family Medicine, Second Edition

CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment in Family Medicine, Second Edition
Author: Jeannette E. South-Paul
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
Total Pages: 745
Release: 2007-04-22
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0071510044

The most convenient, authoritative overview of family medicine and primary care -- completely updated and expanded! A Doody's Core Title ESSENTIAL PURCHASE! Praise for an earlier edition--"This portable, 700 page paperback is an excellent reference for practitioners caring for patients in ongoing settings. Information is complete, yet readily accessible. Information is prioritized well, making it easy to locate information rapidly. It will be a cost-effective addition to the shelves of thousands of hardworking family doctors. 5 STARS!"--Doody's Review Service Great for USMLE Step 3 review, board certification, and maintenance or recertification Concise, evidence-based coverage of the diseases and syndromes most commonly seen in clinical practice Organized according to the developmental lifespan, beginning with childhood and adolescence, focusing on the reproductive years, and progressing through adulthood and senior years -- includes end-of-life issues Complementary and alternative treatments included where appropriate Recommendations for both immediate and ongoing management strategies Numerous algorithms, charts, and tables encapsulate important information Conservative and pharmacologic therapies Patient education information Sections on Therapeutics, Genetics, and Prevention; Psychosocial Disorders; and Physician-Patient Issues NEW chapter patient-centered medicine

Female Sexual Function and Dysfunction

Female Sexual Function and Dysfunction
Author: Elisabetta Costantini
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2017-06-19
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3319417169

This book discusses all aspects of sexuality in women and in particular explores sexual function and dysfunction in a variety of settings, including the different stages of life and a wide range of major diseases and local conditions. The aim is to refocus attention on the needs and sexual realities of women, providing a fresh point of view that will assist gynecologists, sexual medicine physicians, and urologists in delivery of high-quality care and help women themselves to understand and address sexual problems relating to desire, arousal, orgasm, and sexual pain. Psychological aspects of female sexuality and the impacts of the aging process, pregnancy, and childbirth are carefully examined. Extensive consideration is then given to the effects on sexual function of such conditions as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, neurological disease, endometriosis, pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, reproductive disorders, sexual abuse, and drug abuse. Issues of sexual identity and female dysmorphophobias are also considered. The authors are all experts in the field and have a deep understanding of the complexities of female sexuality.

Comprehensive Cervical Cancer Control

Comprehensive Cervical Cancer Control
Author: World Health Organization
Publisher: World Health Organization
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2006
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 9241547006

Most women who die from cervical cancer, particularly in developing countries, are in the prime of their life. They may be raising children, caring for their family, and contributing to the social and economic life of their town or village. Their death is both a personal tragedy, and a sad and unnecessary loss to their family and their community. Unnecessary, because there is compelling evidence, as this Guide makes clear, that cervical cancer is one of the most preventable and treatable forms of cancer, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively. Unfortunately, the majority of women in developing countries still do not have access to cervical cancer prevention programmes. The consequence is that, often, cervical cancer is not detected until it is too late to be cured. An urgent effort is required if this situation is to be corrected. This Guide is intended to help those responsible for providing services aimed at reducing the burden posed by cervical cancer for women, communities and health systems. It focuses on the knowledge and skills needed by health care providers, at different levels of care.

Care Without Coverage

Care Without Coverage
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2002-06-20
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309083435

Many Americans believe that people who lack health insurance somehow get the care they really need. Care Without Coverage examines the real consequences for adults who lack health insurance. The study presents findings in the areas of prevention and screening, cancer, chronic illness, hospital-based care, and general health status. The committee looked at the consequences of being uninsured for people suffering from cancer, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, heart and kidney disease, mental illness, traumatic injuries, and heart attacks. It focused on the roughly 30 million-one in seven-working-age Americans without health insurance. This group does not include the population over 65 that is covered by Medicare or the nearly 10 million children who are uninsured in this country. The main findings of the report are that working-age Americans without health insurance are more likely to receive too little medical care and receive it too late; be sicker and die sooner; and receive poorer care when they are in the hospital, even for acute situations like a motor vehicle crash.