Outcomes of Implementing in the Real World the Women's Health CoOp Intervention in Cape Town, South Africa

AbstractWomen in South Africa living with HIV who use alcohol may not adhere to ART, affecting the country’s 90-90-90 targets. The Women’s Health CoOp (WHC), a woman-focused HIV intervention, has shown efficacy in numerous trials with key populations of women in South Africa who use alcohol and drugs. In a hybrid implementation effectiveness study, the WHC was implemented in usual care clinics by healthcare providers in a modified stepped-wedge design. We present the outcomes of alcohol use and ART adherence with 480 women, with a 95% 6-month follow-up rate across 4 implementation cycles. Compared with the first cycle, women in the fourth cycle were significantly less likely (OR = 0.10 [95% CI 0.04, 0.24]) to report alcohol use disorder risk and were 4 times more likely (OR = 4.16 [95% CI 1.05, 16.51]) to report ART adherence at 6-month follow-up. Overall, acceptability and satisfaction were extremely high. The WHC intervention was successful in reaching key populations of women to reduce alcohol use and increase ART adherence, which is essential for South Africa to reach the 90-90-90 goals.

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Alcohol use and early mortality in Swedish middle-aged women: Nine-year follow-up of the Women’s Health in Lund Area study

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1403494814523343 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 42 (4) ◽

pp. 344-348 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jenny Rundberg ◽

Peter M Nilsson ◽

Göran Samsioe ◽

Agneta Öjehagen

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Use ◽

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

Early Mortality ◽

Middle Aged

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Exploring the prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the Northwest Territories of Canada: Brightening our home fires

The International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research ◽

10.7895/ijadr.v2i3.125 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 7-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Dorothy Badry ◽

Aileen Felske

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Use ◽

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

Northwest Territories ◽

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder ◽

Research Study ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Fetal Alcohol ◽

Qualitative Research Study ◽

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum

Badry, D., & Felske, A. (2013). Exploring the prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the Northwest Territories of Canada: Brightening our home fires. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 2(3), 7-15. doi:10.7895/ijadr.v2i3.125 (http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v2i3.125)Aims: The prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in a Northern context from a woman’s health perspective was explored in the qualitative research study, Brightening Our Home Fires (BOHF). It is recognized that research on the prevention of FASD is a sensitive topic due to stigma associated with alcohol use during pregnancy. Women’s health and FASD prevention were identified as the focus of the research, as they are deeply intertwined topics.Design: The BOHF project was designed as a participation action research project that utilized Photovoice as a primary methodology to approach the topic of FASD prevention in the Northwest Territories (NT) from a women’s health lens.Setting: This research took place in Yellowknife, NT. Participants included both Dene and Inuit women.Participants: Eight women living in a homeless centre in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.Measures: This was a qualitative research study that utilized Participatory Action Research (PAR) to explore women’s health in the North. Photovoice was the primary methodology. The analysis of this research focused on both image and text, and a depth analysis of text led to theme identification.Findings: Findings included the importance, to women participants, of housing, access to treatment resources for alcohol, and engagement with health-related resources, and the challenges they experience that are related to their histories of trauma.Conclusions: Engagement with women in the NT on FASD prevention was important in broadly identifying the linkages between trauma and alcohol use while respecting context and stigma around alcohol use and pregnancy.

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Investigating Predictors of Preserved Cognitive Function in Older Women Using Machine Learning: Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-210621 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Ramon Casanova ◽

Sarah A. Gaussoin ◽

Robert Wallace ◽

Laura Baker ◽

Jiu-Chiuan Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

Later Life ◽

Cognitive Status ◽

Women's Health Initiative ◽

Women’S Health Initiative ◽

Health Initiative

Background: Identification of factors that may help to preserve cognitive function in late life could elucidate mechanisms and facilitate interventions to improve the lives of millions of people. However, the large number of potential factors associated with cognitive function poses an analytical challenge. Objective: We used data from the longitudinal Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) and machine learning to investigate 50 demographic, biomedical, behavioral, social, and psychological predictors of preserved cognitive function in later life. Methods: Participants in WHIMS and two consecutive follow up studies who were at least 80 years old and had at least one cognitive assessment following their 80th birthday were classified as cognitively preserved. Preserved cognitive function was defined as having a score ≥39 on the most recent administration of the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICSm) and a mean score across all assessments ≥39. Cognitively impaired participants were those adjudicated by experts to have probable dementia or at least two adjudications of mild cognitive impairment within the 14 years of follow-up and a last TICSm score < 31. Random Forests was used to rank the predictors of preserved cognitive function. Results: Discrimination between groups based on area under the curve was 0.80 (95%-CI-0.76–0.85). Women with preserved cognitive function were younger, better educated, and less forgetful, less depressed, and more optimistic at study enrollment. They also reported better physical function and less sleep disturbance, and had lower systolic blood pressure, hemoglobin, and blood glucose levels. Conclusion: The predictors of preserved cognitive function include demographic, psychological, physical, metabolic, and vascular factors suggesting a complex mix of potential contributors.

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