A systematic review of microfinance and women’s health literature: Directions for future research

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1433-1460 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. O’Malley ◽  
J. G. Burke
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nichole Austin ◽  
Sam Harper

IntroductionTargeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws impose extensive and sometimes costly requirements on abortion providers and facilities, potentially leading to barriers to care. Understanding the impact of these laws is important given their prevalence in the USA, but no review to date has summarised the available evidence. We conducted a systematic review of literature on TRAP laws and their impact on abortion trends and women’s health.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, PubMed and EconLit for original, quantitative studies where the exposure was at least one TRAP policy and the outcome was abortion and/or any women’s physical or mental health outcome.ResultsSix articles met our inclusion criteria. The most common outcome was population-level abortion trends; studies also assessed the effect of TRAP laws on gestational age at presentation and measures of self-perceived burden. While certain TRAP laws (eg, admitting privilege requirements) appeared to have an effect on abortion outcomes, the impact of other laws – or combinations of laws – was unclear, due in part to heterogeneity between studies with respect to study design, geography, and exposure definition.ConclusionsTRAP laws may have an impact on the experience of obtaining an abortion in the USA. However, our review revealed a paucity of empirical research on their population and individual-level impact, as well as some disagreement about the effect of different TRAP laws on subsequent abortion outcomes. Future research should prioritise the specific TRAP laws that may have a uniquely strong effect on state-level abortion rates and other outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Foluso Ishola ◽  
U. Vivian Ukah ◽  
Arijit Nandi

Abstract Background A country’s abortion law is a key component in determining the enabling environment for safe abortion. While restrictive abortion laws still prevail in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), many countries have reformed their abortion laws, with the majority of them moving away from an absolute ban. However, the implications of these reforms on women’s access to and use of health services, as well as their health outcomes, is uncertain. First, there are methodological challenges to the evaluation of abortion laws, since these changes are not exogenous. Second, extant evaluations may be limited in terms of their generalizability, given variation in reforms across the abortion legality spectrum and differences in levels of implementation and enforcement cross-nationally. This systematic review aims to address this gap. Our aim is to systematically collect, evaluate, and synthesize empirical research evidence concerning the impact of abortion law reforms on women’s health services and outcomes in LMICs. Methods We will conduct a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature on changes in abortion laws and women’s health services and outcomes in LMICs. We will search Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases, as well as grey literature and reference lists of included studies for further relevant literature. As our goal is to draw inference on the impact of abortion law reforms, we will include quasi-experimental studies examining the impact of change in abortion laws on at least one of our outcomes of interest. We will assess the methodological quality of studies using the quasi-experimental study designs series checklist. Due to anticipated heterogeneity in policy changes, outcomes, and study designs, we will synthesize results through a narrative description. Discussion This review will systematically appraise and synthesize the research evidence on the impact of abortion law reforms on women’s health services and outcomes in LMICs. We will examine the effect of legislative reforms and investigate the conditions that might contribute to heterogeneous effects, including whether specific groups of women are differentially affected by abortion law reforms. We will discuss gaps and future directions for research. Findings from this review could provide evidence on emerging strategies to influence policy reforms, implement abortion services and scale up accessibility. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42019126927


PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e0150120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine Husøy Onarheim ◽  
Johanne Helene Iversen ◽  
David E. Bloom

2015 ◽  
Vol 0 (24) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Д. С. Янковский ◽  
В. П. Широбоков ◽  
Ю. Г. Антипкин ◽  
Т. Ф. Татарчук ◽  
Г. С. Дымент

Author(s):  
Emma Parry

The seamless electronic health record is often hailed as the holy grail of health informatics. What is an electronic health record? This question is answered and consideration is given to the advantages and disadvantages of an electronic health record. The place of the electronic health record at the centre of a clinical information system is discussed. In expanding on the advantages several areas are covered including: analysis of data, accessibility and availability, and access control. Middleware technology and its place are discussed. Requirements for implementing a system and some of the issues that can arise in the field of women’s health are elucidated. Finally, in this exciting and fast moving field, future research is discussed.


1994 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary P. Koss ◽  
Lori Heise ◽  
Nancy Felipe Russo

Women's rights to be free from male violence are now recognized by the United Nations as fundamental human rights. Two parallel transformations in the understanding of rape have been central to the international effort to achieve this declaration. The first is increased recognition of the extent to which rape typically involves intimates. The second is the shift from regarding rape as a criminal justice matter towards an appreciation of its implications for women's health. The focus of this paper is the health burden of rape, which is addressed from the global perspective and includes discussion of its prevalence and psychological, sociocultural, somatic, and reproductive health consequences. Quantitative efforts to capture the relative economic impact of rape compared to other threats to women's health are also discussed. The paper concludes with an agenda for future research on rape that could enrich activists' efforts on behalf of women's health and development.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Foluso Ishola ◽  
Vivian Ukah ◽  
Arijit Nandi

Abstract Background: A country’s abortion law is a key component in determining the enabling environment for safe abortion. While restrictive abortion laws still prevail in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), many countries have reformed their abortion laws, with the majority of them moving away from an absolute ban. However, the implications of these reforms on women’s access to and use of health services, as well as their health outcomes, is uncertain. First, there are methodological challenges to the evaluation of abortion laws, since these changes are not exogenous. Second, extant evaluations may be limited in terms of their generalizability, given variation in reforms across the abortion legality spectrum and differences in levels of implementation and enforcement cross-nationally. This systematic review aims to address this gap. Our aim is to systematically collect, evaluate, and synthesize empirical research evidence concerning the impact of abortion law reforms on women’s health services and outcomes in LMICs.Methods: We will conduct a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature on changes in abortion laws and women’s health services and outcomes in LMICs. We will search Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases, as well as grey literature and reference lists of included studies for further relevant literature. As our goal is to draw inference on the impact of abortion law reforms, we will include quasi-experimental studies examining the impact of change in abortion laws on at least one of our outcomes of interest. We will assess the methodological quality of studies using the quasi-experimental study designs series checklist. Due to anticipated heterogeneity in policy changes, outcomes, and study designs, we will synthesize results through a narrative description.Discussion: This review will systematically appraise and synthesize the research evidence on the impact of abortion law reforms on women’s health services and outcomes in LMICs. We will examine the effect of legislative reforms and investigate the conditions that might contribute to heterogeneous effects, including whether specific groups of women are differentially affected by abortion law reforms. We will discuss gaps and future directions for research. Findings from this review could provide evidence on emerging strategies to influence policy reforms, implement abortion services and scale up accessibility.Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42019126927


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1336
Author(s):  
Khadijeh Sarayloo ◽  
Robab Latifnejad Roudsari ◽  
Amy Elhadi

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a general health concern. The World Health Organization has recognized it as a condition that endangers women’s health. This review study aimed to identify the types of health outcomes of FGM. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to create a critical view of the current evidence on the effect of circumcision on girls and women's health. In this study, we focused on the health risks of female circumcision. Academic databases such as PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, SID, IranMedex, Irandoc, and Magiran were searched with regard to the health consequences of FGM from January 1990 until 2018. Eleven review studies met the criteria and contained 288 relevant studies on the risks of FGM. It was suggested that FGM had various physical, obstetric, sexual, and psychological consequences. Women with FGM experienced mental disturbances (e.g., psychiatric diagnoses, anxiety, somatization, phobia, and low self-esteem) than other women. Our study can provide evidence on improving, changing behaviors, and making decisions on the quality of services offered to women suffering from FGM. [GMJ.2019;inpress:e1336]


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document