“The Quality of the Soil”: Moving Beyond Binaries in Women's Experiences of Alcoholic Anonymous

IntroductionPrevious research has shown that vaginal pessaries are a cost-effective treatment for women worldwide suffering from stress urinary incontinence. However, little is known about African women’s experiences with vaginal pessary use. The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of vaginal pessary use among Tanzanian women who had received long-term pessary treatment for stress urinary incontinence.Methods15 semi-structured, individual interviews were conducted over a 2-month period in 2019 with Tanzanian women living in the Kilimanjaro Region who suffered from stress urinary incontinence and who had been using a pessary for at least 18 months. The interview transcripts were analysed using qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe primary motivation for seeking treatment were discomfort from symptoms, social consequences and low quality of life. Perceived benefits from pessary use included improved quality of life with reacquired abilities to perform daily activities, participate in social gatherings, feeling symptom relief and improved sexual relations. Further, some women saw pessary treatment as superior to other locally available treatment options. Perceived barriers for pessary use included shame, husband’s disapproval, limited access to treatment and lack of knowledge among the women as well as healthcare personnel.ConclusionVaginal pessaries are well-perceived as a long-term treatment method among Tanzanian women suffering from stress urinary incontinence. This method may have potential to be implemented large scale in Tanzania if combined with basic health education.

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It's No Life, This Fear' Women's Experiences of Services when in Situations of Family Violence

Australian Journal of Primary Health ◽

10.1071/py99006 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 53

Author(s):

Kim Robinson

Keyword(s):

Social Welfare ◽

Knowledge Base ◽

Family Violence ◽

Service Providers ◽

Service System ◽

Waiting Lists ◽

Women’S Experiences ◽

Women's Experiences ◽

Experiences Of Women

This study examines the experiences of women who have been in situations of family violence, and identifies the barriers they faced when seeking assistance from a variety of services. The research aims to contribute to the knowledge base of the health, social welfare, legal and policing services which respond to calls for assistance from women faced with family violence. The service system is varied in how it conceptualizes family violence, and in the aims of the services it provides. The research reports that the service system does not always meet the needs of victim/survivors, and reveals that service providers are often ill equipped to deal with the complexity of violence. Due to the length of waiting lists and the quality of interventions women experienced particular difficulty in accessing advice based services. A number of recommendations are made for improvements in services.

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An Assessment of Women’s Experiences and Challenges Faced with Post Abortion Care (PAC) Services in Buea

Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medical Research ◽

10.9734/jocamr/2021/v15i430271 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Teng Esther Mbong ◽

Dickson S. Nsagha ◽

Niba Clinton Ambe ◽

Micheal Okunlola ◽

A. Oladokun Sina

Keyword(s):

Family Planning ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Contraceptive Use ◽

Unwanted Pregnancy ◽

Unsafe Abortion ◽

Women’S Experiences ◽

Care Services ◽

Women's Experiences ◽

Post Abortion

Background: Unsafe abortion is one of the commonest causes of maternal mortality and post-abortion care services have been acclaimed as the best remedy for this situation. Yet, high maternal mortality still prevails pointing to issues with the quality of services. The paper was designed to investigate women's motives for engaging in unsafe abortion; assess women's experiences on the quality of PAC services and identify the challenges women faced in accessing PAC services in Buea. Methods: This study recruited 10 participants in Buea. Using a structured interview, data was collected on women's motives for engaging in unsafe abortion; assess women's experiences on the quality of PAC services, and identify the challenges women faced in accessing PAC services in Buea. Thematic and grounded theory analytical techniques were used to organize and interpret the data. Results: Majority of women in Buea did not use contraceptives for different reasons ranging from personal, spousal consent, ignorance, and the fear of side effects of contraceptive use. The low contraceptive use accounts highly for unwanted pregnancy cases which results in the decisions to induce. Most of these women involuntarily engage in induced abortion, highly driven by second party influence like the request from spouse/partner, disappointment from the spouse, and fear of parents’ reactions; while some occur as a result of missed abortion. The quality of PAC services received by most of these women were merely emergency treatments without proper PAC activities like family planning counseling, provision of modern contraceptive methods, linkages to other reproductive health care services. Women in Buea encounter some challenges in the use of PAC services, pains associated with the procedure, the cost, the absence of some family planning methods, the absence of counselling before PAC and above all, non constant availability of blood in the bood bank for transfusion. Conclusion: This study concluded that most women in Buea engage in induced abortion on account of the pressure to terminate an unwanted pregnancy; resulting from low contraceptives use; desire to avoid problems from their spouses/partners as well as to pursue career ambition. Moreover, the quality of PAC services offered to women in Buea was emergency treatment; void of important aspects like family planning services, linkage to other reproductive health care services, and facilitating their social reinsertion and preventing future induce abortion.

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A survey of women’s birth experiences in Scotland using the Birth Satisfaction Scale (BSS)

European Journal for Person Centered Healthcare ◽

10.5750/ejpch.v3i4.1019 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 478 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Caroline Hollins Martin ◽

Colin Martin

Keyword(s):

Short Form ◽

Personal Attributes ◽

Care Provision ◽

Satisfaction Scale ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Women’S Experiences ◽

Women's Experiences ◽

Birth Satisfaction ◽

Multiparous Women

Background: ‘Birth satisfaction’ is important since experience of labour can influence women’s post-natal adjustment. Objective: To explore: (1) childbearing women’s experiences of ‘birth satisfaction’ and (2) identify contexts in which it is more appropriate to use the 30-item Birth Satisfaction Scale (BSS) or the 10-item BSS-Revised (BSS-R). Study design: A quantitative survey was conducted using the 30-item BSS. As a function of completing the 30-item BSS, participants also completed the short-form 10-item BSS-R. Participants: A convenience sample of post-natal women (n=228) attending for National Health Service (NHS) care at the Ayrshire Maternity Unit in the West of Scotland (UK) participated. Participants were within their first 10 post-natal days.Results: The 30-item BSS mean scores = 115.84 (SD 14.05). The thematically determined subscale mean scores of quality of care provision (BSS-QC; 8-items), women’s personal attributes (BSS-WA; 8-items) and stress experienced during labour (BSS-SL;14-items) subscales, were 32.2 (4.09), 31.9 (4.16) and 51.73 (8.04) respectively. Women experienced greater ‘birth satisfaction’ when they had a Spontaneous Vertex Delivery compared with a complicated delivery. Primigravidas were generally less ‘birth satisfied’ than multiparous women. Key conclusions: Overall assessment of care was complimentary, with global levels of ‘birth satisfaction’ generally high. In response to psychometric tests, the 30-item BSS has been trimmed down to a statistically robust, valid and reliable 10-item BSS-R.Implications for practice: Now that a valid and reliable 10-item BSS has been developed to measure women’s experiences of childbirth, it can be used to assess differences between variables such as home and hospital birth, or to establish correlates with other valid measures. We advance our study as an important contribution to person-centered maternal healthcare.

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A Multicase Study Exploring Women’s Narratives of Infertility: Implications for Counselors

The Qualitative Report ◽

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3510 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Staci Born ◽

Christin Carotta ◽

Kristine Ramsay-Seaner

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Healthcare ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

The United States ◽

Women’S Experiences ◽

Personal Variables ◽

Women's Experiences ◽

Women's Narratives ◽

Biological Health ◽

Multicase Study

Infertility affects 6.7 million women in the United States (Chandra, Copen, & Stephen, 2013). Women’s experiences with infertility are not only influenced by biological health factors, but also by social, cultural, and personal variables. Given the prevalence and complexity of infertility, additional research is needed to further examine the nuances of women’s experiences. The purpose of this multicase study, as informed by four individual cases, was to explore how women construct their infertility narratives. Review of reflective journals found five common elements: (1) Emotional Rollercoaster, (2) Mind-Body (Dis)Connection, (3) Secret Identity, (4) Supportive vs. Constrained Communication Patterns, and (5) Fatalistic- vs. Agency-Oriented Coping. Increasing our understanding of the whole experience of infertility, beyond the biological diagnosis, is essential to decreasing stigma and increasing the quality of healthcare services available for women.

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Measuring women’s experiences of maternity care: protocol for a systematic review of self-report survey instruments

Systematic Reviews ◽

10.1186/s13643-019-1261-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Claire Beecher ◽

Richard Greene ◽

Laura O’Dwyer ◽

Ethel Ryan ◽

Mark White ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Maternity Care ◽

Methodological Quality ◽

Survey Instrument ◽

Self Report ◽

Measurement Properties ◽

Women’S Experiences ◽

Women's Experiences ◽

Survey Instruments

Abstract Background The use of survey instruments to measure women’s experiences of their maternity care is regarded internationally as an indicator of the quality of care received. To ensure the credibility of the data arising from these instruments, the methodological quality of development must be high. This paper reports the protocol for a systematic review of self-report instruments used to measure women’s experiences of their maternity care. Methods Citation databases CINAHL, Ovid MEDLINE and EMBASE will be searched from 2002 to 2018 using keywords including women, experience, maternity care, questionnaires, surveys, and self-report. Citations will be screened by two reviewers, in two rounds, for inclusion as per predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data extraction forms will be populated with data, extracted from each study, to evaluate the methodological quality of each survey instrument and the criteria for good measurement properties using quality criteria. Data will also be extracted to categorise the items included in each survey instrument. A combination of a structured narrative synthesis and quantitate summaries in tabular format will allow for recommendations to be made on the use, adaptation and development of future survey instruments. Discussion The value of survey instruments that evaluate women’s experiences of their maternity care, as a marker of quality care, has been recognised internationally with many countries employing the use of such instruments to inform policy and practice. The development of these instruments must be methodologically sound and the instrument itself fit for the purpose and context in which it is used. This protocol describes the methods that will be used to complete a systematic review that will serve as a guide for choosing the most appropriate existing instruments to use or adapt so that they are fit for purpose, in addition to informing the development of new instruments. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42018105325

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