Women’s Reproductive Health and Its Factors

Topics: Health, Reproductive Health Words: 1544 Pages: 6

Findings Summary

The issue of women’s reproductive health has many aspects. They comprise revealing reproductive health problems, defining the causes of reproductive disorders, developing treatment strategies, etc. The articles under analysis are examples of both qualitative and quantitative research dedicated to women’s reproductive health.

Women’s reproductive health, for example, can depend on sexual orientation which also influences sexual health. Thus, bisexual and lesbian adolescents and young women demonstrated different reproductive health risks. Bisexual young women proved to have “the earliest sexual debut, highest numbers of male partners, the greatest use of emergency contraception, and highest frequency of pregnancy termination” (Tornello, Riskind, & Patterson, 2014, p. 160).

A particular aspect of women’s reproductive health concerns women living with HIV. A lot of studies are dedicated to this problem and are aimed at figuring out ways to give birth to healthy children for HIV-infected women. Still, the researches lack practical evidence, and the gaps revealed through a scoping review methodology are supposed to stimulate further research and practical implementation of the research findings.

Often, women’s reproductive health problems are not congenital but acquired. They can be caused by environment, lifestyles, or other health problems. However, sometimes reproductive health can suffer as a result of intimate partner violence. The research-based on eight Pakistan clinics proved that the majority of married women underwent psychological, sexual, or physical violence at least once in their married life (Zakar, Zakar, Mikolajczyk, & Krämer, 2012).

There are various methods of treating women’s reproductive health disorders. They are mainly traditional ones. Nevertheless, the researches prove that some non-traditional methods as acupuncture can be efficient in dealing with the diversity of problems associated with female reproductive health. For example, it can be applied for female reproductive disorders, ovulation, or premenstrual syndrome.

On the whole, the issue of women’s reproductive health is a complex one. Consequently, it needs a complex approach. Diverse studies dedicated to the various aspects of reproductive health can be useful for the development of strategies aimed at the maintenance of women’s health.

Evaluation Table

Citation	Cochrane, S., Smith, C.A., Possamai-Inesedy, A., & Bensoussan, A. (2014). Acupuncture and women’s reproductive health: An overview of the role of acupuncture and its clinical management in women’s reproductive health. International Journal of Women’s Health, 6, 313-325.	Loufty, M.R., Sonnenberg-Schwan, U., Margolese, S., & Sherr, L. (2013). A review of reproductive health research, guidelines, and related gaps for women living with HIV. AIDS Care, 25(6), 675-666.	Peters, S.A., Huxley, R.R., & Woodward, M. (2016). Women’s reproductive health factors and body adiposity: Findings from the UK Biobank. International Journal of Obesity, 40(5), 803-808.	Tornello, S.L., Riskind, R.G., & Patterson, C.J. (2014). Sexual orientation and sexual and reproductive health among adolescent and young women in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 54, 160-168.	Zakar, R., Zakar, M.Z., Mikolajczyk, R., & Krämer, A. (2012). Intimate partner violence and its association with women’s reproductive health in Pakistan. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 117(1), 10-14.
Conceptual Framework	Women’s reproductive health	Women’s reproductive health	Women’s reproductive health	Women’s reproductive health	Women’s reproductive health
Design/Method	Qualitative design. Narrative literature search, using electronic databases and manual search	Qualitative design. Scoping review methodology.	Quantitative design. A cross-sectional analysis	Quantitative design. Logistic regression and ANCOVA methods.	Quantitative design. Cross-sectional survey.
Sample/Setting	114 documents for acupuncture mechanism and 204 documents for the application of acupuncture for women’s health.	The study analyses articles, bibliographies, guidelines, and abstracts dedicated to the issue of women living with HIV (WLWH).	Data from the UK Biobank were used. Between 2006 and 2010, “more than 500 000 women and men aged 40–69 at baseline attended one of the 22 centres across the UK” (Peters, Huxley, & Woodward, 2016, p. 805).	The sample included “2,664 female participants aged 15-20 years (M_age– 17.53)” (Tornello et al., 2014, p. 161). There were about 56% of white/Caucasian, 21% of black or African-American, 15% Hispanic, 8% of Asian, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and others.	The sample consisted of 373 women recruited form 8 random tertiary-care hospitals. Hospitals were located in the two biggest cities in Pakistan.
Major variables	Not defined	Not defined	Dependent: reproductive health. Independent: body adiposity.	Dependent: sexual and reproductive health. Independent: sexual identity.	Dependent: women’s reproductive health consequencwes. Independent: intimate partner violence.
Measurement	Studies dedicated to acupuncture mechanism of action and the application of acupuncture for women’s reproductive health.	Family planning and contraception; maternal health, HIV and pregnancy issues; perinatal and post-partum period; breastfeeding.	Measurement of reproductive factors for women included “age at menarche, age at first birth, number of live births and menopausal status” (Peters et al., 2016, p. 805). Moreover, body measurement were taken to define body mass index.	Measurements of the study included sexual identity, sexual health, and reproductive health.	Reproductive health complaints, partner violence.
Data analysis	Data analysis allowed to single out some aspects of women’s health which can be influenced by acupuncture. For example, for female reproductive disorders, ovulation or premenstrual syndrome.	Data analysis was provided in a form of interpretation of information on the health of WLWH.	Statistical analysis was used to assess obtained data. Linear regression analyses were used to study the connection of reproductive health factor and degree of adiposity. BMI was used in the primary analyses to evaluate adiposity.	Chi-square, ANOVA.	Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.
Findings	The influence of acupuncture on women’s reproductive health is diverse. It follows psychological, endocrine, and neurological pathways to cause some changes in the body. Moreover, clinical trials provide evidence of positive reproductive outcomes which result from different acupuncture interventions. Clinical research of acupuncture effectiveness, however, underwent critics due to its methodological flaws and bias. “The evidence within this biomedical framework is certainly not conclusive, and this has led some researchers to reapply their efforts to explaining the physiology of women’s responses to acupuncture more precisely, while others have been focused on better constructing clinical trials that identify whether clinically significant changes are occurring in women’s reproductive health using an acupuncture intervention” (Cochrane, Smith, Possamai-Inesedy, & Bensoussan, 2014, p. 322).	The research revealed knowledge gaps and needs for further research concerning reproductive health for WLWH. They include: “Preconception medical management in WLWH and couples wishing to parent; optimal contraception methods for WLWH; association between HIV-related factors and maternal health outcomes; optimal method of infant feeding” (Loufty, Sonnenberg-Schwan, Margolese, & Sherr, 2013, p. 663).	The research proved that age at menarche was closely connected with body mass index (BMI); “adjusted mean BMI was 29.0 kg m–2 in women with menarche before the age of 12 years, compared with 26.5 kg m^–2in those who had menarche after 14 years of age. Age at first birth was linearly and inversely associated with BMI: 0.16 kg m^–2lower BMI per year increase in age of first birth. Each additional live birth or child fathered was associated with a 0.22 kg m^–2higher BMI in women and a 0.14 kg m^-2higher BMI in men” (Peters et al., 2016, p. 803).	“Bisexual and lesbian young women reported elevated sexual and reproductive health risks. Bisexual and lesbian participants reported being younger at heterosexual sexual debut, and having more male and female sexual partners, than did heterosexual participants. Further, they were more likely than heterosexual young women to report having been forced to have sex by a male partner. Bisexual young women reported the earliest sexual debut, highest numbers of male partners, greatest use of emergency contraception, and highest frequency of pregnancy termination” (Tornello et al., 2014, p. 160).	“Of the 373 interviewed women, 283 (75.9%) reported experiencing severe psychologic violence, 129 (34.6%) severe sexual violence, and 119 (31.9%) severe physical violence at least once during their marital life”. The research reveals “the reproductive health complaints with respect to exposure to psychologic, physical, and sexual IPV. The women who experienced any type of IPV had more complaints of foul smelling vaginal discharge, loss of libido, difficult urination, and pain in the abdomen and/or vagina during intercourse than the women who did not experience IPV (Zakar et al., 2012, p. 13).
Appraisal	The study is a comprehensive review of previous findings concerning the application of acupuncture for women’s reproductive health. The focus of the study is on the effectiveness of acupuncture. On the whole, it can be implemented together with other interventions to improve women’s reproductive health.	The article provides a thorough analysis of papers dedicated to the issue of WLWH and outlines gaps which can become basis for further research. These data can be helpful in improving the system of healthcare for WLWH.	The research examines cross-sectional associations between reproductive health factors. Its findings contribute to the evidence base. It supports the supposition that there is a connection between reproductive health factors and body adiposity in a contemporary Western population.	The study has a unique character since it is the first to investigate “sexual and reproductive health behaviors among a nationally representative U.S. sample that allowed comparisons among heterosexual, lesbian, and bisexual young women (Tornello et al., 2014, p. 165)	The research does not have a big sample. Moreover, the use of use of self-report measures, the cross-sectional design, and the absence of a validated tool to measure reproductive health make limitations of the study. Also, the sample excluded women who experienced violence from their partners but did not have health complaints or had no opportunity to seek for help.

References

Cochrane, S., Smith, C.A., Possamai-Inesedy, A., & Bensoussan, A. (2014). Acupuncture and women’s reproductive health: An overview of the role of acupuncture and its clinical management in women’s reproductive health. International Journal of Women’s Health, 6, 313-325. Web.

Loufty, M.R., Sonnenberg-Schwan, U., Margolese, S., & Sherr, L. (2013). A review of reproductive health research, guidelines and related gaps for women living with HIV. AIDS Care, 25(6), 675-666. doi: Web.

Peters, S.A., Huxley, R.R., & Woodward, M. (2016). Women’s reproductive health factors and body adiposity: Findings from the UK Biobank. International Journal of Obesity, 40(5), 803-808. doi: Web.

Tornello, S.L., Riskind, R.G., & Patterson, C.J. (2014). Sexual orientation and sexual and reproductive health among adolescent and young women in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 54, 160-168. Web.

Zakar, R., Zakar, M.Z., Mikolajczyk, R., & Krämer, A. (2012). Intimate partner violence and its association with women’s reproductive health in Pakistan. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 117(1), 10-14. Web.