The study describes women's experience with prenatal care, their perceived impediments to care, and compares the impediments cited by the women with levels of care utilization. The sample consisted of 126 African American women. A structured interview and questionnaire were used. The results showed that pregnancy was unplanned in 78.6% of the women, and no one encouraged the women to obtain care in half the cases. Only 50.8% of the women made adequate utilization of prenatal care. The main impediments to care were transportation, long waiting time, having too many other problems, and fear of staff finding out about the women's use of substances. Five of the reported impediments significantly influenced the women's utilization of care. These were: substance abuse, fear of medical examination, the belief that prenatal care is not necessary, already knew of pregnancy, and no babysitter for other children.
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a leading genetic cause of death in infants, is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. While early diagnosis of SMA is critical to modifying disease progression and improving outcomes, serious diagnostic delays persist. There is a need to improve SMA awareness, screening, and referral patterns.
Interpersonal violence is a serious problem for adults with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to understand experiences of crime victims with disabilities and barriers they faced when reporting crime. Fifty-two adults with disabilities whose interpersonal violence was reported to law enforcement participated in focus groups investigating their experiences and recommendations. Participants identified barriers and improvement strategies related to disability identification and disclosure, victim involvement and blaming, credibility and misunderstandings, communication challenges, and accommodations. Barriers exist for people with disabilities navigating the criminal justice system. A need for improved understanding between the disability community and law enforcement was noted.
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. Clinical trial data suggest early diagnosis and treatment are critical. The purpose of this study was to evaluate neurology appointment wait times for newborn screening identified infants, pediatric cases mirroring SMA symptomatology, and cases in which SMA is suspected by the referring physician. Approaches for triaging and expediting referrals in the US were also explored.
The purpose of this study was to describe the incidence of abuse among pregnant teens in the three developmental stages of adolescence and to determine if abuse was related to pregnancy planning, high school participation, substance use during pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and infant birth weight.Prospective survey.A total of 559 pregnant adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 were interviewed. Abuse was measured by the Abuse Assessment Screen. Substance use was measured by self-report. Birth weights were obtained from hospital records.Abuse was reported by 37% of the adolescents. In every age group, the incidence of low birth weight was higher in those who had been abused.The high rates of abuse reported by both adolescent and adult women in this study emphasize the need for nurses in every setting to incorporate routine screening for abuse into their nursing assessments.72 pregnant female adolescents aged 13-15 years, 166 aged 16-17, and 341 aged 18-19 attending prenatal clinics in the greater metropolitan area of a northwestern city participated in a study to assess the incidence of abuse, including physical and sexual abuse, in that subpopulation and to determine whether such abuse is related to pregnancy planning, high school participation, substance use during pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and infant birth weight. 52% of the subjects were White, 30% were Black, 4% Native American, 4% Hispanic, 3% Asian, and 6% other. They had completed an average of 10.7 years of education, although 47% had dropped out of high school. 8.6% were married and living with their partner, 28% reported being single and cohabiting with a partner, and this was the first pregnancy for 57%. Abuse was measured using the Abuse Assessment Screen, substance abuse was measured by self-report, and birth weights were obtained from hospital records. More than 37% reported abuse, with the middle adolescents reporting the highest incidence and the oldest adolescents the least. In every age group, the incidence of low birth weight was higher among subjects who had been abused, although that difference was not statistically significant. Compared to nonabused subjects, those abused were significantly more likely to be high school dropouts, to smoke, and to have experienced bleeding during the second trimester. No differences were observed between the abused and nonabused subjects in pregnancy planning and reported use of marijuana, alcohol, or other drugs.
Violence against people with developmental disabilities is a highly prevalent yet understudied phenomenon. In particular, there is a paucity of literature surrounding the role of gender and the experiences of men. Using a cross-sectional study design, we surveyed 350 people with diverse developmental disabilities about experiences of abuse, perpetrators of abuse, and their physical and mental health status. These data were analyzed to determine whether gender influenced these domains. Statistical methods included chi-square, independent t tests, logistic regression, and hierarchical multiple regressions. Male and female participants reported abuse at high rates, with 61.9% of men and 58.2% of women reporting abuse as children and 63.7% of men and 68.2% of women reporting abuse as adults. More women than men reported adult sexual abuse, but there was no gender difference in the prevalence of any other form of abuse. Women were more likely than men to identify an intimate partner as their abuser, although intimate partners represented the minority of abusers for both men and women. Violence was associated with worse health status regardless of participant gender. These findings confirm that violence is an important issue for both men and women with developmental disabilities. Although some expected gender differences arose, such as higher rates of adult sexual abuse and intimate partner violence against women, these differences were less pronounced than they are in the general population, and the overall picture of abuse was one of gender similarities rather than differences.
'%3e%3cpath fill='%23012169' d='M0 0v30h60V0z'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='6' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='4' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30' clip-path='url(%23b)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='10' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='6' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(72 0 0)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(-72 0 0)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='scale(-1 1) rotate(72)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/defs%3e%3cpath fill='%23012169' d='M0 0h1200v600H0z'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23FFF' stroke-width='60' d='m0 0 600 300M0 300 600 0' clip-path='url(%23b)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='40' d='m0 0 600 300M0 300 600 0' clip-path='url(%23c)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23FFF' stroke-width='100' d='M300 0v300M0 150h600' clip-path='url(%23b)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='60' d='M300 0v300M0 150h600' clip-path='url(%23b)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' fill='%23FFF' transform='matrix(45.4 0 0 45.4 900 120)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' fill='%23C8102E' transform='matrix(30 0 0 30 900 120)'/%3e%3cg transform='rotate(82 900 240)'%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' fill='%23FFF' transform='rotate(-82 519.022 -457.666) scale(40.4)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' fill='%23C8102E' transform='rotate(-82 519.022 -457.666) scale(25)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cg transform='rotate(82 900 240)'%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' fill='%23FFF' transform='rotate(-82 668.57 -327.666) scale(45.4)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' fill='%23C8102E' transform='rotate(-82 668.57 -327.666) scale(30)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' fill='%23FFF' transform='matrix(50.4 0 0 50.4 900 480)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' fill='%23C8102E' transform='matrix(35 0 0 35 900 480)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)