Determining Physical and Mental Health Conditions Present in Older Adult Refugees: A Mini-Review.

In 2017, there were over 65 million displaced persons at the global level, with approximately 23 million of these people living as refugees around the world. In this same year, the US resettled 53,716 refugees, with the State of Utah receiving 954 of those refugees. Refugees, in general, often face health-related challenges upon resettlement. Since the health of aging refugee men and women is of growing concern, host communities face significant challenges in accommodating the health needs of a diverse refugee population. This study, a review of physical and mental health data from the Utah Department of Health, was undertaken in an effort to ascertain the prevalence of health conditions among refugee men and women 60 years and older arriving in Utah. Findings include information on diseases correlated with increasing age, such as hypertension, decreases in vision, arthritis, and low back pain, which are common among this population of refugees aged 60 years and older. Overall, most of the health conditions assessed affect women and men with a similar prevalence. Some notable exceptions are a history of torture and violence, and a propensity for tobacco use. When dealing with refugee men older than 60 years, providers should consider the psychological ramifications of having endured such atrocities, as well as introduction to evidence-based tobacco cessation programs. When working with refugee women of the same age, an increase in the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and urinary tract infections should be considered.

Latina Mothers Recommendations on a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Group Intervention for Perinatal Depression.

Introduction: Perinatal depression affects 5-15% of childbearing women. However, literature suggests that Latina women are twice as likely to experience depression during pregnancy. Group telehealth-based interventions are a promising approach to increasing access and reducing barriers to mental health. However, little is known about the experience that Latinas have with navigating this approach. This paper aimed to explore Latina mothers' perspectives and recommendations in using telehealth to deliver a mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy (MBCBT) group intervention. Methods: Fourteen pregnant or postpartum women participated in focus groups and individual interviews. Interview topics included perinatal depression, knowledge and content of interventions, and the feasibility and acceptability of the telehealth approach. Data were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results: Three broad themes emerged; (1) accessibility to telehealth, (2) relational connection through technology, and (3) technological issues affecting access (i.e., level of familiarity with portal, video quality, etc.). Enhancers promoting participation in the telehealth intervention included reduced scheduling concerns and no need for childcare. Barriers included mistrust of providers' engagement, concerns about privacy, and potential for lack of relational connection through technology. Conclusion: Specific recommendations were provided to increase participation and effectiveness of telehealth groups among Latinas.

Some key questions: Pregnancy intention screening by community health workers.

BACKGROUND: Unintended pregnancy contributes to a high burden of maternal and fetal morbidity in the United States, and pregnancy intention screening offers a key strategy to improve preconception health and reproductive health equity. The One Key Question© is a pregnancy intention screening tool that asks a single question, "Would you like to become pregnant in the next year?" to all reproductive-age women. This study explored the perspectives of community health workers on using One Key Question in community-based settings. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to the use of the One Key Question pregnancy intention screening tool by community health workers who serve reproductive-age women in Salt Lake City, Utah. DESIGN: Using reproductive justice as a guiding conceptual framework, this study employed a qualitative descriptive design. Participants were asked to identify barriers and facilitators to the One Key Question, with open-ended discussion to explore community health workers' knowledge and perceptions about pregnancy intention screening. METHODS: We conducted focus groups with 43 community health workers in Salt Lake City, Utah, from December 2017 through January 2018. Participants were trained on the One Key Question algorithm and asked to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation. All focus groups occurred face-to-face in community settings and used a semi-structured facilitation guide developed by the study Principal Investigator with input from community partners. RESULTS: Pregnancy intention screening is perceived positively by community health workers. Barriers identified include traditional cultural beliefs about modesty and sex, lack of trust in health care providers, and female bias in the One Key Question algorithm. Facilitators include the simplicity of the One Key Question algorithm and the flexibility of One Key Question responses. CONCLUSION: One Key Question is an effective pregnancy intention screening tool in primary care settings but is limited in its capacity to reach those outside the health system. Community-based pregnancy intention screening offers an alternative avenue for implementation of One Key Question that could address many of these barriers and reduce disparities for underserved populations.

What Women With Disabilities Write in Personal Blogs About Pregnancy and Early Motherhood: Qualitative Analysis of Blogs.

BACKGROUND: More than 1 in 10 women of reproductive age identify as having some type of disability. Most of these women are able to become pregnant and have similar desires for motherhood as women without disability. Women with disability, however, face greater stigma and stereotyping, additional risk factors, and may be less likely to receive adequate reproductive health care compared with their peers without disability. More and more individuals, including those with disability, are utilizing the internet to seek information and peer support. Blogs are one source of peer-to-peer social media engagement that may provide a forum for women with disability to both share and obtain peer-to-peer information and support. Nevertheless, it is not clear what content about reproductive health and pregnancy and/or motherhood is featured in personal blogs authored by women with spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), spina bifida, and autism. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was twofold: (1) to examine the information being shared in blogs by women with 4 types of disabilities, namely, SCI, TBI, spina bifida, and autism, about reproductive health, disability, health care, pregnancy, and motherhood; and (2) to classify the content of reproductive health experiences addressed by bloggers to better understand what they viewed as important. METHODS: Personal blogs were identified by searching Google with keywords related to disabilities, SCI, TBI, spina bifida, and autism, and a variety of keywords related to reproductive health. The first 10 pages of each database search in Google, based on the relevance of the search terms, were reviewed and all blogs in these pages were included. Blog inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) written by a woman or care partner (ie, parent or spouse) of a woman with a self-identified diagnosis of SCI, TBI, spina bifida, or autism; (2) focused on the personal experience of health and health care during the prepregnancy, prenatal, antepartum, intrapartum, and/or postpartum periods; (3) written in English; and (4) published between 2013 and 2017. A descriptive and thematic qualitative analysis of blogs and corresponding comments was facilitated with NVivo software and matrix analysis. RESULTS: Our search strategy identified 125 blogs that met all the inclusion criteria; no blogs written by women with spina bifida were identified. We identified 4 reproductive health themes featured in the blog of women with disabilities: (1) (in)accessible motherhood, (2) (un)supportive others, (3) different, but not different, and (4) society questioning motherhood. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis of personal blogs about pregnancy and health care written by women with SCI, TBI, and autism provides a glimpse into their experiences. The challenges faced by these women and the adaptations they made to successfully navigate pregnancy and early motherhood provide insights that can be used to shape future research.