Prevalence of Maternal Fever and Associated Factors among Postnatal Women at Kawempe National Referral Hospital, Uganda: A Preliminary Study.

Fever is one of the most important signs of infection and can provide useful information for further assessment, diagnosis, and management. Early detection of postnatal fever could reduce severe outcomes, such as maternal mortality due to puerperal sepsis. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of and associated factors of postnatal fever among postnatal women at Kawempe National Referral Hospital. Three hundred postnatal women were recruited. Temperature measurements were conducted and a 29-item questionnaire was completed along with the extraction of health history from the medical records of the participants. The prevalence of maternal fever was 58/300 (19.3%). Multivariable analysis indicated that only four factors-HIV-positive status (AOR = 2.56; 95% CI = 1.02-6.37), labor complications (AOR = 6.53; 95% CI = 2.40-17.71), prolonged labor (AOR = 3.12; 95% CI = 1.11-8.87), and more than 24 h spent in postnatal care (AOR = 5.16; 95% CI = 2.19-12.16)-were found to be significantly associated with postnatal fever. The prevalence of postnatal maternal fever among postnatal women at Kawempe National Referral Hospital was higher than that in other reports in the literature. The factors significantly associated with maternal fever were HIV-positive status, complications during labor, prolonged labor, and more than 24 h spent in postnatal care. Health workers involved in the provision of labor and obstetric services must follow guidelines to assess fever and manage the underlying conditions causing it.

The Provision of Abortion Care via Telehealth in the United States: A Rapid Review.

INTRODUCTION: The recent Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health that has overruled Roe v. Wade has resulted in severe limitations of abortion access throughout the United States. Telehealth has been put forth as one solution for improving access for reproductive health care, including abortion services. Telehealth has demonstrated safety and efficacy in several health care disciplines; however, its use for abortion care and services has not been explored and synthesized. METHODS: As part of a larger review on telehealth and general reproductive health, our team identified a moderate amount of literature on telehealth and abortion care. We conducted a rapid review searching for eligible studies in MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL. Information was extracted from each included study to explore 4 key areas of inquiry: (1) clinical effectiveness, (2) patient and provider experiences, (3) barriers and facilitators, and (4) the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. RESULTS: Twenty-five studies on the use of telehealth for providing abortion services published between 2011 and 2022 were included. Telehealth for medical abortion increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and was found to be safe and clinically effective, with high patient satisfaction. Overall, telehealth improved access and removed barriers for patients including lack of transportation. Legal restrictions in certain states were cited as the primary barriers. Studies contained limited information on the perspectives and experiences of health care providers and diverse patient populations. DISCUSSION: Abortion care via telehealth is safe and effective with high satisfaction and may also remove barriers to care including transportation and fear. Removing restrictions on telehealth for the provision of abortion services may further improve access to care and promote greater health equity.

Using Collaborative Online International Learning to Support Global Midwifery Education.

BACKGROUND AND LOCAL PROBLEM: The COVID-19 pandemic created a gap in global health learning, requiring creative solutions to bridge the divide. Collaborative online international learning (COIL) is a program between universities located in different geographic areas that aims to build cross-cultural learning and collaboration. INTERVENTION: Faculty members from Uganda and the United States worked collaboratively to plan a 2-session COIL activity for nursing and midwifery students. Twenty-eight students from the United States and Uganda participated in the pilot quality improvement project. MEASURES: Students completed a 13-question REDCap survey measuring satisfaction, time commitment for the activity, and increase in knowledge about differently resourced healthcare systems. Students also were asked to provide qualitative feedback in that survey. RESULTS: Survey results indicate a high level of satisfaction and an increased understanding of a new healthcare system. The majority of students wanted more scheduled activity times, the opportunity to meet face to face, and/or more robust sessions in the future. CONCLUSION: This COIL activity between students in the United States and Uganda was a no-cost activity that provided global health learning opportunities for students during the global pandemic. The COIL model is replicable, adaptable, and customizable for a variety of courses and time spans.

Exploring Health Behaviors in Ugandan Adolescents Living in Rural Fishing Communities.

Adolescents in rural Uganda face unique opportunities and challenges to their health. The primary goal of this exploratory cross-sectional survey study was to describe the health behaviors of adolescents of age 13-19 living in four Ugandan fishing communities as a foundation for developing programs to reduce risky health behaviors and HIV/AIDS transmission. The majority of boys (59.6%) and one third of girls reported lifetime sexual intercourse; girls reported earlier sexual debut than boys, as well as higher rates of sexual assault, rape, and/or coerced intercourse. Sexually active youth were more likely to have viewed pornography, be tested for other sexually transmitted infections, and attend boarding schools. Alcohol use was prevalent among both sexes; however, the use of other substances was infrequently reported. Since the majority of adolescents in Uganda attend boarding school, there is an opportunity to expand the school nurse scope of care to include health promotion education and counseling.

Conversation, Condoms, and Contraception: How Does Communication With Sexual Partners Affect Safer Sexual Behaviors Among American Indian Youth?

Communication with sexual partners about protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is associated with safer sexual behaviors among general populations of youth, but little is known about partner communication among American Indian youth. We assessed the prevalence of adolescents' communication with sexual partners about STI prevention and used multivariable logistic regression to examine associations between communication and safer sexual behaviors (condom use, reliable contraceptive use, and dual method use) among a statewide sample of in-school, American Indian youth in Minnesota in 2013 and 2016 (n = 739). Half (49.5%) of sexually experienced American Indian youth reported talking about STI prevention at least once with every sexual partner. Communication was associated with all examined safer sexual behaviors among females and only with condom use among males. Study findings highlight the importance of school nurses, health educators, and other clinicians addressing partner communication when counseling adolescent patients.

Development and Testing of the Preparation for Labor and Birth Instrument.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and assess the reliability and validity of a new instrument used during the third trimester of pregnancy to measure women's confidence in their ability to achieve physiologic birth, the Preparation for Labor and Birth (P-LAB) instrument. DESIGN: Two-phase instrument development study that consisted of item generation and a prospective field test. SETTING: Field testing occurred in five midwestern U.S. prenatal clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Participants in the field test were 203 nulliparous and parous pregnant women who intended to give birth vaginally. METHODS: Psychometric testing consisted of test-retest reliability testing and assessments of content validity, face validity, and construct validity. We measured construct validity using exploratory factor analysis and correlation with the Sense of Coherence Scale. RESULTS: The 22-item P-LAB showed good content validity, good internal consistency, and stability over time. All items had content validity index scores greater than or equal to 0.8, and the total instrument content validity index was 0.95. We identified four factors related to women's confidence in their ability to achieve physiologic birth: Planned Use of Pain Medication, Relationship With Care Provider and Supportive Birth Environment, Beliefs About Labor, and Labor Support (social and professional). Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the four extracted factors were .93, .76, .73 and .74, respectively. Intraclass correlation [95% confidence interval] for the total questionnaire was .92 [.88, .94]. We found no linear association between total P-LAB scores and sense of coherence. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate acceptable initial psychometric properties for the P-LAB instrument. Additional testing is required to evaluate the instrument's construct, convergent, and divergent validity.

Maternal confidence for physiologic birth: Associated prenatal characteristics and outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Pregnancy, labor, and birth are normal, physiologic processes. Women often seek information during pregnancy to enhance their confidence for physiologic birth. Little is known about confidence for physiologic birth and associated prenatal characteristics and birth outcomes such as provider type, source of labor and birth information, mode of birth, and use of pain medication in labor. The purpose of this study was to examine prenatal confidence for physiologic birth and associated prenatal characteristics and birth outcomes. DESIGN: This study was completed as part of a multi-phased instrument development study, the Preparation for Labor and Birth (P-LAB) instrument. P-LAB confidence scores were examined for their relationship with variables including labor type, provider type, source of labor support, pain medication use, and birth mode. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Women (N = 192) from five prenatal clinics in the Midwestern United States who had completed the P-LAB instrument participated in postpartum telephone interviews. FINDINGS: Women with previous birth experience had higher confidence than nulliparous women. Prenatal care providers were reported as main source of labor and birth information. Confidence for birth was associated with intention to not use pain medication in labor. Women's overall intention to use or not use pain medication was consistent with use. Prenatal confidence was not associated with mode of birth. IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: Special emphasis should be paid to nulliparous women when developing interventions to enhance confidence for physiologic birth. Women rely on their care providers for information regarding labor and birth, therefore one area to strengthen confidence for physiologic birth is within the provider-patient relationship.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among US Adolescents and Young Adults: Patterns, Clinical Considerations, and Prevention.

This article describes prevalence and recent trends in the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among young people in the United States. Common clinical presentations and best practices related to screening and treatment of these conditions are summarized. Clinical considerations for working with adolescents and young adults in the area of sexual and reproductive health are highlighted. Key approaches for sexually transmitted disease prevention with adolescents and young adults are presented.

Women's Perceptions of Prenatal Influences on Maternal Confidence for Physiologic Birth.

INTRODUCTION: A physiologic approach to labor and birth is preferred for most women. The United States spends more on birth than any other country. Cesarean rates are currently 32%, and approximately 23% of women with a singleton pregnancy experience induction or augmentation of labor. Most physiologic birth research has focused on care during labor and birth. The purpose of this study was to describe women's perceptions of the care processes, support, and information received during pregnancy that helped them feel confident for physiologic labor and birth. METHODS: Using a qualitative descriptive design with 2 phases, women were recruited from an urban area and a smaller city in Minnesota. Phase 1 included focus groups with women who had given birth within the previous 6 months. They participated in a discussion about experiences that helped them feel confident for labor and birth. In Phase 2, women who had a physiologic birth, which was defined as term pregnancy, spontaneous labor, no epidural analgesia, and vaginal birth, participated in individual interviews. Focus group and individual interview recordings were transcribed and analyzed using Glaser's constant comparative approach. RESULTS: Thirty-eight women participated in 9 focus groups. Seventeen women had a physiologic birth; 14 participated in individual interviews. Themes derived from the analysis included confidence in the face of uncertainty, belief in the normalcy of birth and the body's ability to birth, research on my own, supportive care partnership, on the same page, and sources of information and support. DISCUSSION: Women who experienced physiologic birth believed that this was possible and expected. They sought information, including searching on their own, from maternity care providers and a broader support system. Relationships with their maternity care providers were important. Prenatal care focused on women's strengths and abilities, while also monitoring pregnancy health and safety, may help reduce unnecessary interventions, improve outcomes, and reduce costs.

Enhancing women's confidence for physiologic birth: Maternity care providers' perspectives.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research study was to explore MCP's beliefs and attitudes about physiologic birth and to identify components of antenatal care that providers believe may impact a woman's confidence for physiologic labor and birth. METHODS: This qualitative descriptive study included maternity care providers (N=31) in the Midwestern United States. Providers participated in semi-structured interviews to describe their beliefs about physiologic birth, their role in providing information to women and specific care practices to promote women's confidence for physiologic birth. FINDINGS: Six themes emerged including: positive beliefs about physiologic birth, trusted relationship with provider, woman centered care, education and knowledge, barriers to confidence, and antenatal practices to enhance confidence. Variations in beliefs occurred amongst providers with different training (i.e., physicians and midwives). CONCLUSION: Maternity care providers, including midwives, family physicians and obstetrician-gynecologists, overwhelmingly support a physiologic approach to labor and birth. These providers had a number of suggestions about how antenatal care could be enhanced in an effort to increase women's confidence during the antenatal period. Supporting physiologic birth is imperative for providers who wish to enhance outcomes for mothers and babies.

What are we missing? Risk behaviors among Arab-American adolescents and emerging adults.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Research on Arab-Americans as a distinct ethnic group is limited, especially when considering the health of Arab-American youth. This study describes health risk (substance use, violence); health promotive behaviors (hope, spirituality); and sexual activity (oral, vaginal, anal sex) of Arab-American adolescents and emerging adults (aged 15-23) within their life context, as well as the association between these behaviors. METHODS: A secondary analysis of data on a subset of Arab-American participants obtained from a randomized-control trial was utilized to conduct mixed methods analyses. Qualitative analyses completed on the open-ended questions used the constant comparative method for a subsample (n = 24) of participants. Descriptive quantitative analyses of survey data utilized bivariate analyses and stepwise logistic regression to explore the relation between risk behaviors and sexual activity among the full sample (n = 57). CONCLUSIONS: Qualitative analyses revealed two groups of participants: (a) multiple risk behaviors and negative life-events, and (b) minimal risk behaviors and positive life-events. Quantitative analyses indicated older youth, smokers, and those with higher hope pathways were more likely to report vaginal sex. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The unique cultural and social contexts of Arab-American youth provide a framework for recommendations for the prevention of risk behaviors.

Family and Friend Influence on Urban-Dwelling American Indian Adolescent Girl's Sexual Risk Behavior.

Previous research with American Indian (AI) adolescent sexual risk behavior primarily focused on reservation-dwelling youth despite 70% of AIs living off Native lands. Using grounded theory methodology, I sampled 20 adolescent AI girls via talking circles and interviews to explore the perceptions of AI adolescent girls living in an urban, Midwest area about the influence of family and friends on their sexual behavior. Similar to research with other racial groups, participants cited their family and friends as a major influence. Five unique themes emerged related to family and friend influence. Urban-dwelling AI girls rely on their female family members and peers for information related to sex and receive varying messages from their networks of family and friends, which often overlap. AI youth have unique family groups yet have some similarities to other ethnic groups with regard to family and friend relationships that may allow for enhanced intervention development.

Urban American Indian Adolescent Girls: Framing Sexual Risk Behavior.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore factors that influence urban adolescent American Indian (AI) girls' sexual risk behavior. DESIGN: A qualitative study was conducted with grounded theory methodology to reveal factors and processes that influence sexual risk behavior. METHOD: Talking circles, individual interviews, and event history calendars were used with 20 urban AI 15- to 19-year-old girls to explore influences on sexual risk behavior. RESULTS: The generated theory-framing sexual risk behavior-describes social and structural factors and processes that influenced the girls' sexual risk behavior. The theory extends Bronfenbrenner's ecological model by identifying microsystem, mesosystem, and macrosystem influences on sexual risk behavior. DISCUSSION: Urban AI girls reported similar social and structural influences on sexual risk behavior as urban adolescents from other racial and ethnic groups. However, differences were noted in the family structure, cultural heritage, and unique history of AIs. IMPLICATIONS: This theory can be used in culturally responsive practice with urban AI girls.

A systematic review of maternal confidence for physiologic birth: characteristics of prenatal care and confidence measurement.

INTRODUCTION: Because a focus on physiologic labor and birth has reemerged in recent years, care providers have the opportunity in the prenatal period to help women increase confidence in their ability to give birth without unnecessary interventions. However, most research has only examined support for women during labor. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the research literature for information about prenatal care approaches that increase women's confidence for physiologic labor and birth and tools to measure that confidence. METHODS: Studies were reviewed that explored any element of a pregnant woman's interaction with her prenatal care provider that helped build confidence in her ability to labor and give birth. Timing of interaction with pregnant women included during pregnancy, labor and birth, and the postpartum period. In addition, we looked for studies that developed a measure of women's confidence related to labor and birth. Outcome measures included confidence or similar concepts, descriptions of components of prenatal care contributing to maternal confidence for birth, and reliability and validity of tools measuring confidence. RESULTS: The search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases provided a total of 893 citations. After removing duplicates and articles that did not meet inclusion criteria, 6 articles were included in the review. Three relate to women's confidence for labor during the prenatal period, and 3 describe tools to measure women's confidence for birth. DISCUSSION: Research about enhancing women's confidence for labor and birth was limited to qualitative studies. Results suggest that women desire information during pregnancy and want to use that information to participate in care decisions in a relationship with a trusted provider. Further research is needed to develop interventions to help midwives and physicians enhance women's confidence in their ability to give birth and to develop a tool to measure confidence for use during prenatal care.

Urban Dwelling American Indian Adolescent Girls' Beliefs Regarding Health Care Access and Trust.

Indigenous people, specifically American Indians (AI), have historically had a greater mistrust of the medical system compared to their White counterparts. The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of AI adolescent girls living in an urban, Midwest area about health care providers, health care systems, and access to health care as related to sexual health care. Using grounded theory methodology, twenty 15-19 year old AI girls participated in talking circles and individual interviews. Two distinct themes emerged related to sexual health care: 1) AI adolescent girls trust their health care providers and the health care system; and 2) Access to health care is critical to practicing safe sex and obtaining information about healthy sexual practices. These findings are unique and may help health care providers and social workers providing care and support to the urban adolescent AI girl.

Advancing community-based research with urban American Indian populations: multidisciplinary perspectives.

The US has witnessed significant growth among urban American Indian (AI) populations in recent decades, and concerns have been raised that these populations face equal or greater degrees of disadvantage than their reservation counterparts. Surprisingly little urban AI research or community work has been documented in the literature, and even less has been written about the influences of urban settings on community-based work with these populations. Given the deep commitments of community psychology to empowering disadvantaged groups and understanding the impact of contextual factors on the lives of individuals and groups, community psychologists are well suited to fill these gaps in the literature. Toward informing such efforts, this work offers multidisciplinary insights from distinct idiographic accounts of community-based behavioral health research with urban AI populations. Accounts are offered by three researchers and one urban AI community organization staff member, and particular attention is given to issues of community heterogeneity, geography, membership, and collaboration. Each first-person account provides "lessons learned" from the urban context in which the research occurred. Together, these accounts suggest several important areas of consideration in research with urban AIs, some of which also seem relevant to reservation-based work. Finally, the potential role of research as a tool of empowerment for urban AI populations is emphasized, suggesting future research attend to the intersections of identity, sense of community, and empowerment in urban AI populations.

Sexual risk assessment using event history calendars with male and female adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to explore male and female adolescents' perceptions of and differences in Event History Calendar (EHC) sexual risk assessment in a clinical setting. METHOD: This study is a secondary analysis exploring male and female qualitative data from a mixed methods study of adolescent and provider communication. Participants included 30 sexually active 15- to 19-year-old male (n = 11) and female (n = 19) patients at a school-linked clinic. The adolescents completed a pre-clinic visit EHC and then discussed it with a nurse practitioner during their visit. The adolescents shared their perceptions of the EHCs in a post-clinic visit interview. RESULTS: Constant comparative analyses revealed gender differences in: (a) adolescents' perceptions of how EHCs helped report, reflect on, and discuss sexual risk histories; (b) how adolescents self-administered EHCs; and (c) the histories they reported. DISCUSSION: The EHC was well received by both male and female adolescents, resulting in a more complete sexual risk history disclosure. Self-administration of the EHC is recommended for all adolescents, but further sexual risk assessment by nurse practitioners who use EHCs is needed.

Improving sexual risk communication with adolescents using event history calendars.

This study was conducted to explore the effects of an event history calendar (EHC) approach on adolescent sexual risk communication and sexual activity. Adolescent school-linked health clinic patients (n = 30) who reported sexual activity self-administered the EHC that was used by nurse practitioners (NPs; n = 2) during a clinic visit. Immediately pre- and post-visit, and at 1 and 3 months, adolescents reported sexual risk behaviors and perceptions about EHC communication on questionnaires and by interview. NPs reported their perceptions of EHCs by questionnaire after the visit and poststudy interview. The EHC approach facilitated communication and adolescent awareness of their risk behaviors. Scores increased on Amount of Communication, t(29) = 8.174, p < .001; Satisfaction with Communication, t(29) = 3.112, p = .004; Client Involvement in Decision Making, t(29) = 3.901, p = .001, and Client Satisfaction with Interpersonal Style, t(29) = 3.763, p = .001. Adolescents reported decreased sexual intercourse at 1 month, p = .031. School nurses could use the EHC approach to facilitate adolescent communication and tailoring of interventions.