Sexuality in male partners of women with fibromyalgia syndrome: A qualitative study.
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SUBMITTER: Romero-Alcala P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6880977 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectivesThis study investigated women's experiences of their sexuality post gynaecological cancer treatment. Using a holistic sexuality framework, the study explored how women felt their sexual functioning, sexual relationships and sexual identity had been affected by treatment.DesignThe study was qualitative in nature and made use of an interpretive descriptive design. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.SettingData collection took place at a follow-up clinic within the gynaeoncology unit at a public-sector tertiary hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.ParticipantsPurposive sampling was used to recruit participants, and the final sample consisted of 34 women aged 29-70 ([Formula: see text]=52). All women had received a gynaecological cancer diagnosis and had been treated with either surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or a combination of these. On average, the participants were between 12 and 30 months post treatment.ResultsWomen expressed how their sexual functioning post treatment was both nuanced and complex, how heteronormative gender expectations influenced their intimate relationships, and how they experienced a re-embodiment of their sexual subjectivity post treatment. Participants felt that more sexual functioning information from healthcare providers, as well as peer support groups, would assist them in navigating the sexuality changes they experienced.ConclusionsThe findings of this study broaden conceptualisations of sexuality post treatment by detailing the ways that it is complex, nuanced, relational and ever shifting. More research is needed about how to incorporate holistic psychosexual support post treatment into the public healthcare system in South Africa.
| S-EPMC7513640 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundDirect associations of tobacco exposure during pregnancy with pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes have been proven. Previous studies suggest that expecting a child provides a valuable opportunity to promote behavioural changes, such as smoking cessation, among the male partners of pregnant women. Thorough understandings of Chinese expectant fathers' smoking behaviour during the transition to fatherhood is a prerequisite to the development of appropriate interventions to facilitate smoking cessation. This study aimed to explore the perceptions, behaviours and attitudes related to smoking among male partners of pregnant women in China.MethodsA descriptive phenomenological approach was adopted. A purposive sample of expectant fathers aged 18 years or older who had a tobacco use history within the past year were recruited at obstetrics and gynaecology clinics and invited to participate in one-to-one, 20-30-min semi-structured interviews. The data analysis followed Colaizzi's descriptive phenomenological method.ResultsTwenty-five expectant fathers were interviewed. Four themes were generated: 1) the benefits of smoking and respondents' misperceptions of the impact of smoking and SHS and neglectful attitude of the impact of smoking, which were given as the major reasons for continuing to smoke; 2) factors contributing to smoking cessation, including concern for the potential health impact of continued smoking on the pregnant partner and baby, the role of being father, and the encouragement to quit from family members; and 3) perceived barriers to smoking cessation, including withdrawal symptoms or cigarette cravings, absence of smoking cessation support, and increasing stress.ConclusionThis study provides a comprehensive understanding of the perception, behaviours, and attitudes related to smoking among Chinese expectant fathers. The findings of this study can guide healthcare professionals and policymakers in combining the distribution of educational information about the hazards of SHS for maternal and neonatal health with smoking cessation assistance for expectant fathers through policy initiatives and other types of incentives and programmes targeted to enhance smoking cessation among this population.Trial registrationProspectively registered at clinicaltrial.org ( NCT03401021 ) on 8 Jan 2018.
| S-EPMC8527705 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesTo gain deeper knowledge of factors promoting physical activity in women with fibromyalgia.DesignA qualitative study based on semistructured in-depth individual interviews. Analysed using qualitative content analysis.ParticipantsFourteen women with fibromyalgia, age 38-65, recruited from a previous randomised controlled trial investigating the effects of person-centred progressive resistance exercise compared with relaxation therapy.SettingInterviews were conducted in a hospital setting.ResultsThe analysis resulted in four categories: a desire to be physically active, finding the proper level and creating proper conditions, managing pain and getting it done.ConclusionThis study reveals several factors both personal and environmental, which promote the ability to be physically active when living with pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia. The participants expressed that, although they had a desire to be physically active, they needed support and guidance from a professional with adequate knowledge to help them find the proper level of exercise. They also expressed a need for the professional to understand their preferences, and to use these preferences as a basis for creating the proper conditions, helping them learn to manage pain and supporting them in getting the exercise done.
| S-EPMC7418681 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore women and partners' experiences following critical perinatal events.DesignThis is a qualitative interview study. We conducted semistructured individual interviews with women and their partners in separate rooms. Interviews were analysed thematically and validated by a transdisciplinary group of anthropologists, obstetricians and a midwife.SettingDepartment of obstetrics at a tertiary referral university hospital in Denmark.ParticipantsWomen and partners who had experienced a critical perinatal event within the past 3-12 months.ResultsWe conducted 17 interviews and identified three main themes: (1) ambivalence towards medicalisation, (2) the extended temporality of a critical birth and (3) postnatal loss of attention from healthcare professionals. Overall, participants expressed a high degree of trust in and quality of provided healthcare during the critical perinatal events. They experienced medicalisation (obstetric interventions) as a necessity, linking them to the safety of the child and their new role as responsible parents. However, some women experienced disempowerment when healthcare professionals overlooked their ability to stay actively involved during birth events. Postnatally, women and their partners experienced shortages of healthcare professional resources, absent healthcare and lack of attention.ConclusionsWomen and their partners' experiences of critical perinatal events begin long before and end long after the actual moment of childbirth, challenging conventional ideas about the birth as being the pivotal event in making families. In future healthcare planning, it is important to to align expectations and guide parental involvement in birth events and to acknowledge the postnatal period as equally crucial.
| S-EPMC7500299 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundShort message service (SMS) presents an opportunity to expand the reach of care and improve reproductive health outcomes. SMS could increase family planning (FP) use through education, support and demand generation. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the perspectives of potential FP users to inform design of SMS.MethodsWe conducted focus group discussions (FGD) with HIV-infected women and in-depth interviews (IDI) with male partners and health care workers (HCW) at urban and rural clinics in Kenya to design SMS content for a randomized controlled trial.ResultsWomen and men indicated SMS could be used as a tool to discuss FP with their partners, and help decrease misconceptions about FP. Women stated SMS could make them more comfortable discussing sensitive topics with HCWs compared to in-person discussions. However, some women expressed concerns about FP SMS particularly if they used FP covertly or feared partner disapproval of FP use. These findings were common among women who had not disclosed their status. Providers viewed SMS as an important tool for tracking patients and clinical triage in conjunction with routine clinical visits.ConclusionOur findings suggest that SMS has the potential to facilitate FP education, counselling, and interaction with HCWs around FP.
| S-EPMC6873397 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Globally only 79% of adults living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) know their status and men in sub-Saharan Africa are considered a particularly hard-to-reach population for HIV testing. Home-based HIV couple testing during the antenatal period is a safe and effective method that has been used to test male partners of pregnant women. The goal of this qualitative study was to identify elements that made couple testing successful and describe important characteristics of this home-based intervention from couples' perspectives. METHODS:Couples who received scheduled home-based couple testing during pregnancy in Kisumu, Kenya, were purposively sampled based on HIV status from January to May 2015. An interviewer administered all of the in-depth interviews and two coders were directly involved in the data analysis and reconciled codes several times in the process. RESULTS:Twenty-one couples were enrolled: 9 concordant HIV-negative couples, 8 HIV discordant couples, 3 HIV concordant HIV-positive couples, and 1 whose concordance status was unknown. Median age at the time of home-based couple testing was 24 and 28 years for women and men, respectively. Median relationship duration was 3 years and couples had a median of two pregnancies. The major themes that emerged were that home-based couple testing 1) removed the female burden of requesting couple testing, 2) overcame logistical barriers associated with clinic-based testing, 3) encouraged participants to overcome their fear of testing and disclosure, 4) provided privacy in the home, and 5) provided quality time with the health advisors. Importantly, some women appreciated individual testing at the clinic before couple testing and some couples preferred skilled, anonymous health advisors delivering the intervention rather than known community health workers. CONCLUSIONS:The results of this qualitative study suggest that home-based couple testing during pregnancy overcame many of the barriers that limit men's access to and uptake of clinic-based testing. It encouraged participants to overcome their fear of testing and disclosure through a setting that afforded privacy and quality time with skilled health advisors. These qualitative results may help design effective partner and couple HIV testing programs in the antenatal setting and alongside or within other assisted partner notification services. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Clinicaltrials.gov registry: NCT01784783. Registered prospectively on June 15, 2012.
| S-EPMC7236963 | biostudies-literature
Project description:FM is a complex syndrome with physiological, genetics and environmental factors involved. It can present changes in functional neuroimaging, in cortical excitability measurements performed by transcranial magnetic stimulation and in grey matter density. Similarly, it has been shown that patients with FM have abnormal autonomic control, inflammatory profile and dysfunctional hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis leading to disruptive sleep and fatigue. We characterized clinical and neurophysiological parameters and peripheral blood DNA methylation profiles of patients with FM and compared them to sex and age matched healthy controls. We hypothesized that these exploratory analyses could provide mechanistic insights into the pathophysiology of FM and possibly contribute to the future development of biological markers of diagnosis.We showed that patients with fibromyalgia have different (mainly hypo-) methylated CpG sites related to genes implicated in immune system and response to external stress pathways and that this methylation profile is related to a dysfunctional connectivity in pain network, adding evidence to consider fibromyalgia as a DOHAD disorder.
2017-08-10 | GSE85506 | GEO
Project description:Fibromyalgia Microbiome Analysis: data from Ebiomedicine paper "Gut microbiome and serum metabolome analyses identify molecular biomarkers and altered glutamate metabolism in fibromyalgia" by Clos-Garcia, M. et al.
| PRJEB27227 | ENA
Project description:BackgroundFertility declines with age, but it remains important to protect women from unplanned pregnancies throughout their reproductive lives. The objective of this study was to describe factors that influence modern contraceptive use among women aged 35 to 49 years and their male partners in Gomoa West District of Ghana.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted remotely for 22 women, 15 male partners of the women interviewed and seven family planning (FP) providers. In all, a total of 44 participants took part in the study. Seven refusals were recorded, four females and three males. Four focus group discussions were organized for 21 participants who took part in the in-depth interviews. Data collected were transcribed and coded after exporting to Nvivo12 qualitative analysis software. Thematic analysis was undertaken using an abductive approach.ResultsFactors that influenced the use of modern contraceptives included: achieved desired family size, providing for the family, counselling by health professionals, influence of the male partner, and health reasons. Barriers cited included: religious or socio-cultural reasons, experience or fear of side effects, rumors or misconceptions, declining fertility, and the belief that contraceptive use is a matter for women. Within the study group, roughly half of women used modern contraceptives, while the majority of male partners were non-users.ConclusionContraception among women aged 35 to 49 years and their male partners is influenced by several factors such as achieved desired family size, influence of the male partner, rumors or misconceptions, and declining fertility. Strengthening male involvement in family planning activities and health educational activities could alleviate fear and reduce misconceptions about using modern contraceptives.
| S-EPMC10398952 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Although there are public policies for eradicating congenital syphilis, they do not seem to be a routine in most health services. The objective of this study was to evaluate the management of sexual partners of pregnant women with syphilis in primary health care in northeastern Brazil. METHODS:This is a qualitative assessment carried out from February to October 2014 in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, northeastern region of Brazil, through the observation of six primary health care centers and interviews with 21 professionals, six coordinators, nine women diagnosed with syphilis during antenatal care and four sexual partners. The data were submitted to thematic content analysis. RESULTS:Important flaws were identified at the primary health centers studied regarding the management of syphilis during pregnancy. Accessing testing and treatment is difficult, and there are no standardized strategies to notify the partner. The responsibility for notifying them is transferred to the women, and counseling does not offer proper guidance nor sufficient emotional support to help them. CONCLUSION:The management of pregnant women and their sexual partners in our region does not comply with global recommendations. Professional qualification, sensitization, and standardization of health professionals' conduct are necessary. Offering support to health professionals on their clinical practices by means of a supervision process may contribute to the adoption of the recommended guidelines and to the promotion of care based on privacy, respect, confidentiality of information, and awareness of the problems faced by women as a result of syphilis diagnosis.
| S-EPMC6344990 | biostudies-literature