Objectives: To develop and pilot test a mobile phone game intervention to decrease high risk sexual behavior (e.g. vaginal intercourse without condoms, multiple sexual partners, intercourse under the influence of drugs) in a group of 15-17 year-old Black and Latino adolescents. Methods: Iterative mixed methods design to create and develop a game prototype in waves ...Read more >

Immediate postpartum initiation of the etonogestrel contraceptive implant has been proven to decrease rates of rapid, repeat pregnancies. Evidence supports that in healthy women with term infants initiation of the contraceptive implant 1-3 days postpartum does not appear to have any adverse effects on lactogenesis or breastfeeding continuation. However, no high quality study to date ...Read more >

Objectives: To compare abortion-related morbidities and adverse events and costs from abortions provided at Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) versus office-based settings. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 49287 women continuously enrolled in US private health insurance who had 50311 induced abortions in ASCs or office-based settings 2011 – 2014. Outcomes were ascertained during the six weeks ...Read more >

Background: More than two decades of research has shown associations among partner violence, reproductive control, and detrimental sexual and reproductive health outcomes including lower use of condoms and other contraceptives, higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, HIV, urinary tract infections, unintended and teen pregnancies, and poor birth outcomes as well as miscarriage due to physical ...Read more >

Objectives: Despite data suggesting a relationship between HIV transmission and hormonal contraception, prior studies have only investigated the mechanism of hormonal influence at the level of the vaginal epithelium, neglecting genital mucus. The Levonorgestrel-Intrauterine System (Mirena, LNG-IUS) exerts contraceptive action by thickening cervical mucus. Changes in cervical mucus induced by the LNG-IUS might impact HIV ...Read more >

Introduction: In 2006, Mexico’s annual abortion rate was 33 per 1000 women of reproductive age. Complications from unsafe abortions account for 8-11% of maternal deaths, and unsafe abortion is the fourth cause of maternal mortality. Access to safe abortion services continues to be restricted throughout the majority of Mexico and laws vary among the 32 ...Read more >

This proposal brings together a creative and skilled interdisciplinary group to answer the following question: How can the stories and experiences of abortion providers be used to change public conversations about abortion, reduce abortion stigma, and stop the proliferation of state-level abortion restrictions? Two of the investigators (Harris and Martin) have developed a repository of ...Read more >

Objective: To investigate the effect of state-mandated abortion counseling requirements intended to dissuade women from having abortions on patients’ individual-level abortion stigma. Methods: We randomized women presenting for abortion to complete a demographic survey and the validated Individual Level Abortion Stigma (ILAS) scale either before (unexposed) or after (exposed) hearing the mandatory Pennsylvania Abortion Control ...Read more >

Objectives: The crucial question facing the contemporary abortion rights movement is why the gay and lesbian movement is winning and abortion rights is losing. Comparisons generally locate their divergent trajectories in the intrinsic nature of each movement’s claim, but research has not investigated how the histories and structures of each matter for their respective outcomes. ...Read more >

Objectives: We aimed to determine if an innovative system-level intervention offering postpartum women contraceptive counseling and provision in conjunction with their infant’s well-baby visit (WBV) increases utilization rates of long-acting reversible contraception, and describe facilitators and barriers to implementation. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial among women bringing their infants (4.5 months of age ...Read more >