In recognition of the barriers to optimal reproductive and sexual health for women affected by HIV, The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) recently launched the Midwest HIV Prevention and Pregnancy Planning Initiative which aims to reduce HIV infections and increase pregnancy planning among women in high HIV prevalence communities in the Midwest by increasing the ...Read more >

We propose a partnership between the University of Chicago and the ACLU of Illinois to convene an interdisciplinary team on religious health systems in the Chicago metropolitan area. We will conduct background research and develop a subsequent project aimed at investigating the impact of religiously-affiliated hospital system policies on the provision of sexual and reproductive ...Read more >

Objectives: This project explored the reproductive health of Rohingya women and girls in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and documented their experiences accessing sexual and reproductive health services in Malaysia. Areas of interest included contraception, abortion, sexual and gender-based violence, and adolescent reproductive health. We also interviewed key informants about Rohingya women’s experiences in Malaysia and mapped ...Read more >

Unintended pregnancy continues to be a significant public health problem in the US despite widespread use of contraception. Contraceptive counseling is an important mediator of contraceptive selection and use, but there is little data to indicate what constitutes effective contraceptive counseling. An intervention which improves patient education and counseling has the potential to improve contraceptive ...Read more >

Background: With the historic legalization of abortion in Nepal in 2002, descriptive data on the prevalence of legal abortion services are now available, but little is known about access to contraception and method use, or reproductive behaviors and intentions following abortion. Our mixed-method study examined women’s contraceptive use and continuation after obtaining a legal abortion, ...Read more >

Purpose: This study examined whether 15-19 year old IUD users were more likely to experience complications, failure, or early discontinuation than older users and whether there were differences between users of levonorgestrel-containing IUDs (LNG-IUS) and copper-containing IUDs (CuT380A). Scope: Many US providers remain reluctant to prescribe intrauterine devices (IUDs) to teenagers due to concerns about ...Read more >

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether oral contraceptives (OCPs), Levonorgestrel (LNG) intrauterine devices (IUDs), and Copper IUDs block the up-regulated expression of the L-selectin ligand to determine if this mechanism of action makes feasible a non-hormonal, highly effective “on demand” contraceptive. Methods: We studied L-selectin expression in the endometrium of women ...Read more >

Background: The 2010 elections in Myanmar installed the country’s first civilian-elected government in more than 50 years, and subsequent growth and change have been rapid. However, reproductive health indicators are generally poor and reflect significant regional and geographic disparities. Rural populations are increasingly migrating to urban centers, like Yangon, in search of better economic opportunities ...Read more >

Objectives: Describe the experiences of leaders of abortion services. Define the leadership role and explore leaders’ motivations, challenges, sources of resilience, impact of stigma on their lives and work, and impressions of the future of abortion care leadership. Methods: In-depth interviews with 29 US abortion-care leaders in diverse practice settings. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and ...Read more >

Women with intellectual disabilities (ID) face significant barriers to accessing reproductive health care options, including contraception and abortion. Though reducing health disparities for adults with ID has emerged as an important public health priority, disparities in reproductive health care access remain largely unaddressed, and somewhat taboo, even among disability researchers. The existing literature has focused ...Read more >