This is a mixed methods implementation study of women who utilize a syringe exchange program (SEP) in Seattle. This study had two phases: a qualitative needs assessment and implementation of contraceptive services with prospective cohort study. Phase 1. Qualitative assessment: We conducted individual interviews to assess perceived barriers and facilitators to provision of contraceptive services ...Read more >

Chicago, Illinois has a substantially higher rate of violent crime than much of the United States. For many adolescents living in this city, community violence exposure (CVE) is a part of daily life. CVE has been previously linked to both psychosocial problems and risk behaviors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate these risk ...Read more >

Over the past 10 years, collectively, states have proposed and/or enacted hundreds of restrictions on abortion. Some restrictions are directed at adolescents and women (e.g., parental involvement laws, biased counseling requirements, restrictions on state funding for abortion, mandatory waiting periods) which for many may prevent them from accessing abortion. Other restrictions are directed at abortion providers ...Read more >

Background: Unmet need for postpartum contraception in rural Nepal remains high. Strategies that integrate contraceptive counseling along the continuum of reproductive health care are more effective than single isolated counseling sessions. Through a public-private partnership, Possible, an NGO, is utilizing a system of intensive Community Health Worker (CHW) outreach to deliver antenatal, postnatal, and infant care. The ...Read more >

Objective: To estimate the effect of oral opioids on patient pain during first-trimester medical abortion. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial where patients up to 10 0/7 weeks of gestation undergoing a medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol took 10 mg oral oxycodone or placebo at onset of painful cramping. Additionally, all patients ...Read more >

Adolescents are prone to high-risk sexual behavior which exposes individuals to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancy. Health disparities account for marked variations in STI and unintended pregnancy rates amongst different adolescent subgroups. Latinx adolescents have pregnancy rates that are two times higher and STI rates that are five to eight times higher than ...Read more >

Rh negative women may become sensitized to Rho D when the antigen is present on the fetal red blood cells of an index pregnancy. This sensitization can lead to hemolytic disease of the newborn in subsequent pregnancies.  ~15% of women in the United States are Rh negative and at risk of becoming immunized.  Rh immune globulin ...Read more >

Intranasal fentanyl has been previously studied for acute pain reduction in children and adults.  Its use includes managment of pain with long-bone fractures, abscess drainage, cancer breakthough pain, and labor pain.  We conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing the administration of 100 mcg intranasal fentanyl to placebo for the reduction of reported pain associated with first ...Read more >

Background: Overnight osmotic dilators are an essential, yet potentially painful, component of cervical preparation prior to dilation and evacuation procedure. Little research has been done evaluating women’s experience with osmotic dilators. Gabapentin is an attractive option for dilator-associated pain due to low cost, no addictive potential, and few medical contraindications. Statement of purpose: We propose ...Read more >

Obesity is a major public health problem in the United States, and the number of bariatric procedures has exponentially increased in the last decade concordant with this epidemic. Bariatric surgery affords several important long-term benefits, but for women of reproductive age there may be complications that are of particular importance to pregnancies conceived in the ...Read more >