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AJPH NEWS Release
EMBARGOED UNTIL April 1, 2002, 4:00 PM (ET)
CONTACT: For copies of articles, call Kendra Fitzgordon, (202) 777-2436
All articles are online at www.ajph.org
American Journal of Public Health: April 2002 Highlights
The articles highlighted below appear in the April 2002 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of the American Public Health Association.
__________
African-American Women in Rural Areas Far Less Concerned With HIV Risks
Compared with their counterparts in cities, low-income African-American
women in rural areas were twice as likely to report:
Rural women were 50 percent less likely to report ever
having gonorrhea or syphilis and not using condoms because their
current partner had tested negative for HIV infection. The authors
conclude that rural African-American women may be an especially
important target audience for HIV prevention initiatives. Results
from a statewide survey in Missouri of 571 African-American women
attending a federally funded nutrition program for low-income
women.
[From: "HIV-Associated Histories,
Perceptions, and Practices Among Low-Income African American Women:
Does Rural Residence Matter?" Contact: Richard A. Crosby;
Emory University; 770-982-7527]
Later Childbirth, Education Keys to Mortality for African-American Women
According to a new study, education and having children before
age 25 appear to be the secrets to long life for African-American
women. African-American women who gave birth after age 25 were
twice as likely to die as those who gave birth at younger ages,
especially after age 55. In addition, after adjusting for age,
the death rates of women who lived in households with incomes
below the poverty line were about one-third higher than those
of women whose households had higher incomes. Data were derived
from a study of African-American mothers whose median age in 1966
was 31.
[From: "Early Adult Characteristics
and Mortality Among Inner-City African American Women." Contact:
Nan Marie Astone; Johns Hopkins University; 410-955-1821]
Injection Drug Use Greatest Risk Factor for Hepatitis C
Infection in Low-Income Women
A new study finds low-income women infected with the Hepatitis
C virus (HCV) are more likely to have a history of injection and
non-injection drug use, to exchange sex for money or drugs and
to have sexually transmitted infections. HCV was independently
associated with a history of injection drug use, herpes simplex
virus type 2 infection and heroin and cocaine use. More than 1700
women ages 18 to 29 living in low-income neighborhoods in northern
California were surveyed and screened for sexually transmitted
infections and HCV. Authors of the study suggest that HCV prevention
programs in impoverished areas should integrate drug treatment
and sexually transmitted infection control.
[From: "Hepatitis C Infection in Young,
Low-Income Women: The Role of Sexually Transmitted Infection as
a Potential Cofactor for HIV Infection." Contact: Kimberly
Page-Shafer; Univ. of California; 415-597-4954]
Pap Test Use High Among African-American Women
A new study examining the relationship between risk factors for
cervical cancer and Papanicolaou (Pap) test use finds that African-American
women have the highest use of Pap tests among reproductive-age
women. In addition, reproductive-age women at greater risk for
cervical cancer because of their sexual practices or reproductive
health history had significantly higher use of the Pap test in
the past year than women without such risk factors (68% vs. 57%).
Findings come from analyses of the 1995 National Survey of Family
Growth, a demographic and health survey of 10,847 women ages 15
to 44. Use of the Pap test was also significantly lower among
uninsured, poor and foreign-born women and among women with less
education. Authors of the study suggest strategies to improve
Pap test use include educational campaigns that inform women of
cervical cancer risk factors and encourage screening and increased
support for programs that expand access to testing.
[From: "Papanicolaou Test Use Among
Reproductive-Age Women at High Risk for Cervical Cancer: Analyses
of the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth." Contact: Maria
Hewitt, Institute of Medicine; 202-334-1721]
The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly Journal of the American Public Health Association, the oldest and largest organization of public health professionals in the world and the foremost publisher of public health-related books and periodicals promoting high scientific standards, action programs and policy for good health. The Journal is online at www.ajph.org. If you have press credentials and would like access to full text, please contact the APHA Communications Department at 202-777-2436 or email kendra.fitzgordon{at}apha.org to receive a complimentary subscription. Access to abstracts, news releases, and alerting services is free to all readers.
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