{"title":"The persistence of high rates of child marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia: A scoping review.","authors":"Chimaraoke Izugbara, Kirabo Suubi, Chryspin Afifu, Tijani Salami, Evelyne Opondo","doi":"10.1080/07399332.2024.2385328","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07399332.2024.2385328","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While there is evidence that child marriage (CM) is reducing globally, rates in many contexts remain far too high. To understand the persistence of high rates of CM, we searched multiple databases for peer-reviewed, English language articles published between 2000 and 2023. High CM rates are continuing in circumstances of tenacious unequal gender norms, widespread poverty, limited schooling and economic prospects for girls, and weak awareness and enforcement of CM laws. Other contributing factors were opposition to women and girls' sexual, bodily, and reproductive rights; weak birth registration systems; a high proportion of women who married young in previous generations; early puberty; improved girls' agency; and the growing number of boys and young men who, having acquired locally prized masculinity resources, feel compelled to marry. We highlight the implications of the review findings for future research, policy and programmatic efforts aimed at addressing the persistence of CM.</p>","PeriodicalId":47836,"journal":{"name":"Health Care for Women International","volume":" ","pages":"211-234"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141861258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"'The more you know'.","authors":"Elizabeth Fugate-Whitlock","doi":"10.1080/07399332.2026.2651655","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2026.2651655","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47836,"journal":{"name":"Health Care for Women International","volume":"47 2","pages":"109-110"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147700310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mehmet Micoogullari, Ayse Volkan, Emine Handan Tuzun
{"title":"Comparative effectiveness of myofascial release and Kinesio Taping for dysmenorrhea relief: A randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Mehmet Micoogullari, Ayse Volkan, Emine Handan Tuzun","doi":"10.1080/07399332.2026.2671895","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07399332.2026.2671895","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dysmenorrhea is a common physiological condition experienced during menstruation. We aimed to compare the short-term effects of Myofascial Release Technique (MRT) and Kinesio Taping (KT) on pain, fatigue, and menstrual symptom severity in individuals with primary dysmenorrhea (PD). Forty-five individuals diagnosed with PD were randomly assigned to three groups: MRT, KT, and control. Pain and fatigue severity were measured using the Visual Analog Scale, while menstrual symptom severity was assessed using the Menstrual Symptom Scale, both before and after the interventions. Both the MRT and KT groups showed a statistically significant reduction in pain and fatigue severity compared to the control group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). No statistically significant differences were found among the three groups in menstrual symptom severity (<i>p</i> > 0.05). MRT and KT are effective, noninvasive, and generally well-tolerated methods for alleviating pain and fatigue in individuals with PD.</p>","PeriodicalId":47836,"journal":{"name":"Health Care for Women International","volume":" ","pages":"591-613"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148044062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Utilization and determinants of antenatal care services among women in rural hilly regions of Kalimpong and Darjeeling, India: In light of the revised WHO guideline.","authors":"Dipika Subba, Priyanka Debnath, Diksha Chettri, Astapati Hemram","doi":"10.1080/07399332.2026.2683612","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07399332.2026.2683612","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antenatal care (ANC) is a critical component of maternal and child health, as it enhances outcomes for both the mother and her newborn. We assessed ANC utilization and its key determinants in the rural hilly districts of Kalimpong and Darjeeling, focusing on ANC visits, ANC quality, and complete ANC. A cross-sectional study of 660 women aged 15-49 was analyzed using descriptive, bivariate, and logistic regression analyses. The results of the authors' analysis reveal a substantial gap in both the frequency and quality of ANC. Women's education emerged as a key determinant, positively influencing all ANC outcomes, while distance to health facilities and alcohol use during pregnancy reduced utilization. Higher income and ASHA counseling increased optimal ANC visits, whereas health care autonomy and frequent ASHA visits were associated with adequate ANC quality. We emphasized that comprehensive ANC requires enhancing socioeconomic strategies, improving facility access, ASHA support, and addressing pregnancy-related behavioral risks.</p>","PeriodicalId":47836,"journal":{"name":"Health Care for Women International","volume":" ","pages":"801-822"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148206661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Feelings of dissonance.","authors":"Elizabeth Fugate-Whitlock","doi":"10.1080/07399332.2026.2631359","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2026.2631359","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47836,"journal":{"name":"Health Care for Women International","volume":"47 1","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147285659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Siriwan Tangjitgamol, Rapeephan R Maude, Natapon Ativanichayapong, Rebecca Walsh, Ellen Beer, Kamonwan Kaprakhon, Chayanan Chaowanklang
{"title":"Prevalence and pattern of abnormal menstruation after COVID-19 infection.","authors":"Siriwan Tangjitgamol, Rapeephan R Maude, Natapon Ativanichayapong, Rebecca Walsh, Ellen Beer, Kamonwan Kaprakhon, Chayanan Chaowanklang","doi":"10.1080/07399332.2026.2617332","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07399332.2026.2617332","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The authors' objective in this study was to evaluate the prevalence of abnormal menstruation after COVID infection as well as the type of abnormality and risk factors. Data of women who still had menstruation with a history of COVID infection from February 2021 to June 2022 were collected. Clinical features, the presence and pattern of abnormal menstruation post-infection, were obtained through the questionnaire. Of 87 women, the mean age was 33.5 ± 7.2 years. Nine had preexisting menstrual abnormalities (10.3%). The abnormalities were found in 20 women (23.0%), or 2.2-fold higher post-infection. Among these, 17 women (68.0%) had newly developed symptoms. Irregular menstruation was most common in both settings, 33.3% pre-infection and 20.0% post-infection. By univariate analysis, features with higher risk were age ≤ 33 years (crude odds ratio [cOR] 1.61), obesity (cOR 1.74), COVID vaccination > 3 doses (cOR 3.28), > 1 episode of infection (cOR 3.94), contraception use before (OR 1.47) or after infection (cOR 1.92), abnormal menstruation before COVID infection (cOR 44.0), and presence of other long COVID symptoms (cOR 2.09). The differences were statistically significant for vaccination > 3 doses and had abnormal menstruation pre-infection, with the latter as an independent risk by multivariate analysis (adjusted OR 39.58). The prevalence of abnormal menstruation post-COVID infection was 23%. Abnormal menstruation pre-infection was an independent risk factor.</p>","PeriodicalId":47836,"journal":{"name":"Health Care for Women International","volume":" ","pages":"614-628"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146107958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of relationships across the life course.","authors":"Elizabeth Fugate-Whitlock","doi":"10.1080/07399332.2026.2660596","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2026.2660596","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47836,"journal":{"name":"Health Care for Women International","volume":"47 3","pages":"209-210"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147876085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Delinking stigma and vulnerability: HIV/AIDS, South African Women and epistemic solidarity through literary narrative.","authors":"Rajendra Chetty, Goutam Karmakar","doi":"10.1080/07399332.2023.2248919","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07399332.2023.2248919","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47836,"journal":{"name":"Health Care for Women International","volume":" ","pages":"314-322"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10069851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of Kinesio Taping method on menstrual pain: A randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study.","authors":"Dalibor Kiseljak, Daria Dragojević, Olivera Petrak","doi":"10.1080/07399332.2023.2208074","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07399332.2023.2208074","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Current research promotes complementary methods of coping with menstrual pain (MP). Our objective was to examine the effectiveness of the Kinesio Taping (KT) intervention on MP and determine whether KT has therapeutic impact or whether there is presence of placebo. We used crossover design, dividing 30 female participants into KT and placebo KT groups. Every phase included one menstrual cycle. The average age of participants was 23.5 years (ranging from 18 to 39 years). In the assessment, we used VAS, Brief Pain Inventory Scale, and some SF-36 subscales. In KT phase all types of pain (the average MP, the worst experienced MP, the mildest one, and the current MP) were significantly less intense. KT has beneficial effect in reducing MP and its consequences and it is significantly superior to placebo. The order of intervention showed no statistical significance, which also confirms the therapeutic effect of KT.</p>","PeriodicalId":47836,"journal":{"name":"Health Care for Women International","volume":" ","pages":"568-590"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9486755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Seeking recovery and relief.","authors":"Elizabeth Fugate-Whitlock","doi":"10.1080/07399332.2026.2709299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2026.2709299","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47836,"journal":{"name":"Health Care for Women International","volume":"47 6","pages":"629-630"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148686337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}