Megan K Allen, Dwayne Alan Nelson, George William Stone
{"title":"Pelvic Floor Disorders Among U.S. Military Active-Duty Females.","authors":"Megan K Allen, Dwayne Alan Nelson, George William Stone","doi":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001533","DOIUrl":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001533","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Importance: </strong>Women are a growing cohort within the U.S. military. Pelvic floor health is a component of health maintenance for which support needs vary by sex. The American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology reports that 1 in 4 women is affected by moderate to severe pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). Understanding the specific experience of female service members is warranted for health care optimization and preservation of force readiness.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>We aimed to identify the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors associated with incident PFD in active-duty females during an 11-year window.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>We used the Medical Assessment and Readiness System at Womack Army Medical Center, which includes medical record and personnel data from 2011 to 2022. Pelvic floor dysfunction diagnoses were identified using diagnosis codes and analyzed with respect to demographic parameters.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Between 2011 and 2022, 32,996 of 550,303 active-duty females were diagnosed with PFD (period prevalence: 6.00%). Using 2011-2012 as a washout period, 27,046 of 486,558 participants were diagnosed during 1,879,990.90 person-years of follow-up (incidence rate: 14.39 cases per 1,000 person-years). The incidence rate of PFD increased in both new and established active-duty females. Increasing time since service entry was the strongest, statistically significant independent predictor of PFD. Three or more deployments and specific physical fitness scoring were also predictors of PFD.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The incidence rate of PFD among female service members is increasing, and multiple military-specific factors predict PFD. As the percentage of women in active-duty service continues to grow, additional investigation is needed to confirm PFD trends, illuminate other predictors, and prevent adverse outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":75288,"journal":{"name":"Urogynecology (Hagerstown, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":"880-887"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141285553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julia K Shinnick, Araba A Jackson, Russel Stanley, Tasha Serna-Gallegos, Brittni Boyd, Ivrose Joseph, Deepanjana Das, Anna Pancheshnikov, Matthew M Scarpaci, Vivian W Sung
{"title":"Prolapse Treatment-Related Decisional Conflict After New Patient Visits.","authors":"Julia K Shinnick, Araba A Jackson, Russel Stanley, Tasha Serna-Gallegos, Brittni Boyd, Ivrose Joseph, Deepanjana Das, Anna Pancheshnikov, Matthew M Scarpaci, Vivian W Sung","doi":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001570","DOIUrl":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001570","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Importance: </strong>Patients with pelvic organ prolapse are often tasked with deciding between treatments. Decisional conflict is a measure of factors that go into effective decision making.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to compare prolapse treatment-related decisional conflict reported by underrepresented patients (URPs) to non-URPs after new patient visits.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>A multicenter cohort study of new patients counseled regarding management of prolapse from July 2021 to December 2022 was performed. Participants completed the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS), a validated measure of modifiable factors in decision making. Higher scores indicate feeling less comfortable with decisions. Race and ethnicity were viewed as social constructs. A URP was defined as self-identification with a non-White race or Hispanic ethnicity. Alpha was set at 0.05, power 80%, to detect an effect size of 0.4 between mean DCS scores.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 207 participants (103 URPs, 49.8%), with a mean age of 63.4 ± 11.9 years and mean body mass index of 29.7 ± 6.9 (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared), completed the study. Much of the URP group self-identified as Hispanic (50/103, 48.5%) and/or Black (39/103, 37.9%), and 30 of 103 (29.1%) had an interpreter at their visit. A greater proportion of non-URPs had a prior hysterectomy (16.1% difference; P = 0.017) and prolapse surgery (18/204, 10.5% difference; P = 0.020). A greater proportion of URPs had hypertension (23.6% difference; P = <0.001). There were no differences in the other pelvic floor disorders, prolapse stage, or treatments selected (all P > 0.05). The mean DCS scores were not different between groups (URP, 12.9 ± 12.3 vs non-URP, 11.6 ± 14.9; P = 0.31). Household income, education, and insurance were not associated with DCS scores (all P > 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Decisional Conflict Scale scores were not significantly different between groups. Possible differences between subgroups warrant further investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":75288,"journal":{"name":"Urogynecology (Hagerstown, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":"919-928"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142334096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lauren Nicola-Ducey, Olivia Nolan, Sara Cichowski, Blake Osmundsen
{"title":"Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Sacrocolpopexy Approach.","authors":"Lauren Nicola-Ducey, Olivia Nolan, Sara Cichowski, Blake Osmundsen","doi":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001546","DOIUrl":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001546","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Importance: </strong>Racial inequity elevates risk for certain diagnoses and health disparities. Current data show disparities for Black women when comparing open versus minimally invasive hysterectomy. It is unknown if a similar disparity exists in surgical management of pelvic organ prolapse.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The objective of this study was to determine whether racial or ethnic disparities exist for open abdominal versus minimally invasive sacrocolpopexy.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>Cross-sectional data of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample and the Nationwide Ambulatory Surgery Sample for the year 2019 was used. Bivariate analysis identified demographic and perioperative differences between abdominal versus minimally invasive sacrocolpopexy, which were compared in a multivariable logistic regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Forty-one thousand eight hundred thirty-seven patients underwent sacrocolpopexy: 35,820 (85.6%), minimally invasive sacrocolpopexy, and 6,016, (14.4%) abdominal sacrocolpopexy. In an unadjusted analysis, Black patients were more likely to undergo an abdominal sacrocolpopexy compared to non-Hispanic White patients (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.16-3.92, P <0.01). Hispanic patients were more likely to undergo abdominal sacrocolpopexy compared to non-Hispanic White patients (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.26-2.26, P <0.001). Other factors associated with abdominal sacrocolpopexy are zip code quartile, payer status, composite comorbidity score, hospital control, and hospital bed size. In the regression model, Black patients remained more likely to undergo abdominal sacrocolpopexy compared to those who identified as White (aOR 2, 95% CI 1.26-3.16, P < 0.003). Hispanic patients were more likely to undergo abdominal sacrocolpopexy compared to those who identified as White (aOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.31-2.28, P < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Abdominal sacrocolpopexy was more likely to occur in patients who identified as Black or Hispanic.</p>","PeriodicalId":75288,"journal":{"name":"Urogynecology (Hagerstown, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":"906-918"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141592316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dora Jericevic Schwartz, Isabella Cervantes, A U Amanda Nwaba, Mary Duarte Thibault, Moiuri Siddique
{"title":"Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injury and Female Sexual Dysfunction: A Systematic Review.","authors":"Dora Jericevic Schwartz, Isabella Cervantes, A U Amanda Nwaba, Mary Duarte Thibault, Moiuri Siddique","doi":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001593","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/SPV.0000000000001593","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Importance: </strong>This is the first systematic review on female sexual dysfunction (FSD) in patients who sustained obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI).</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The aim of the study was to characterize FSD following OASI.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>Between January and April 2024, we conducted a literature search of studies that explored outcomes of FSD following OASI, reporting on rates of dyspareunia and/or using questionnaires that measured female sexual function.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Fourteen studies with 1,907 OASI patients met inclusion criteria. Rates of dyspareunia in the first year after OASI ranged from 27% to 35% with only 40%-57% of women having resumed sexual activity at 3 months postpartum. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ-12) were the most utilized questionnaires. Using the FSFI, the range of FSD was 47%-81% among patients with OASI. The FSFI subdomain scores (maximum 6) for desire and arousal had the least improvement with time, ranging from 1.3-2.1 at 2 months to 3-3.1 at 4 months. Pain, lubrication, and orgasm domains showed greater improvement with time, ranging from 1.4-1.6 at 2 months and up to 3.5-3.8 at 4 months. Five studies used the PISQ-12 with mean scores of 34.1-39 (range 0-48), 3 of which included a non-OASI control group and found similar PISQ-12 scores between groups. Physical therapy did not significantly impact FSD.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>One-third of patients with OASI experience dyspareunia in the first year postpartum, 1in 2 patients do not resume intercourse at 3 months postpartum, and FSD, measured by the FSFI, may be present in 80% of women with OASI at 3 months postpartum.</p>","PeriodicalId":75288,"journal":{"name":"Urogynecology (Hagerstown, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142549367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Initial Validation of AUGS-PERFORM: Construct Validity and Test-Retest Reliability.","authors":"Alejandro Gómez-Viso, Nicole Díaz, Tracy Truong, Alaatin Erkanli, Nazema Siddiqui","doi":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001587","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/SPV.0000000000001587","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Importance: </strong>The American Urogynecologic Society's Prolapse pERFORmance Measure (AUGS-PERFORM) patient-reported outcome measure contains 11 items designed to assess symptoms relevant for assessing the quality of treatment for pelvic organ prolapse.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The aim of the study was to test AUGS-PERFORM's construct validity and test-retest reliability.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>For this prospective validation study, we recruited English-speaking adult participants, at a single academic institution, seeking care for pelvic organ prolapse. Participants completed AUGS-PERFORM, the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory, and several Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System short forms at baseline. We compared the 11 AUGS-PERFORM items against items testing the same concepts on other questionnaires using percent agreement, kappa statistics, and linear regression to determine construct validity. Two weeks later and before any pelvic organ prolapse therapy, participants completed AUGS-PERFORM a second time. Test-retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We enrolled 148 participants between 27 and 86 years of age: 81% self-identified as White, 56% were sexually active, and 84% elected surgery for treatment. The AUGS-PERFORM items assessing bulge presence and bother had a high percent agreement with the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory item #3 (83.5 and 70%, respectively). The percent agreement ranged from 69% to 75% for items assessing urinary and defecatory symptoms and from 49% to 56% for pain-related questions. Sexual function items had a strong negative correlation (expected direction based on scoring) with validated sexual function questionnaires. The intraclass correlation coefficient was estimated to be 0.86, indicating excellent test-retest reliability.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The AUGS-PERFORM demonstrated good construct validity for prolapse, urinary incontinence, defecatory dysfunction, and sexual function questions, and moderate construct validity for pain-related questions. There was excellent test-retest reliability.</p>","PeriodicalId":75288,"journal":{"name":"Urogynecology (Hagerstown, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142514425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katia A DaSilva, Do H Lee, Emma K Sterling, Alison H Hong, Sara Rahman, Charelle M Carter-Brooks
{"title":"Younger Age Is Associated With Pelvic Floor Muscle Dysfunction in Women With Urinary Symptoms.","authors":"Katia A DaSilva, Do H Lee, Emma K Sterling, Alison H Hong, Sara Rahman, Charelle M Carter-Brooks","doi":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001557","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/SPV.0000000000001557","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Importance: </strong>Recent articles have highlighted the existence of pelvic floor myofascial dysfunction in women presenting with pelvic floor disorders.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The aim of the study was to evaluate whether younger age is associated with pelvic floor muscle dysfunction in women with lower urinary tract symptoms, including urinary urgency, frequency, nocturia, and urinary incontinence.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>This retrospective cohort study included women seeking an initial outpatient urogynecology evaluation for urinary symptoms from 8/2018 to 2/2022. The primary outcome was the presence of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, defined as a diagnosis of levator myalgia/spasm. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four hundred twenty-one women with lower urinary tract symptoms were included, and 115 (27.3%) were diagnosed with pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. Women with pelvic floor dysfunction were 13 years younger, less likely to report any incontinence (60% vs 71.9%, P = 0.026) and urgency incontinence (8.7% vs 17.3%, P = 0.04). There was no difference in reported urgency, frequency, or nocturia. Women with pelvic floor dysfunction were more likely to report dysuria (19.1% vs 9.5%, P = 0.012), dyspareunia (39% vs 7.5%, P < 0.001), vulvodynia (11.3% vs 2.3%, P < 0.001), and pelvic pain (25.2% vs 7.2%, P < 0.001). The odds of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction in women <40 years old was 2.34 times greater than women ≥40 years old, after adjusting for other factors (adjusted odds ratio 2.341, 95% confidence interval [1.102, 4.972]).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Younger women with lower urinary tract symptoms were significantly more likely to have pelvic floor muscle dysfunction compared to older women with similar symptoms, even after controlling for other associated characteristics.</p>","PeriodicalId":75288,"journal":{"name":"Urogynecology (Hagerstown, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142482722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brittany Roberts, Ashar Ata, Erin C Deverdis, Helena Randle, Katherine Husk, Bradley Jacobs, Gillian Wolff, Rebecca Rogers
{"title":"The Effect of Medicaid Expansion on Access to Anti-incontinence Surgery.","authors":"Brittany Roberts, Ashar Ata, Erin C Deverdis, Helena Randle, Katherine Husk, Bradley Jacobs, Gillian Wolff, Rebecca Rogers","doi":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001592","DOIUrl":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001592","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Importance: </strong>Medicaid expansion broadened access to care; however, limited data about the effect on access to anti-incontinence surgical procedures exist.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion in 2014, some regions have had more states adopt expansion (NE-Northeast, W-West) than other regions (S-South, MW-Midwest). We aimed to determine if the proportion of Medicaid funded anti-incontinence procedures increased after Medicaid expansion and whether increases were different by U.S. region.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>This was a retrospective cohort study.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The 2012-2018 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample was reviewed for anti-incontinence surgical procedures. Medicaid supported surgical procedures were compared by region and year, and among marginalized populations. During the study period 66,510 surgical procedures were performed. Medicaid as a primary payer for anti-incontinence procedures increased from 10% to 12% (P = <0.001) between 2012 and 2018. The percentage of Medicaid supported procedures performed in the NE (13%) and W (17%) were greater than MW (9%) and S (8%). Procedures among Black, Hispanic or lowest income quartile patients were lowest in the S and did not increase after expansion during the study period (2012 vs 2018, all P = NS). When controlling for confounders, the MW (odds ratio [OR] 0.58; 95% CI 0.46-0.74) and S (OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.26-0.42) were less likely to have Medicaid covered surgical procedures compared to the NE and W (OR 1.04; 95% CI 0.84-1.29).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Nationally, the percentage of Medicaid-supported anti-incontinence procedures increased after expansion. Northeast and W access to procedures increased, and access by marginalized populations broadened, while the S and MW had the most limited proportion of anti-incontinence surgical procedures covered by Medicaid.</p>","PeriodicalId":75288,"journal":{"name":"Urogynecology (Hagerstown, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142670046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ty Erickson, Edward Gheiler, Craig E Hanson, Rebecca McCrery, Mitesh Parekh, Mohamad Parva, Le Mai Tu
{"title":"Patient Satisfaction and QoL in SUI: Results With Single-Incision or Full-Length Slings.","authors":"Ty Erickson, Edward Gheiler, Craig E Hanson, Rebecca McCrery, Mitesh Parekh, Mohamad Parva, Le Mai Tu","doi":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001586","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/SPV.0000000000001586","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Importance: </strong>Understanding treatment impact on quality of life of patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in the short- and long-term is vital to optimizing treatment success.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to report 36-month patient satisfaction and quality of life results from a 522 study of single-incision and full-length slings in SUI.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>This was a secondary analysis of the Altis 522 study, a prospective, multicenter, nonrandomized, noninferiority cohort study comparing the Altis single-incision sling to full-length slings for the treatment of SUI. The current study endpoints are patient-reported outcomes on quality of life related to continence status at 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months, measured through patient-reported, validated questionnaires: Urogenital Distress Inventory, Incontinence Impact Questionnaire, Patient Global Impression of Improvement, and Surgical Satisfaction Questionnaire.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 355 women underwent the sling procedure (184, Altis group; 171, comparator group). At 36 months, 140 (76.0%) of Altis and 101 (59.1%) of comparator group patients were assessed. Patient Global Impression of Improvement at 36 months indicated that 92.9% of Altis and 90.1% of comparator patients reported that their condition was \"very much better\" or \"much better\" (P = 0.444). Urogenital Distress Inventory at 36 months indicated improvement in quality of life in both groups with a mean change from baseline of 41.7 ± 19.3 (Altis group; n = 140) versus 44.4 ± 22.2 (comparator group; n = 101) (P = 0.305). The Incontinence Impact Questionnaire indicated average quality-of-life improvement of 50% in both groups from presurgery to 36 months, with a mean change from baseline of 51.8 ± 25.8 (Altis group) versus 50.2 ± 25.1 (comparator group) (P = 0.619).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This 36-month study demonstrated the lasting, positive effect that surgical intervention can have on patients with SUI.</p>","PeriodicalId":75288,"journal":{"name":"Urogynecology (Hagerstown, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142482720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rachel A Clark, Deborah Landis Lewis, Christopher X Hong
{"title":"Urogynecologic Care for Women Who Are Incarcerated.","authors":"Rachel A Clark, Deborah Landis Lewis, Christopher X Hong","doi":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001590","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/SPV.0000000000001590","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the United States, approximately 180,700 women are incarcerated across jails and prisons, comprising a demographic with an aging population and a higher growth rate compared to men. Despite this demographic trend, research into urogynecologic care for women who are incarcerated is notably lacking, with few studies addressing pelvic floor disorders such as incontinence, and even fewer focusing on access to treatment options like vaginal pessaries or surgical interventions. Women who are incarcerated may face unique challenges in obtaining urogynecologic care, including limited access to medical evaluations, invasive search procedures affecting intravaginal device use, and inadequate hygiene resources, all of which hinder effective management strategies. Barriers to nonsurgical treatments like pelvic floor physical therapy are exacerbated by transportation logistics, while access to surgical interventions is impeded by complex approval processes within correctional facilities. In addition, managing incontinence with limited access to hygiene products and bathroom facilities further compromises the health and dignity of incarcerated women. Urgent attention and advocacy are needed to address disparities in research and clinical care for incarcerated populations. As a first step, we urge clinicians to acquaint themselves with the correctional facilities in their areas and the current health care pathways for women incarcerated in these facilities. It is our collective responsibility to ensure equitable and compassionate care for this vulnerable population.</p>","PeriodicalId":75288,"journal":{"name":"Urogynecology (Hagerstown, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142904252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jennifer H Lee, Ciara Sanchez, Bria Johnson, Katherine L Woodburn, Cheryl B Iglesia
{"title":"Missing History: Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy's Legacy in Gynecologic Textbooks.","authors":"Jennifer H Lee, Ciara Sanchez, Bria Johnson, Katherine L Woodburn, Cheryl B Iglesia","doi":"10.1097/SPV.0000000000001584","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/SPV.0000000000001584","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>The legacy of J. Marion Sims as the \"father of gynecology\" has become widely controversial among medical professionals and lay public because of ethical concerns surrounding the development of his surgical techniques and his exploitation of enslaved women for his experiments. Notably, in April 2018, the City of New York relocated a commemorative statue of Sims from Central Park following an art commission's investigation of his controversial practices. The relocation was viewed by many as a public acknowledgement of the contributions of Anarcha, Betsey, Lucy, and the other enslaved women to the advancement of gynecologic surgery. However, despite the increased public awareness of the women's sacrifices in recent years medical literature has not kept pace. We compared the portrayal of Sims and these enslaved women within current gynecology textbooks, prior editions, and historical medical literature. We found that gynecologic textbooks more often mention J. Marion Sims by name (74%) compared to the enslaved women he experimented on (24%). Neither current gynecologic surgery textbooks nor primary historical sources contain significant references to these women, meaning much of their story has been lost to history. While there has been increased public knowledge of the sacrifices of Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy and other enslaved women, lay recognition is not enough. Full acknowledgment of their contributions necessitates crediting their roles in Sims' experiments and stating their names in medical literature.</p>","PeriodicalId":75288,"journal":{"name":"Urogynecology (Hagerstown, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142904250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}