Nisha Fahey

Access to Emergency Contraception for Adolescents

This research letter describes a study which sought to understand differences in availability of and access to emergency contraception across low- and non--low-income United States neighborhoods. It specifically examined same-day availability of emergency contraception whether emergency contraception could be accessed by the caller and whether the pharmacy communicated the correct age at which emergency contraception is accessible over-the-counter.

Pharmacy Communication to Adolescents and Their Physicians Regarding Access to Emergency Contraception

OBJECTIVE: Emergency contraception (EC) is an effective pregnancy prevention strategy. EC is available without a prescription to those aged 17 years or older. The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy of information provided to adolescents and their physicians when they telephone pharmacies to inquire about EC. METHODS: By using standardized scripts, female callers telephoned 943 pharmacies in 5 US cities posing as 17-year-old adolescents or as physicians calling on behalf of their 17-year-old patients. McNemar tests were used to compare outcomes between adolescent and physician callers. RESULTS: Seven hundred fifty-nine pharmacies (80%) indicated to adolescent callers, and 766 (81%) to physician callers, that EC was available on the day of the call. However, 145 pharmacies (19%) incorrectly told the adolescent callers that it would be impossible to obtain EC under any circumstances, compared with 23 pharmacies (3%) for physician callers. Pharmacies conveyed the correct age to dispense EC without a prescription in 431 adolescent calls (57%) and 466 physician calls (61%). Compared with physician callers, adolescent callers were put on hold more often (54% vs 26%) and spoke to self-identified pharmacists less often (3% vs 12%, P < .0001). When EC was not available, 36% and 33% of pharmacies called by adolescents and physicians respectively offered no additional suggestions on how to obtain it. CONCLUSIONS: Most pharmacies report having EC in stock. However, misinformation regarding who can take EC, and at what age it is available without a prescription, is common. Such misinformation may create barriers to timely access.

The presence of physician champions improved Kangaroo Mother Care in rural western India.

This study determined the effect of physician champions on the two main components of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC): skin‐to‐skin care and breastfeeding.

Association of common mental disorder symptoms with health and healthcare factors among women in rural western India: results of a cross-sectional survey

Objectives Information about common mental disorders (CMD) is needed to guide policy and clinical interventions in low-income and middle-income countries. This studys purpose was to characterise the association of CMD symptoms with 3 inter-related health and healthcare factors among women from rural western India based on a representative, cross-sectional survey. Setting Surveys were conducted in the waiting area of various outpatient clinics at a tertiary care hospital and in 16 rural villages in the Anand district of Gujarat, India. Participants 700 Gujarati-speaking women between the ages of 18–45 years who resided in the Anand district of Gujarat, India, were recruited in a quasi-randomised manner. Primary and secondary outcomes measures CMD symptoms, ascertained using WHOs Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20), were associated with self-reported (1) number of healthcare visits in the prior year; (2) health status and (3) portion of yearly income expended on healthcare. Results Data from 658 participants were used in this analysis; 19 surveys were excluded due to incompleteness, 18 surveys were excluded because the participants were visiting hospitalised patients and 5 surveys were classified as outliers. Overall, 155 (22·8%) participants screened positive for CMD symptoms (SRQ-20 score ≥8) with most (81.9%) not previously diagnosed despite contact with healthcare provider in the prior year. On adjusted analyses, screening positive for CMD symptoms was associated with worse category in self-reported health status (cumulative OR=9.39; 95% CI 5·97 to 14·76), higher portion of household income expended on healthcare (cumulative OR=2·31; 95% CL 1·52 to 3.52) and increased healthcare visits in the prior year (incidence rate ratio=1·24; 95% CI 1·07 to 1·44). Conclusions The high prevalence of potential CMD among women in rural India that is unrecognised and associated with adverse health and financial indicators highlights the individual and public health burden of CMD.

Education Mitigates the Relationship of Stress and Mental Disorders Among Rural Indian Women

BACKGROUND Common mental disorders (CMD) are a constellation of mental health conditions that include depression, anxiety, and other related nonpsychotic affective disorders. Qualitative explanatory models of mental health among reproductive-aged women in India reveal that distress is strongly associated with CMD. The relationship of perceived stress and CMD might be attenuated or exacerbated based on an individual’s sociodemographic characteristics. OBJECTIVES To screen for Common Mental Disorders (CMD) among reproductive-aged women from rural western India and explore how the relationship between perceived stress and CMD screening status varies by sociodemographic characteristics. METHODS Cross-sectional survey of 700 women from rural Gujarat, India. CMD screening status was assessed using Self-Reported Questionnaire 20 (SRQ-20). Factors associated with CMD screening status were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression. Effect modification for the relationship of perceived stress and CMD screening status was assessed using interaction terms and interpreted in terms of predicted probabilities. FINDINGS The analytic cohort included 663 women, with roughly 1 in 4 screening positive for CMD (157, 23.7%). Poor income, low education, food insecurity, and recurrent thoughts after traumatic events were associated with increased risk of positive CMD screen. Perceived stress was closely associated with CMD screening status. Higher education attenuated the relationship between high levels of stress and CMD screening status (82.3%, 88.8%, 32.9%; P value for trend: 0.03). Increasing income and age attenuated the link between moderate stress and CMD. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest a high burden of possible CMD among reproductive-aged women from rural western India. Higher education might mitigate the association between elevated stress and CMD. Future efforts to improve mental health in rural India should focus on preventing CMD by enhancing rural women’s self-efficacy and problem-solving capabilities to overcome challenging life events and stressors, thereby reducing the risk of CMD.

RAHI-SATHI Indo-U.S. Collaboration: the evolution of a trainee-led twinning model in global health into a multidisciplinary collaborative program.

RAHI–SATHI presents an innovative twinning model of global health academic partnership, resulting in a number of successful research activities, that features trainees or students as the driving force, complemented by strategic institutional support from both sides of the partnership. Others can promote similar student-led initiatives by: (1) accepting an expanded role for trainees in global health programs, (2) creating structured research and program opportunities for trainees, (3) developing a network of faculty and trainees interested in global health, (4) sharing extramural global health funding opportunities with faculty and trainees, and (5) offering seed funding. RAHI–SATHI presents an innovative twinning model of global health academic partnership, resulting in a number of successful research activities, that features trainees or students as the driving force, complemented by strategic institutional support from both sides of the partnership. Others can promote similar student-led initiatives by: (1) accepting an expanded role for trainees in global health programs, (2) creating structured research and program opportunities for trainees, (3) developing a network of faculty and trainees interested in global health, (4) sharing extramural global health funding opportunities with faculty and trainees, and (5) offering seed funding. ABSTRACT Background: In recent years there has been a surge in the number of global health programs operated by academic institutions. However, most of the existing programs describe partnerships that are primarily faculty-driven and supported by extramural funding. Program Description: Research and Advocacy for Health in India (RAHI, or “pathfinder” in Hindi) and Support and Action Towards Health-Equity in India (SATHI, or “partnership” in Hindi) are 2 interconnected, collaborative efforts between the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and Charutar Arogya Mandal (CAM), a medical college and a tertiary care center in rural western India. The RAHI–SATHI program is the culmination of a series of student/trainee-led research and capacity strengthening initiatives that received institutional support in the form of faculty mentorship and seed funding. RAHI–SATHIs trainee-led twinning approach overcomes traditional barriers faced by global health programs. Trainees help mitigate geographical barriers by acting as a bridge between members from different institutions, garner cultural insight through their ability to immerse themselves in a community, and overcome expertise limitations through pre-planned structured mentorship from faculty of both institutions. Trainees play a central role in cultivating trust among the team members and, in the process, they acquire personal leadership skills that may benefit them in their future careers. Conclusion: This paradigm of trainee-led twinning partnership promotes sustainability in an uncertain funding climate and provides a roadmap for conducting foundational work that is essential for the development of a broad, university-wide global health program.

Study protocol for Smartphone Monitoring for Atrial fibrillation in Real-Time in India (SMART-India): a community-based screening and referral programme

Introduction Atrial fibrillation (AF), the world’s most common arrhythmia, often goes undetected and untreated in low-resource communities, including India, where AF epidemiology is undefined. AF is an important risk factor for stroke, which plagues an estimated 1.6 million Indians annually. As such, early detection of AF and management of high-risk patients is critically important to decrease stroke burden in individuals with AF. This study aims to describe the epidemiology of AF in Anand District, Gujarat, India, characterise the clinical profile of individuals who are diagnosed with AF and determine the performance of two mobile technologies for community-based AF screening. Methods This observational study builds on findings from a previous feasibility study and leverages two novel technologies as well as an existing community health programme to perform door-to-door AF screening for 2000 people from 60 villages of Anand District, Gujarat, India using local health workers. A single-lead ECG and a pulse-based application is used to screen each individual for AF three times over a period of 5 days. Participants with suspected arrhythmias are followed up by study cardiologist who makes final diagnoses. Participants diagnosed with AF are initiated on treatment based on current anticoagulation guidelines and clinical reasoning. Analytical plan Age-stratified and sex-stratified prevalence of AF in the Anand District will be calculated for sample and estimated for Anand distribution using survey design weights. Sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with AF will be evaluated using multivariable regression methods. Performance of each mobile technology in detecting AF will be evaluated using a 12-lead ECG interpretation as the gold standard. Ethics and dissemination This protocol was approved separately by the Institutional Review Board of University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Human Research Ethics Committee at Charutar Arogya Mandal. The findings of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences.

Are There Two Types of Suicidal Ideation Among Women in Rural India

Per World Health Organization (WHO) data, 1 million people commit suicide yearly, with more than 80% occurring in lowand middle-income countries; India and China alone account for 60% of worldwide occurrences. In India, suicide deaths among women are equivalent in number to deaths from perinatal causes and double those due to HIV/AIDS. Despite worldwide prevalence disparities, the literature on suicide continues to comprise studies conducted in Western, high-income countries. Only 1.3% of studies published on suicide originate from India or China. Suicide is a crime in India and thus under-reporting and general stigma likely contribute to the paucity of relevant literature; there is a critical need to study suicide in India. We present descriptive findings from a cross-sectional survey conducted in rural Gujarat, India, that expands the discussion on suicide among young women and poses the question: Are there two types of suicidal ideation among women in rural India? 94 95 96 97 98 METHODS