Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.3/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id LAA22266; Fri, 16 Jun 2000 11:26:43 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 11:26:43 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <s94a0ea0.096@langate.gsu.edu> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Daphne Greenberg" <ALCDGG@langate.gsu.edu> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:757] Re: Poor Women and Abuse-HIV X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise Internet Agent 5.5.3.1 Status: O Content-Length: 4396 Lines: 78 Thanks for sharing this article with us! It is appropriate to post/discuss anything related to women and literacy. This article pertains to the listserv focus in many ways. Some ways include: 1. From an instructional point of view: This is an interesting article to share with female adult learners-can lead to interesting discussions, writings, and knowledge building about topics such as HIV, abuse, health care, etc. 2. From a research point of view: This article gives us yet another question for research-how does abuse impact on the immunological system? Does abuse lead to more health related absences in school (I don't mean the actual abuse, which of course is related to increased absences, but even a further increase in absences due to a possible lower immunological system). Thanks for sharing, Daphne Daphne Greenberg Center for the Study of Adult Literacy Georgia State University University Plaza Atlanta, GA 30303-3083 Fax: 404-651-1415 Ph: 404-651-0400 E-mail: alcdgg@langate.gsu.edu >>> MMonteiro@doe.mass.edu 06/15 3:52 PM >>> This may or may not be helpful to the recent topic regarding poor women and abuse. Thought I would send it along for those who might be interested. Not certain what might be appropriate for this listserv. Marilyn Health Headlines Sources: Reuters </htx/hl/nm/> | AP </htx/hl/ap/> | Full Coverage <http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/health/> Wednesday June 14 6:43 PM ET HIV-Infected Women Often Victims of Abuse By Alan Mozes NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than two thirds of poor women who are seeking treatment for HIV in urban hospitals have been the victim of physical or sexual abuse, researchers report. Such women are three times as likely to visit the emergency department or to be hospitalized as women who have not been abused, according to Dr. Jane M. Liebschutz, of the Boston Medical Center at the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues. ``Physical and sexual abuse are common and associated with increased medical disease and healthcare utilization among HIV-infected women,'' the researchers write in the June 12th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. In the study, Liebschutz and colleagues followed 50 HIV-positive women for a 2-year period between 1994 and 1996. The women initially came to urban hospitals in either Boston, Massachusetts or Providence, Rhode Island seeking treatment for HIV. Liebschutz and her team found that 68% of the women had been abused at some point in the past, although half of the women did not initially tell doctors about the abuse. Those women who had been abused were at greater risk of chronic pain syndromes and sexually transmitted disease, as well as other serious problems. The investigators found that alcohol and injection drug abuse and HIV-related blood cell count levels did not account for this elevated risk. Specific diseases, such as pneumonia, were more likely to occur in the abused women. ``In some ways, this study raises more questions than it answers, since the relationship between abuse and health is not well understood,'' the authors point out. They suggest that the increased use of medical services may have a psychological dimension. For example, if a woman was ill, she may have viewed the hospital as a safe-haven from abusive relationships. Or it is possible that the stress due to abusive relationships actually made the women more susceptible to illnesses. Liebschutz and colleagues note that if abused HIV-positive women are turning to the US medical system as an escape from their torment--as well as due to a greater risk of illness--the care they receive in hospitals is an expensive and perhaps relatively ineffective form of help. ``In an era of reducing costly hospital stays, attending to these psychosocial conditions might address the patient's underlying needs and facilitate the channeling of resources more appropriately,'' the researchers write. Nonetheless, the study may help raise physician awareness as to women's exposure to violence. This could lead to more accurate history taking and more effective intervention to help the patients deal with the root of their physical and psychological traumas. SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine 2000;160;1659-1664. Dr. Marilyn Monteiro, Adult & Community Learning Services Massachusetts Department of Education Malden, MA. 02148 781-338-3879
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