National Park Seminary, a junior college, incorporated, for young women, Washington, D. C. suburbs [Calendar̈

Mode of access: Internet.

Improving supportive care for women with breast cancer in Australia: The challenge of modifying health systems

Although the benefits of many psychosocial support strategies in improving well being in women with breast cancer have been demonstrated, few women receive these programs as part of routine care. This paper provides some recommendations, based on experience in Australia, about how access to evidence-based supportive care strategies might be improved through modification of health systems. It demonstrates the paucity of research about the costs and health service implications of psychosocial support strategies, which is vital to health planning and service delivery change. It outlines the systematic approach taken in Australia to improving psychosocial support nationally by: the development of research reviews; preparation of guidelines about supportive care, implementation of programs to foster the adoption of guidelines through modification of policy, health service delivery and clinician training; and monitoring programs. Coalitions of government, health care professionals and consumers are key to effective lobbying for change. If all women with breast cancer are to receive better supportive care, there is a need for approaches which: refocus the research effort in psycho-oncology; develop more strategic approaches to generating change in health systems and health policy and foster partnerships to advocate for improved resources. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

Assessing the support needs of women with early breast cancer in Australia

The purpose of the current study was to access the degree to which the support needs of women with a newly diagnosed, early invasive, primary breast cancer and their families are being met. A random sample of 544 women diagnosed with early breast cancer was recruited to participate in a telephone survey via state and territory cancer registries. Sixteen percent of women reported not receiving enough support during their diagnosis and treatment, and only 65% of these women reported that their families received enough support. The primary sources of support for women and their families were medical practitioners (eg, surgeons, oncologists, and general practitioner) with very few women or family members utilizing mental health professionals. Given the importance of adequate support when being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer, urgent attention needs to be paid to training medical professionals in providing appropriate support and referrals for their patients.

Changes in smoking behaviour among young women over life stage transitions

Objective: To examine changes in smoking behaviour among young women over four life stages: leaving home; employment or attending college or university; marriage; and parenthood. Methods: Young women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health completed postal questionnaires in 1996 and 2000. Results: Unmarried women who moved out of their parents' home between 1996 and 2000 had higher odds of adopting smoking than those who had not lived with their parents at either time (OR 1.8, 95% Cl 1.2-2.6). Married women had lower odds of resuming smoking after quitting (OR 0.4, 95% Cl 0.2-0.7) than unmarried women. Women who were pregnant in 2000 had higher odds of quitting smoking (OR 3.8, 95% Cl 2.5-5.6) and women who were pregnant in 1996 and not in 2000 had higher odds of starting to smoke again (OR 3.2, 95% Cl 1.6-6.2) than women who were not pregnant. The odds of being a current smoker or adopting smoking were significantly greater for women who binge drank alcohol or used cannabis and other illicit drugs. Conclusions: Adoption, maintenance and cessation of smoking among young women is strongly related to major life stage transitions, illicit drug use and alcohol consumption. Implications: Life changes such as marriage and actual or contemplated pregnancy provide opportunities for targeted interventions to help women quit smoking and not relapse after having a baby. Legislation to control smoking on licensed premises would reduce the social pressure on women to smoke.

Choosing to have children or choosing to be childfree: Australian students' attitudes towards the decisions of heterosexual and lesbian women

Research has demonstrated that voluntarily childless heterosexual women, and lesbian women choosing to become mothers, are negatively stereotyped. However, there is little recent Australian research, and attitudes may have changed in line with changing family formation patterns. This study assessed young Australians' attitudes towards either a lesbian or a heterosexual woman who was planning, or not planning, to have children. One hundred and nineteen first year psychology students, and members of the general public, participated. The majority of participants were under 20, female, European Australian and single. Participants read a brief description of a woman who was variously described as having a male or a female partner, and as planning or not planning to have children. As expected, participants rated the heterosexual woman more favourably than the lesbian, and the woman wanting children more positively than the woman not wanting children. However, there was a trend for the lesbian woman planning to have children to be rated as happier, more mature and more individualistic than others. The legal and social implications associated with wanting to be a lesbian mother in Australia make motherhood a more difficult process for lesbian women than it does for heterosexual women, and may explain why lesbian women who have decided to take this difficult path are seen as happier and more mature, than women making more conventional life choices. While the predominantly young, female student sample limits the generality of the findings, they suggest that social attitudes towards female sexual orientation and women's childbirth decisions are changing.

From partying to parenthood: young women's perceptions of cigarette smoking across life transitions

This study explored influences on adoption, maintenance and cessation of smoking among young women as they experienced life transitions: leaving home, gaining employment or attending college/university, marriage and parenthood. Standardized, open-ended telephone interviews were conducted with 80 women (including never smokers, continuing smokers, recent adopters and quitters) aged 24-29 years, recruited from participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. The social context of smoking (socializing with other smokers, drinking alcohol and going to pubs and clubs) was perceived to be a predominant influence on smoking from the time young women left home until they settled into a committed relationship or started their own family. Stress was identified as an important factor as they experienced lifestyle changes. An increased sensitivity to the negative aspects of smoking after turning 21 was reported, and around the mid-20s the women became concerned about the addictive nature of cigarettes. Motherhood was seen to carry increased responsibilities to protect children from passive smoking and there was a perceived importance of positive role modelling to protect children from becoming smokers themselves. This study highlights the need for public health campaigns to address the social role that smoking plays in young women's lives, and the perceived use of cigarettes for stress relief. Life changes such as settling down with a partner and the contemplation of motherhood provide opportunities for targeted interventions to promote quitting.

Never-married childless women in Australia: Health and social circumstances in older age

A growing proportion of women reach older age without having married or having children. Assumptions that these older women are lonely, impoverished, and high users of social and health services are based on little evidence. This paper uses data from the Older cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health to describe self-reported demographics, physical and emotional health, and use of services among 10,108 women aged 73-78, of whom 2.7% are never-married and childless. The most striking characteristic of this group is their high levels of education, which are associated with fewer reported financial difficulties and higher rates of private health insurance. There are few differences in self-reported physical or emotional health or use of health services between these and other groups of older women. Compared with older married women with children, they make higher use of formal services such as home maintenance and meal services, and are also more likely to provide volunteer services and belong to social groups. Overall, there is no evidence to suggest that these women are a problem group. Rather, it seems that their life experiences and opportunities prepare them for a successful and productive older age. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Body iron is associated with cognitive executive planning function in college women

Evidence of the relationship between altered cognitive function and depleted Fe status is accumulating in women of reproductive age but the degree of Fe deficiency associated with negative neuropsychological outcomes needs to be delineated. Data are limited regarding this relationship in university women in whom optimal cognitive function is critical to academic success. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between body Fe, in the absence of Fe-deficiency anaemia, and neuropsychological function in young college women. Healthy, non-Anaemic undergraduate women (n 42) provided a blood sample and completed a standardised cognitive test battery consisting of one manual (Tower of London (TOL), a measure of central executive function) and five computerised (Bakan vigilance task, mental rotation, simple reaction time, immediate word recall and two-finger tapping) tasks. Women's body Fe ranged from - 4·2 to 8·1 mg/kg. General linear model ANOVA revealed a significant effect of body Fe on TOL planning time (P= 0.002). Spearman's correlation coefficients showed a significant inverse relationship between body Fe and TOL planning time for move categories 4 (r - 0.39, P= 0.01) and 5 (r - 0.47, P= 0.002). Performance on the computerised cognitive tasks was not affected by body Fe level. These findings suggest that Fe status in the absence of anaemia is positively associated with central executive function in otherwise healthy college women. Copyright © The Authors 2012.