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Women’s Health across the Lifespan: New Technologies, Digital Health, and Screening Tests

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Women's Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (7 April 2023) | Viewed by 9435

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tessa Copp

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Guest Editor

School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Interests: women’s health; reproductive health; behavioural research; decision making; overdiagnosis

Dr. Brooke Nickel

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Guest Editor

School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Interests: public health; cancer; communication; decision making; screening

Dr. Shannon McKinn

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Guest Editor

School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Interests: public health; global health; communication; health literacy; decision making; maternal health; screening

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Women’s health has traditionally been under-researched and underfunded, meaning knowledge gaps are abundant when it comes to women’s health across the lifespan. However, there has been an explosion in new, sensitive, and innovative medical technology, products, and services, such as 3D mammography, increased availability of prenatal and fertility testing, a rise in self-monitoring devices, health and wellbeing apps, and direct-to-consumer testing focused on improving women’s health. All of these have had a major impact, which is rapidly changing the healthcare of women.

The application of these new technologies has given women more access to detailed information about their health than ever before, increasing the potential to recognise and detect disease as well as our ability to identify and target personalised risk factors, revolutionising screening and preventative medicine. However, they can also bring new challenges. Some of these technologies can be implemented without evidence of how women may experience them. They may also bring unintended consequences, such as increased uncertainty, false positives, and overdiagnosis, increasing the need for better communication and decision-making.

This Special Issue focuses on women’s health across the lifespan and its convergence with new technologies, digital health, and screening tests. More research is vital to understand the benefits and harms, observe emerging trends, and inform future policy. We invite manuscripts of high-quality qualitative, experimental, and quantitative studies, as well as reviews.

Dr. Tessa Copp
Dr. Brooke Nickel
Dr. Shannon McKinn
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

women’s health
reproductive health
maternal health
digital health
screening tests
emerging technologies
decision making
communication

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 1068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Intervention Mapping to Develop a Workplace Digital Health Intervention for Preconception, Pregnant, and Postpartum Women: The Health in Planning, Pregnancy and Postpartum (HiPPP) Portal

by Claire Blewitt, Melissa Savaglio, Seonad K. Madden, Donna Meechan, Amanda O’Connor, Helen Skouteris and Briony Hill

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(22), 15078; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215078 - 16 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2660

Abstract

Digital health interventions that specifically target working women across the preconception, pregnancy and postpartum (PPP) life stages may address the unique barriers to engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviours and self-care during this life phase. This paper describes the development of a workplace digital health intervention to promote healthy lifestyles and wellbeing for PPP women working at a community service organization in Australia. Intervention Mapping is a framework that guides program development, implementation, and evaluation. Steps 1 to 5 of Intervention Mapping methodology (needs assessment through to program implementation) were used, including identification of determinants and change objectives across socioecological levels (i.e., individual, interpersonal, and organisational) and iterative co-design and stakeholder engagement processes. The workplace digital health intervention was successfully developed and implemented as an online portal. Content included key strategies, information, and supports to promote health and wellbeing across PPP, including supporting the return to work in the postpartum period. Examples of resource pages included a parental leave checklist, process flows, Pride resources, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources. Findings from a pilot feasibility study indicate the portal was accessible and beneficial for women in PPP life stages. The Intervention Mapping protocol may offer a valuable roadmap for collaborative design of interventions targeting PPP women’s behaviour and organisational work culture. Future work is needed to evaluate whether such interventions lead to improvements in women’s health and wellbeing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women’s Health across the Lifespan: New Technologies, Digital Health, and Screening Tests)

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11 pages, 316 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Australian General Practitioners’ Current Knowledge, Understanding, and Feelings Regarding Breast Density Information and Notification: A Cross-Sectional Study

by Hankiz Dolan, Kirsten McCaffery, Nehmat Houssami, Meagan Brennan, Melanie Dorrington, Erin Cvejic, Jolyn Hersch, Angela Verde, Lisa Vaccaro and Brooke Nickel

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9029; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159029 - 25 Jul 2022

Viewed by 1390

Abstract

Background: There is a lack of evidence around Australian general practitioners’ (GPs) views of issues surrounding breast density. The current study aimed to quantitatively assess GPs’ current knowledge, understanding, and feelings around breast density information and notification. Methods: This study involved a cross-sectional survey using an online platform to collect quantitative data from Australian GPs. Survey data were analysed with descriptive statistics. Results: A total 60 responses from GPs were analysed. Most (n = 58; 97%) had heard or read about breast density and nearly 90% (n = 52; 87%) have had discussions about breast density with patients. Three-quarters (n = 45; 75%) were supportive of making breast density notification mandatory for patients with dense tissue and a similar proportion (n = 45/58; 78%) felt they need or want more education on breast density. Conclusions: There is strong support for notifying patients of breast density, and interest in further education and training among the surveyed GPs. As GPs play a central role in cancer prevention and control, their involvement in discussions related to breast density notification, evaluation and appraisal of evidence, development of communication strategies, and participation in ongoing research on the topic will be indispensable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women’s Health across the Lifespan: New Technologies, Digital Health, and Screening Tests)

Review

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17 pages, 2224 KiB

Open AccessReview

Considerations for Evaluating the Introduction of New Cancer Screening Technology: Use of Interval Cancers to Assess Potential Benefits and Harms

by Rachel Farber, Nehmat Houssami, Isabelle Barnes, Kevin McGeechan, Alexandra Barratt and Katy J. L. Bell

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(22), 14647; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192214647 - 8 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1551

Abstract

This framework focuses on the importance of the consideration of the downstream intermediate and long-term health outcomes when a change to a screening program is introduced. The authors present a methodology for utilising the relationship between screen-detected and interval cancer rates to infer the benefits and harms associated with a change to the program. A review of the previous use of these measures in the literature is presented. The framework presents other aspects to consider when utilizing this methodology, and builds upon an existing framework that helps researchers, clinicians, and policy makers to consider the impacts of changes to screening programs on health outcomes. It is hoped that this research will inform future evaluative studies to assess the benefits and harms of changes to screening programs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Women’s Health across the Lifespan: New Technologies, Digital Health, and Screening Tests)

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