Dear AJPM  reader,


March is Women’s History Month and , appropriately, women’s health has been in the news lately with major news outlets reporting on  racial disparities in childbirth mortality , new research on the biological mechanisms of pregnancy and childbirth , and the relative lack of scientific understanding of pregnancy compared with other common conditions. Last month also saw the U.S. Senate defeat highly controversial legislation around late-term abortions , while the Trump administration proposal for significant revisions to Title X family planning programs that would prohibit healthcare providers in taxpayer funded clinics from referring their patients for abortions moves forward in Congress.

Our March issue highlights women’s health with a number of excellent studies listed below, including access to contraceptive care, disparities in prenatal care by maternal disability, differences in Pap test use, vaccination practices by obstetricians/gynecologists, and patterns of chlamydia repeat testing.  

Frost JJ, Lindberg LD.
  • This study found adolescent girls and young women were more likely to receive contraceptive care from private providers than from publicly funded clinics and were also more likely to use health insurance to pay for contraceptive services in 2011-2015, compared to 2002.
Horner-Johnson W, Biel FM, Caughey, Darney BG.
  • This analysis of prenatal care disparities in women with disabilities found that women with disabilities are generally more likely to receive delayed care and fewer prenatal visits than women without disabilities.
Zhang D, Zhang C, Sun X, Zhao Y, Tan Q, Zhou J, Huang H.
  • This study examined associations between BMI and physical inactivity and Pap test use among Asian women in the U.S. and found women with an underweight BMI had lower rates of Pap test use. 
O’Leary ST, Riley LE, Lindley MC, Allison MA, Crane LA, Hurley LP, Beaty BL, Brtnikova M, Collins M, Albert AP, Fisher AK, Jiles AJ, Kempe A.
  • This study found that while obstetrician-gynecologists frequently assess and administer human papillomavirus; influenza; and tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis vaccines to non-pregnant patients, less than 30% assess and administer other recommended vaccines.
Dee EC, Hsu KK, Kruskal BA, Menchaca JT, Zambarano B, Cocoros N, Herrick B, Payne Weiss MD, Hafer E, Erani E, Josephson M, Young J, Torrone EA, Flagg EW, Klompas M.
  • An analysis of Massachusetts EHR data found no significant increases in chlamydia test-of-cure or test-of-reinfection rates from 2010 to 2015. Less than half of pregnant females received test-of-cure or test-of-reinfection and far lower percentages of non-pregnant females and males with positive chlamydia tests had test-of-reinfection administered. 

We hope you find these articles, and the rest of our March issue, to be topical, timely, and thought provoking.

Yours in prevention and health,


Matthew L. Boulton, MD, MPH
Editor-in-Chief

American Journal of Preventive Medicine