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Blogs Comment On Birth Control Affordability, Abortion Waiting Periods, Patient Rights, Other Topics
The following summarizes women"s health-related blog entries.~ "One in Ten Women Worries About Her Ability To Keep Paying for Contraception," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch: A Gallup poll released at a conference of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists showed the "alarming news" that women "say that using birth control is extremely important to them but, increasingly, they can"t afford it." The poll reveals that 6% of women using hormonal birth control said they stopped using it because they could not afford it, and 10% said they are worried that they might become unable to afford contraception. On average, women reported that reliable contraception is a "9" on a scale of importance, with the maximum being 10. In addition, those who said they have been greatly affected by the recession were more than twice as likely as others to report deciding to limit the size of their families -- 29% compared with 13%. Page writes, "While family planning in tough economic times is no doubt a reasonable path," the survey shows another "alarming finding: women are sacrificing their health when their pocketbooks are pinched." She writes that the "Obama administration could not have had better timing" in releasing its report on women and health care, which details, among other things, how women in their reproductive years pay higher insurance premiums than men. Page says the White House report and the Gallup poll show that the "cost disparity has a cascading effect" on women and that the "necessities they are forced to give up include contraception." According to Page, "Lucky for us, the Obama administration is approaching the health care crisis with the understanding that women and men might not have equal access to the care they need" and seeks to "view women"s health and rights as critical pieces of our nation"s recovery plan." She concludes, "Beginning to feel better already" (Page, Birth Control Watch, 5/14).~ ""Timeouts" For Grown Women," Lynn Harris, Salon"s Broadsheet: Currently, 24 states have laws requiring women to receive counseling and wait -- usually for 24 hours -- before undergoing an abortion, which basically "amounts to giving grown women a timeout," Harris writes. She cites a recent Guttmacher Institute analysis, which finds that abortion counseling and waiting periods have "next to no effect at all," except to "likely increase both the personal and the financial costs of obtaining an abortion, thereby preventing some women from accessing abortion services," according to the Guttmacher report. Harris continues that earlier research "unsurprisingly" confirms that women "have usually decided to go through with the procedure before they call to make their appointment." Therefore, "mandated, scripted in-person "counseling" is, at best, an exercise mainly in shame and burdensome logistics," Harris writes. She notes that these "restrictions are sold to lawmakers and voters wrapped in the sheep"s clothing of "informed consent."" However, such laws "are intended primarily to block abortion access," according to Lawrence Finer, co-author of the Guttmacher report. Harris concludes that "the most epic fail[ure] here of all" is "the amount of time and res and energy spent to establish, administer -- and circumvent -- these spurious, fatuous laws," which could "otherwise be spent, call me crazy, taking care of living, breathing women and children" (Harris, Salon"s Broadsheet, 5/13).~ "Patients" Rights Suddenly "Sacred" to Scared GOP," Lois Uttley, RH Reality Check: GOP strategist Frank Luntz has become the "newest defender of reproductive rights" by advising congressional Republicans "on how to defeat health reform this year by scaring voters about a "Washington takeover of health care,"" Uttley writes. Luntz, in a leaked GOP strategy memo on challenging the Democrats public health insurance plan option, is trying to "reinvent a group of politicians who have spent the last eight years standing for maximum government interference in Ameri Don't forget to buy zoloft online no prescription.

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Dying At Home: A Trend That Could Make Hospitals More Efficient
Hospitals across Canada are seeking ways to free up beds. University of Alberta researcher Donna Wilson has a suggestion: people should be encouraged to die at home rather than in hospital.
Oncology

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Is An Effective Treatment For Chronic Insomnia

A majority of people experiencing chronic insomnia can experience a normalization of sleep parameters through the use of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Results indicate that 50 percent to 60 percent of participants with chronic sleep onset insomnia, sleep maintenance insomnia or both experienced remission of their primary sleep difficulty. Among the 64 participants who completed five or more treatment sessions, there were significant improvements on presenting complaints, as well as all other measures, including sleep efficiency, average nightly awakenings, total sleep time and average nights of sleep medication use per week. According to lead author Ryan Wetzler, Psy.D, C.B.S.M. of Sleep Medicine Specialists in Louisville, Ky., results of the study indicate that multi-component CBT-I can be an effective approach for those experiencing chronic insomnia even when anxiety and depression are part of the clinical picture. "CBT-I teaches strategies to "reset" the bodily systems that regulate sleep," said Wetzler. "Since these systems also play a role in regulation of mood, pain and other bodily processes, skills developed through CBT-I may also have a positive impact on mood, anxiety, pain and other associated medical or psychiatric conditions." The study gathered data from 115 patients who had visited the Insomnia Treatment Program and Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic. Study participants included those with complaints of prolonged (more than 30 minutes) sleep onset latency (SOL), sleep maintenance insomnia (SMI), or both sleep onset and sleep maintenance insomnia (SOMI), and who had attended at least two treatment sessions. Participants were between the ages of 14 and 81 years, and 65 percent of the sample was female. The multi-component, CBT-I program included comprehensive evaluations of patients" habits, attitudes and knowledge concerning sleep. The program was designed to involve six to seven treatment sessions. Specific strategies included education on sleep regulating systems, sleep scheduling recommendations, sleep hygiene education, sleep consolidation therapy, stimulus control therapy, relaxation training, cognitive therapy and mindfulness training. According to Wetzler, a related study found that of participants who completed at least four treatment sessions of CBT-I, 78 percent of those using sleep medication for three or more nights per week were able to completely discontinue use of sleep medications. Findings from this study indicate that those who discontinued use of sleep medications not only stopped using drugs to sleep but also slept better than when they were taking sleep medications. Abstract Title: Effectiveness of a Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program for Chronic Insomnia Presentation Date: Tuesday, June 9 Category: Sleep Disorders - Insomnia Abstract ID: 0821 Kelly Wagner American Academy of Sleep Medicine


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