142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

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Sexual and Reproductive Health for Women of All Ages: A Global Perspective

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 11:09 AM - 11:22 AM

Padmini Murthy, MD, MPH, MS, CHES , New York Medical College School of Public Health, Pleasant Valley, NY
Amy Ansehl, DNP, FNP-BC , Partnership for a Healthy Population, New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice, Valhalla, NY
Gregory Owens, MPH , School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
When women lack access to safe, comprehensive and easily accessible reproductive health services, the  resulting consequences can be a major barrier to their general health and wellbeing but also affects their socio economic  and cultural wellbeing and that of their  families and communities. Unfortunately in many countries women face a tremendous challenge as there is a great unmet need for their contraceptive needs.

 Cultural practices such as early marriage and female genital mutilation in many countries cause tremendous harm to the sexual and reproductive health  of girls and women.

According to the World Health Organization “When national Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health strategies are not implemented effectively, adolescents and young people are unable to obtain the sexuality and reproductive health education they need in their schools and communities, and sexual and reproductive health services they need from health facilities in their communities. The result is unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and STIs including HIV infection.”

In order to address these challenges and improve access to reproductive health services for adolescents and women there needs to be sustained efforts at grass roots by the national and local governments, UN agencies, foundations, NGOs   and it is crucial to have policies and programs which are inclusive and focus on women’s reproductive and sexual health from the cradle to the grave.  This includes promoting contraceptive use among adolescent girls  and women globally and to have in place age appropriate and culturally acceptable sex education and  provision of confidential and respectful contraceptive access.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the challenges faced by women with regard to their sexual health Explain why sexual health needs of women vary at different stages of her life cycle .

Keyword(s): Reproductive Health, Women's Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been working in the area of health as a professor, physician and public health professional for the past 25 years.I have published extensively , edited books and presented at national and international conferences. I have expertise in women's health issues.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.