The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that diverse risk variables including infections during the index pregnancy independently increase the risk of preterm premature rupture of amniotic membranes (PROM) and preterm delivery without PROM. A case-control design was used to study women 15-45 years old who had preterm PROM, full-term PROM or preterm without PROM and were singly matched by age race and parity to controls who delivered full-term infants. The odds for preterm PROM was 6.0 times that of controls among women with intra-amniotic infection, 3.7 times among those with urinary tract and 7.6 times among women with gonorrhoea infections after controlling for the effects of exposure to cigarette smoke, having previous preterm and full-term PROM deliveries and antepartum bleeding that independently increased the odds. The odds for preterm births without PROM was 4.8 times that of controls among women with a previous preterm PROM birth, was significantly increased among those exposed to cigarette smoke or having antepartum bleeding, but not among those exposed to chlamydia infection. Even after adjusting for concomitant risk factors, women with preterm PROM births were more likely than their matched controls to have had infections.

Although leisure is held to provide positive health benefits, structural and social obstacles deny equal participation to the disenfranchised. Employing quantitative and unique qualitative (e.g., Photovoice) methods, we examined the leisure behaviors of older women who were living in the United States and diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Findings pointed to differences in time for, access to, and meaning of leisure in pre- vs. post-infection leisure for these women. As the disease progressed, however, each woman exhibited resilience in transcending systemic barriers to derive a spiritual view of leisure as a metaphor for the meaning of life. We believe our findings of spiritual transcendence will resonate among people living with HIV/AIDS throughout both Western and non-Western cultures.

We undertook this narrative analysis study to explore the complexities of women's relationships with other women within the sociocultural milieu of beautyism and ageism. Using an open-ended narrative framework, four focus groups of women living in different regions throughout the U.S. were conducted and analyzed to identify thematic categories within and across group sessions. We discuss four of the six key themes discovered in response to the primary research question: How does beauty culture shape women's experiences of aging and their relationships with women of all ages? We conclude that Western idealized beauty standards exert a divisive impact on women's relationships with each other across the life span, negatively affecting their socioemotional well-being, especially in old age.

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