ANDATORY PARENTAL NOtification for adolescents obtaining prescribed contraceptives is a controversial issue. Proponents argue that requiring parental notification would strengthen parents' ability to educate their children and safeguard them from the medical risks associated with prescribed contraceptives. Some proponents also believe that mandating parental notification would encourage adolescents to use condoms rather than prescribed contraceptives, reducing rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In 1998, Congress considered the Title X Parental Notification Act requiring written parental consent, a court order, or parental notification 5 business days in advance of providing minors with prescribed contraceptives at all US family planning clinics funded under Title X of the Public Health Services Act. More recently, efforts have been made to bar the use of state matching funds to purchase prescription drugs for minors without parental consent and to deny federal public health and education funds to all school districts offering emergency contraception in school-based health centers without parental consent. In addition, within the last 5 years, at least 10 states have introduced bills to mandate parental involvement in girls' access to prescribed contraceptives. When state law permits or requires parental notification, the new federal medical privacy regulations issued in December 2000 regarding use and dis

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This study investigated the psychosocial factors that influence psychological adjustment among women with genital herpes, while taking into account the physical factors. Women with herpes (N = 105, age 18–30) completed an on-line survey about factors related to their diagnosis and herpes-related quality of life. Perceived stigma, acceptance coping, denial coping, support from the Internet, and support from religious/spiritual figures accounted for 65.9 percent of the variance in quality of life scores. The findings reveal the importance of specific coping strategies and sources of support on psychological adjustment to herpes. Furthermore, a significant interaction between stigma and acceptance coping suggests a complex relationship between these two psychosocial factors that warrants future research.

The aim of this research was to elucidate potential barriers and facilitators to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in Malawi, a sub-Saharan country. In Malawi, approximately 31 out of every 100,000 women develop cervical cancer annually, and 80% of those affected die from this malignancy. HPV vaccination may provide a feasible strategy for cervical cancer prevention in Malawi. However, important questions and concerns regarding cervical cancer and HPV vaccination acceptance among individuals and their communities must be considered prior to vaccine delivery. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 Malawian mothers aged 18–49 years from Chiradzulu District. Women’s knowledge and beliefs about HPV, cervical cancer, and vaccination, and their social-ecological contexts were explored in-depth. Thematic analyses revealed that despite women’s limited knowledge, cervical cancer was perceived to be a serious disease. Participants believed that as women, they were responsible for their children’s health. Women unanimously reported that they would vaccinate their children against HPV, especially if a health professional recommended it. Malawi’s health care infrastructure could present challenges to HPV vaccine programs; however, participants did not typically report this to be a barrier to vaccination. These data shed light on factors that may influence HPV vaccination acceptance and uptake in Malawi.

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