Women's Reproductive Intentions and Behaviors during the Zika Epidemic in Brazil

Marteleto, Letícia J.; Weitzman, Abigail; Coutinho, Raquel Zanatta; Alves, Sandra

doi:10.1111/padr.12074

Cited by 65 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…It has been previously reported that women with children affected by Zika showed a significant loss of a sense of themselves [30]. A 2016 study that focused on pregnant women impacted by Zika found that women in Brazil and Puerto Rico, infected and not infected with the Zika virus,showed high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression [31,32].Our study adds to the literature by suggesting that even women who were not pregnant and only indirectly affected by Zika made decisions and arrangements to prevent infection that caused significant changes and disruptions to the very essence of their being.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Too Much to Ask, Too Much to Handle”: Women’s Coping in Times of Zika

Arias

Furtado

Tristan-Cheever

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background and Objectives Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of congenital brain abnormalities. Its consequences to pregnancies have made governments, national and international agencies issue advice and recommendations to women. This study was designed to develop an initial understanding of the impacts of Zika on women of reproductive age who lived in areas with or without local transmission. The impacts on women who were less directly affected and less vulnerable to Zika were analyzed. The hypothesis was that all women were impacted by the epidemic. Methods A qualitative study was carried out. Women were recruited through the snowball sampling technique from various locations in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the United States. They were of different nationalities and ethnicities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The data transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results The social effects of the epidemic affect more women than had been thought before and at deeper emotional levels. Women perceived that the public health systems were placing an unfair responsibility for preventing health complications from Zika onto women who have limited ability. They also stated that the measures recommended to them were invasive, while creating the perception that women were the sole determinant of whether they contracted Zika. The results indicate that women with higher levels of education understood the limitations of the information, government actions, and medical care they received, which ended up producing higher levels of anguish and worry. Conclusions Women appeared to be disproportionately affected by the reproductive implications of the epidemic, even when they were only indirectly affected. Gender inequality and gender discrimination must be recognized and rendered visible in the public health emergency response. It is shown the importance of considering cultural aspects and behaviors when implementing health prevention or protection measures to control epidemics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Too Much to Ask, Too Much to Handle”: Women’s Coping in Times of Zika

Arias

Furtado

Tristan-Cheever

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…It is possible that female respondents are better informed about the virus because of its immediate impact on pregnancy. There is also evidence that those with higher socioeconomic status are better equipped than their low socioeconomic status counterparts to prevent ZIKV infection and are less vulnerable to the conditions that increase the risk of infection 34 . Moreover, because infestation of A. aegypti varies regionally across the country, the risk of infection and the likelihood of knowing someone infected likely differ geographically, with potential implications for the collective representation of the disease and for differences in behavioral responses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Signifying Zika: heterogeneity in the representations of the virus by history of infection

et al. 2018

Self Cite

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Despite having been broadly advertised by the mass media, many negative consequences of the Zika virus have been less significant than originally predicted. It is likely that after a few months from the epidemic's onset, personal experience with the virus has altered the person's way to deal with the disease. This study explores the relation between exposure to Zika virus and the social representation of the epidemic. More specifically, one analyzes if increased exposure to the risk of Zika infection changes the characteristics of the web of meanings surrounding the epidemic. Between August and November of 2016, 150 interviews were conducted in the municipality of Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Based on the Free Words Association Technique, data on evocations related to the Zika virus were modeled by social network analysis, allowing the characterization of the web of meanings by level of exposure to the risk of Zika infection. The analysis performed here suggests that those never infected by any disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito have a lesser representation, incorporating information from the media through lay thinking. In contrast to those with low levels of exposure, the social representation of people infected by Zika is associated with meanings related to the most common symptoms, such as pain, rash, and itching. Personal experience seems to shape the social representation of the disease, increasing the focus on its proximate consequences. Public campaigns designed to foster protective behavior should take into consideration the heterogeneity in the representations of this epidemic to improve adherence to preventive behavior.

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“…Part of this decline could also be attributed to the economic and political crisis in Brazil. 19 But none of these factors explain the sharp and unexpected decline in microcephaly within the epidemics.…”

Section: The Glamour Of the New Virus And The Practical Abandonment mentioning

confidence: 99%

Zika virus – the glamour of a new illness, the practical abandonment of the mothers and new evidence on uncertain causality

Diniz

Andrezzo

2017

Reproductive Health Matters

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Women's Reproductive Intentions and Behaviors during the Zika Epidemic in Brazil

Cited by 65 publications

References 68 publications

“Too Much to Ask, Too Much to Handle”: Women’s Coping in Times of Zika

“Too Much to Ask, Too Much to Handle”: Women’s Coping in Times of Zika

Signifying Zika: heterogeneity in the representations of the virus by history of infection

Zika virus – the glamour of a new illness, the practical abandonment of the mothers and new evidence on uncertain causality

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