Findings from this study provide preliminary data that can be used by schools of nursing and health care employers to improve early identification of nurses' substance use and mental illness treatment needs. These data also suggest a need for more research to explore the prevention and early identification of co-occurring disorders in health care settings where nurses practice.

What do professional psychologists need to know to treat women who once had an abortion? Analyses of responses from 2,525 women revealed that women who reported an abortion were more likely than others to report symptoms of depression and lower life satisfaction. However, they were also more likely to experience rape, childhood physical and sexual abuse, and a violent partner. When history of abuse, partner characteristics, and background variables were controlled, abortion was not related to poorer mental health. This underscores the need to explore the effects of violence in women's lives to avoid misattributing psychological distress to abortion experiences.Nearly 1 out of 4 women (24%) in the United States experience some form of affective disorder in their lifetimes, a rate 1.6 times that of men (15%; Kessler et al., 1994). Similarly, women have higher lifetime rates of anxiety disorders than do men: 33% versus 19% (Kessler et al., 1994). Women's higher rates of depression and anxiety cannot be fully explained by biological factors, suggesting that their causes lie in differential roles and life circumstances for women and men McGrath, Keita, Strickland, & Russo, 1990;.Abortion is one of the realities of women's lives. Approximately 1 out of 5 American women have experienced abortion, and although rates have declined slightly, abortion continues to play an essential role in enabling women in the United States to time, space, and limit their births (Henshaw, 1998). Given the high rates of women who experience depression, it is not surprising that some women who have had an abortion also report symptoms of depression and anxiety (

Aim To provide recommendations for nursing management based on the experiences of current and former nurses who were served by a peer health assistance program (PHAP). Background Providing help for nurses with impaired practice is critical to their health and well‐being, assuring patient safety and public trust, as well as returning competent nurses to the healthcare workforce. Methods Nurses (n = 268) who were current clients or former clients of a PHAP were surveyed about their experiences. Results Nearly half of nurses were referred by the board of nursing with 69% reporting the referral was due to substance use, alcohol being the most common. Most (62%) did not believe that their substance use affected their practice yet relayed that recognition of their emotional or physical condition could have led to earlier identification. Key barriers to seeking assistance were fear and embarrassment, along with concerns about losing their nursing license. Conclusions Nurses in management are in key roles to identify and intervene with nurses who are at risk for impaired practice. Implications for Nursing Management Nurses in management and nurse colleagues would benefit from workplace education on the warning signs of impaired nursing practice and how to address it.

We are for every woman having exactly as many children as she wants, when she wants, i f she wants. It's time the Bill of Rights applied to women.-from the official statement of Jane, legendary underground feminist abortion service (Kaplan, 1995)We're in a war . . . until recently the casualties have only been on one side.-Don Treshman, national director of Rescue America, commenting on murders of abortion providers

Male violence against women takes multiple forms and affects women's lives in multiple ways . In this chapter we consider the relationship of such violence to unwanted pregnancy and its resolution.We argue that the far-reaching consequences of gendered violence-including physical and sexual abuse, rape, and battering-have important implications for family planning and abortion programs and policies (Goodman, Koss, & RUSSO, 1993a, 1993b). Women's sexual and reproductive decisions are shaped by the nature of their intimate relationships, and insofar as violence is a means to enforce male dominance and privilege in those relationships, it cannot be ignored by reproductive health professionals. If the assumption that women have control over sexual intercourse is faulty, family planning programs based on that assumption will not be fully effective and, indeed, could even be dangerous for their clients. Programs that assume that contraceptive use can be "negotiated" do not recognize that attempts to negotiate may be seen as a challenge to male power,