Older age is often associated with asexuality. That is, older individuals are not viewed as desiring of sex, nor as sexually desirable to others. Broader social and cultural norms that downplay women's sexual desire and agency further compound these phenomena. Whether this popular image accurately reflects older women's sexual desires, behaviour and capacity to experience pleasure is unclear. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 43 partnered Australian women aged 55–81, this article considers women's sexual experiences and desires in older age. The findings of our research confirm that older women's experiences of sex and sexual desire are diverse and fluid. Some of the factors that influenced participants’ sexual behaviour and desire will be considered in this article, as will their understandings of what “counts” as sexual satisfaction and “successful sex”. The factors affecting sexual behaviour and desire also influence the way in which women are able to negotiate sexual interaction with their partners. Participants expressed a need for education and resources in order to gain greater control and to make autonomous choices over their sexual experiences, desire and ability to give and receive pleasure. The implications of these findings for practitioners are also considered.

BackgroundIn Australia only 2.2% of published health research has focused on multi-cultural health despite the increase of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Research on the perceptions and experiences of health care professionals (HCPs) in engaging with refugee and migrant women is also lacking. Given the integral role of HCPs in providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care for these populations, an understanding of the challenges they experience is required. Therefore, this study sought to examine the perspectives and practices of Australian HCPs with regard to the provision of SRH care for refugee and migrant women.MethodsEmploying qualitative methods, twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with HCPs representing various professions, work experiences, cultural backgrounds, age and healthcare sectors. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis and the socio-ecological model was utilised to interpret the data.ResultsThe complexities of HCP’s engagement with refugee and migrant women were identified in three major themes: Being a Migrant; Gender Roles and SRH Decision-making; and Women in the Healthcare System. HCPs discussed the impact of accessing SRH care in women’s country of origin and the influence of re-settlement contexts on their SRH knowledge, engagement with care and care provision. Perception of gender roles was integral to SRH decision-making with the need to involve male partners having an impact on the provision of women-centred care. Barriers within the healthcare system included the lack of services to address sexual functioning and relationship issues, as well as lack of resources, time constraints, cost of services, and funding.ConclusionAustralian HCPs interviewed reported that migrant and refugee women do not have appropriate access to SRH care due to multifaceted challenges. These challenges are present across the entire socio-ecological arena, from individual to systemic levels. Multiple and multidimensional interventions are required to increase SRH utilisation and improve outcomes for refugee and migrant women.

IntroductionSub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of adolescent pregnancy in the world. While pregnancy during adolescence poses higher risks for the mother and the baby, the utilisation of maternity care to mitigate the effects is low. This review aimed to synthesise evidence on adolescent mothers’ utilisation of maternity care in Sub-Saharan Africa and identify the key determinant factors that influence adolescent mothers’ engagement with maternity care.MethodA systematic review of scholarly literature involving seven databases: ProQuest, PubMed, EMBASE/Elsevier, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Infomit was conducted. Studies published in English between 1990 and 2017 that examined Sub-Saharan adolescent mothers’ experiences of utilising biomedical maternity care during pregnancy, delivery and the post-partum period were included.ResultsFrom 296 relevant articles 27 were identified that represent the experience of adolescent mothers’ maternal health service utilisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. The review indicates that maternal health service utilisation in the majority of Sub-Saharan African countries is still low. There is also a wide discrepancy in the use of maternity care services by adolescent mothers across countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.ConclusionsThe review reveals that a significant number of adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa do not access and use maternity services during pregnancy. Several factors from individual to systemic levels contributed to low access and utilisation. This implies that interventions targeting the women, their partners, healthcare professionals, communities and the organisations (local to national) are necessary to improve adolescent mother’s engagement with maternity care in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The proportion of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds is growing in Australia. Synthesising existing evidence concerning the views and experiences of these women in accessing sexual and reproductive health care is crucial to future policy and service development. A systematic review of scientific articles and grey literature published in English between 1990 and 2015 was conducted to identify the barriers and facilitators in accessing sexual and reproductive health care in Australia experienced by culturally and linguistically diverse women. The search strategy covered seven electronic databases (ProQuest, PubMed, EMBASE/Elsevier, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Infomit) and websites. Thematic analysis methodology was used to analyse and interpret the data extracted from individual studies. From the 1401 potentially relevant articles identified, 22 articles that represent the views and experiences of 1943 culturally and linguistically diverse women in accessing sexual and reproductive health care in Australia were reviewed. The main barriers and facilitators identified were grouped into three major themes. These include personal level experiences of accessing health care, women's interaction with the healthcare system and women's experience with healthcare providers. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed based on the findings of the review.

BackgroundThere is a paucity of literature describing traditional health practices and beliefs of African women. The purpose of this study was to undertake a systematic review of the use of traditional medicine (TM) to address maternal and reproductive health complaints and wellbeing by African women in Africa and the diaspora.MethodA literature search of published articles, grey literature and unpublished studies was conducted using eight medical and social science databases (CINAHL, EMBASE, Infomit, Ovid Medline, ProQuest, PsychINFO, PubMed and SCOPUS) from the inception of each database until 31 December 2016. Critical appraisal was conducted using a quality assessment tool (QAT).ResultA total of 20 studies conducted in 12 African countries representing 11,858 women were included. No literature was found on African women in the diaspora related to maternal use of TM or complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The prevalence of TM use among the African women was as high as 80%. The most common TM used was herbal medicine for reasons related to treatment of pregnancy related symptoms. Frequent TM users were pregnant women with no formal education, low income, and living far from public health facilities. Lack of access to the mainstream maternity care was the major determining factor for use of TM.ConclusionTM is widely used by African women for maternal and reproductive health issues due to lack of access to the mainstream maternity care. Further research is required to examine the various types of traditional and cultural health practices (other than herbal medicine), the beliefs towards TM, and the health seeking behaviors of African women in Africa and the diaspora.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12906-017-1886-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

: Antenatal care (ANC) services are an essential intervention for improving maternal and child health worldwide. In Ethiopia, however, ANC service use has been suboptimal, and examining the trends and factors associated with ANC service use is needed to inform targeted maternal health care interventions. This study aimed to investigate the trends and determinants of ANC service utilisation in Ethiopia for the period ranging from 2000 to 2016. This study draws on the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey data for the years 2000 (n = 7928), 2005 (n = 7276), 2011 (n = 7881) and 2016 (n = 7558) to estimate the trends in ANC service utilisation. Multivariate logistic regression models with adjustment for clustering and sampling weights were used to investigate the association between the study factors and ANC service utilisation. Over the sixteen-year period, the proportion of Ethiopian women who received the recommended four or more ANC visits increased from 10.0% (95% confidence interval (95% CI: 8.7–12.5%) in 2000 to 32.0% (95% CI: 29.4–34.3%) in 2016. Similarly, the proportion of women who received one to three ANC visits increased from 27.0% (95% CI: 23.6–30.7%) in 2000 to 62.0% in 2016 (95% CI: 60.4–67.3%). Multivariate analyses showed that higher maternal and paternal education, higher household wealth status, urban residency and previous use of a contraceptive were associated with ANC service use (1–3 and 4+ ANC visits). The study suggests that while Ethiopian pregnant women’s engagement with ANC services improved during the millennium development goal era (2000–2015), recommended ANC use remains suboptimal. Improving the utilisation of ANC services among pregnant women is essential in Ethiopia, and efforts should focus on vulnerable women.

Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with nursing managers from 198 randomly selected residential aged care facilities (RACFs) in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, Australia to gather information about how they perceive and respond to the sexual expression of elderly residents, particularly in relation to policy and training. Participants expressed positive views about the rights of residents for sexual expression but few facilities had any formal policies or training programs in place. Managers identified a range of sexuality-related issues as sources of concern in their day to day operation, however, these tended to be dealt with in an informal and ad hoc way. The lack of policy guidelines and training in this area leads to inconsistent and uncertain practice, with negative implications for the sexual health of residents and the smooth functioning of facilities. A national level approach to policy development is indicated.

BackgroundE-health has become a burgeoning field in which health professionals and health consumers create and seek information. E-health refers to internet-based health care and information delivery and seeks to improve health service locally, regionally and worldwide. E-sexual health presents new opportunities to provide online sexual health services irrespective of gender, age, sexual orientation and location.DiscussionThe paper used the dimensions of the RE-AIM model (reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation and maintenance) as a guiding principle to discuss potentials of E-health in providing and accessing sexual health services. There are important issues in relation to utilising and providing online sexual health services. For healthcare providers, e-health can act as an opportunity to enhance their clients’ sexual health care by facilitating communication with full privacy and confidentiality, reducing administrative costs and improving efficiency and flexibility as well as market sexual health services and products. Sexual health is one of the common health topics which both younger and older people explore on the internet and they increasingly prefer sexual health education to be interactive, non-discriminate and anonymous. This commentary presents and discusses the benefits of e-sexual health and provides recommendations towards addressing some of the emerging challenges.Future directionsThe provision of sexual health services can be enhanced through E-health technology. Doing this can empower consumers to engage with information technology to enhance their sexual health knowledge and quality of life and address some of the stigma associated with diversity in sexualities and sexual health experiences. In addition, e-sexual health may better support and enhance the relationship between consumers and their health care providers across different locations. However, a systematic and focused approach to research and the application of findings in policy and practice is required to ensure that E-health benefits all population groups and the information is current and clinically valid and effective, including preventative approaches for various client groups with diverse needs.