Theoretical and methodological contributions

I am pleased that we are publishing several articles in this issue whose authors make both methodological and theoretical contributions to global women’s health issues. You should note the value of using secondary quantitative analyses of existing data sets for this purpose. My personal favorite is the work of Vivek Shastry and Sophie M. Morse expressed in the lead article wherein the authors explain the intersections of the availability of electrical energy, health care and gender. Pay attention also to why we also continue to publish phenomenological studies whereby authors generate hypotheses utilizing women’s voices to inform practice. I decline to write a more substantive editorial for this issue, because the authors do a fine job summarizing what is important in each of their articles.

Table

Health Issue	Authors	International LiteratureContribution	Extent of Global Contribution	Research Location
Intersection of energy, health care, and gender	Vivek Shastry and Sophie M. Morse	Methodological Contribution: Authors apply secondary data analysis to generate theory. They utilized a subset of the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) health system data (ICF, 2018), to study the intersection of energy and health services. Theoretical Contribution: Disparities exist in the creation of women’s health systems that impact both service delivery and the health workforce. The disparities are related to creation and maintenance of a reliable system of energy (electricity).	Additional cross-cultural comparisons should be made to develop a more global theory of the intersection of energy, health care and gender.	United States researchers analyzed data from Haiti, Senegal, and Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mental Disorder	Melanie Straiton, et al.	Methodological Contribution: Authors apply secondary data analysis to generate theory, using outpatient mental health service use a proxy for mental disorder. Theoretical Contribution: Service use, associated with marital separation, differed by origin nation of migrant women.	Results limited to Norway yet theoretical hypothesis that factors related to immigrant background affect mental health service use can be tested elsewhere.	Norway
Mammography Screening	Moslem Soofi, et al.	Methodological Contribution: Secondary analysis of Ravansar Non-Communicable Diseases Cohort Study to generate theory. Theoretical Contribution: Low SES, low education level, and low value of residence predict who gets a mammogram.	Data based on analysis of Kurdish women in Iran, but hypotheses about SES and Mammogram access may be tested elsewhere.	Iran
Life Satisfaction	H. Lee, et al.	Theoretical Contribution: Factors predicting life satisfaction differ in husbands and wives in mixed cultural marriages with health status affecting only wives.	Results from 2015 South Korean sample of multicultural couples, should be tested globally for broader theoretical contribution.	South Korea
Sexually transmitted infections	Shirley J. Semple, et al.	Theoretical Contribution: Impulsivity predicts sexual risk behavior among sex workers and is associated with history of both substance and sexual abuse.	Mexican study of sex workers must be replicated for global theoretical contribution. Threshold for practice contribution not me because recommendations were not tested.	Mexico
Sexual abuse; suicide	Nilüfer Koçtürk	Theoretical Contribution: Survivors of childhood sexual abuse have high rates of anxiety and depression and high risk for suicide.	Findings limited to Turkish sample. Study could be replicated for global contribution.	Turkey
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis)	Silje Helen Krabbe, et al.	Theoretical Contribution: Women diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, (chronic fatigue syndrome) gradually develop attitude of uncertainty with no expectation of recovery.	All participants were Norwegian. Theory generated by this phenomenological study should be tested elsewhere.	Norway
Pelvic floor complaints	A. M. Brand, et al.	Theoretical Contribution: Women who report sexual dysfunction and overwhelming physical distress receive PPT. Those who don’t report severe distress do not qualify for therapy.	All participants from The Netherlands; hypotheses generated should be tested elsewhere.	The Netherlands
Eating Disorders	Jennifer S. Malecki, et al.	Methodological Contribution: Authors applied Riessman’s (2008) approach to visual narrative analysis and Tamboukou’s (2018) analysis of autographical art to study eating disorders. Theoretical Contribution: “When identities are constituted in oppressive social and power relations, they are expressed in an embodied form and imbued with new meanings (Malecki, et al. 2023).”	Descriptive findings are of young women in New South Wales, Australia, but hypothesis of how power relations are embodied may be tested in any culture.	New South Wales, Australia
Chronic Pelvic Pain	Cathrine Maria Boge-Olsnes, et al.	Theoretical Contribution: Chronic pelvic pain is secondary to traumatic life events.	Participants in phenomenological study were all Norwegian, but hypothesis generated may be tested elsewhere.	Norway
Cardiovascular age	Xiaoguang Zhao and Fei Hu	Methodological Contribution: Researchers developed predictive equation of cardiovascular age based on cardiac risk factors (heart rate, blood pressure & cholesterol measures). Theoretical Contribution: Cardiovascular age of active women is younger than cardiovascular age of inactive women.	Findings limited to Chinese sample but hypothesis that active women have lower cardiovascular age can be replicated.	China
Eating Behavior	Andreia Ferreira Moura and Jessica Aschemann-Witzel	Theoretical Contribution: While privilege varies by country, in each case privileged mothers face fewer barriers to healthy eating than do less privileged mothers. Staying-at-home mothers might face more barriers to healthy eating than mothers who work outside the home.	Mothers in Argentina, France, and Denmark were surveyed. Survey could be replicated in other countries for global contribution.	Denmark and United Kingdom
Women’s health in China	Na Ran	Theoretical Contribution: Negative correlations between women’s mortality rates and female school enrollment (p≪0.01); negative correlations for open-access papers in eight disciplines of medical science, individuals using the Internet, and mobile cellular subscriptions (p≪0.01).	All findings should be replicated in other nations for more global contribution.	China

Where theories or methods are cited in the table, please see the article where citation is made for complete reference.

Eleanor Krassen Covan, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
June 15, 2023
[email protected]