Providing evidence

The articles that appear in volume 45:9 were grouped to highlight the importance of providing evidence when contributing to global literature about women’s health issues. Researchers have noted that evidence based practice results in improvements in efficacy, equity, and efficiency of policies and interventions (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). Publishing the work of authors with a focus on evidence based practice aids in meeting the aims of the editors to stimulate an international, multidisciplinary dialogue on women’s health issues, publish new research on health that concerns women around the world and include theoretical, methodological, or practice contributions to the scientific literature on women’s health issues while providing new substantive information.

Please consult the Table of Literature Contributions, to see the importance of experimental designs to demonstrate the effectiveness of practice interventions, the importance of a standard instrument to gather data, and the importance of a global international review of interventions on a specific condition to generate theory.

Of note is that the majority of the authors featured in this issue are making a practice contribution. As a reminder to our readers, all authors are required to make a theoretical, practice, or methodological contribution. To make a practice contribution authors must provide evidence that a practice they have described in a specific location is replicable and likely to be helpful elsewhere. Furthermore, authors are required to make an international appeal. You’ll note that this international appeal requirement was met in this issue largely by supporting the findings of previous researchers or the hope that the work will be replicated in other geographic conditions.

Authors also make theoretical contributions in this issue. To make a theoretical contribution authors must develop a new theory or be explicit about how they are applying an existing theory to a new population or new circumstances. Readers will note that in two papers, authors provide a theoretical hypothesis that now must be tested in other regions and can be compared internationally using a global literature review.

Finally, a methodological contribution authors must develop a new method of data collection or analysis that does not exist in the literature stating why the method is appropriate to the study of women’s health issues or practice. Readers will note that in the final article included in this issue, authors use existing framework but suggest that more must be considered resulting a new lens for analysis.

It is our hope that through exploring this issue, readers will both learn more about evidence based practice but also about our threshold for publication.

As always, read, learn, and act accordingly.

Table

Health Issue	Authors	International Literature Contribution	Extent of Global Contribution	Research Location
Post-partum sexual health	Maryam Zamani et. al.	Practice Contribution: Authors employed a randomized single-blind trial to demonstrate their Women’s Postpartum Sexual Health Program could improve women’s sexual function and sexual quality of life. Counseling lessened sexual distress.	Study informants were in Iran. These findings support other existing sexual health education programs in global literature.	Iran
Genital Hygiene	Manolya Parlas and Gulsen Eryilmaz	Practice Contribution: In pretest, post-test, and follow-up design. Researchers employed a PRECEDE-PROCEED experimental educational program to improve women’s genital hygiene-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.	Participants were in Turkey; presumably study could be replicated elsewhere.	Turkey
Stress during pregnancy	Ozlem Demirel Bozkurt, et.al.	Practice Contribution: Researchers conducting a descriptive correlational study using Google software demonstrated that spousal support during the COVID pandemic lessened perinatal stress.	Informants were in Turkey. Findings consistent with global non-pandemic literature that spousal support lessens perinatal stress.	Turkey
Cesarean Section Surgery	Cansu Akdag Topal, et. al.	Practice Contribution: Experimental design allowed researchers to demonstrate that a full-body forced-air warming technique prevents hypothermia, shivering, and thermal discomfort in women who undergo Cesarean Section surgery.	Participants were women in Turkey; study should be replicated elsewhere.	Turkey
Pregnancy related clinical and non-clinical morbidities	Stephanie Pabon, et. al.	Practice Contribution: Researchers applied WOICE (instrument designed by World Health Organization) to do prospective descriptive study of women in Brazil with high-risk pregnancies, finding the instrument valuable in predicting both clinical and non-clinical morbidities. Theoretical Contribution: Hypotheses Anxiety and disability are high before and during pregnancy, decreasing post-partum. Pregnancy has no effect on high rates of interpersonal violence.	WOICE Instrument should be used everywhere so we will have global data on pregnancy related clinical and non-clinical morbidities. Theoretical hypotheses should be tested globally using WOICE for data collection.	Brazil
Pre-menstrual syndrome	Duygu Korkem Yorulmaz, et. al.	Practice Contribution: Controlled randomized single blinded study experimental design allowed researchers to demonstrate that regular yoga practice significantly reduces PMS symptoms, lessening pain, depressive symptoms and anxiety.	Participants were in Turkey; study should be replicated elsewhere for global contribution.	Turkey
Maternal Syphilis	Georgia Dewart, et.al	Methodological Contribution and Theory Development: In a content analysis of global literature employing the social ecological model, authors reveal the need to consider poverty, racism, and stigma in designing interventions for those experiencing maternal syphilis. Hypothesis: Root causes of maternal syphilis are social structural.	International literature review allows for global literature contributions!	Canada

Eleanor Krassen Covan, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
Elizabeth Fugate-Whitlock, PhD
Associate Editor
[email protected] 18, 2024