29 papers
Sexual and reproductive health encompasses the full spectrum of physical and emotional well-being related to our bodies, relationships, and families. This vital field explores everything from contraception and pregnancy care to preventing infections and ensuring safe, consensual experiences for people of all backgrounds. It is a dynamic area of science where new discoveries constantly reshape how we understand our own biology and protect our futures.
At Gist.Science, we monitor every new preprint uploaded to medRxiv within this category to ensure you stay ahead of the curve. We process these emerging studies by transforming complex medical data into clear, plain-language explanations alongside detailed technical summaries, making cutting-edge research accessible to everyone without sacrificing scientific accuracy.
Below are the latest preprints in sexual and reproductive health, ready for you to explore.
This paper outlines a protocol for a feminist qualitative study in rural West Sumba, Indonesia, which employs participatory action research and mixed data collection methods to develop a theory of change aimed at increasing modern contraceptive uptake by addressing the diverse needs and barriers faced by local communities.
This qualitative study in Uganda finds that while clients, providers, and policymakers view integrating point-of-care STI testing into community pharmacies as a highly acceptable strategy to improve accessibility, speed, and antimicrobial resistance control, its successful implementation requires addressing barriers such as stigma, privacy concerns, and supply chain sustainability.
This study in Kilifi County, Kenya, reveals that female genital schistosomiasis affects 36% of women of reproductive age but is largely missed by routine urine microscopy, as 72% of infected women showed no detectable urinary eggs, highlighting the critical need for genital sampling and molecular diagnostics in control strategies.
This cross-sectional baseline study of sexually active HIV-negative adolescent girls and young women in rural South Africa reveals that while vaginal-stimulating product use is highly prevalent, it is significantly associated with cervical ectopy in adults and shows exploratory links to specific STIs and HPV-16 in adolescents, underscoring the need for further longitudinal research to clarify biological risks and inform culturally responsive health interventions.
A cross-sectional study conducted in Kinshasa between June and December 2023 revealed an 18% prevalence of *Chlamydia trachomatis* infection among low-income pregnant women, with the highest rates observed in married women aged 25–35 and significant associations with vaginal symptoms and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as prematurity and spontaneous abortion.
This qualitative study reveals that STI service delivery for internally displaced persons in Nigeria is critically undermined by HIV-centric vertical financing, weak implementation of policies, and sociocultural barriers, necessitating a strategic rebalancing of funding and strengthened health systems to ensure equitable access.
This meta-analysis of 20 studies reveals that homeless women face disproportionately high rates of sexual assault, with a pooled lifetime prevalence of 39.2% and a 12-month prevalence of 22%, highlighting particularly elevated risks for those with disabilities, mental illness, or LGBTQ+ identities and underscoring the urgent need for tailored public health interventions.
This study successfully culturally adapted and psychometrically validated the Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Feasibility measures for evaluating postpartum family planning interventions among Ghanaian midwives and nurses, finding that while the adapted tools are reliable, their abridged versions demonstrate superior construct validity compared to expanded versions.
A quasi-experimental pre-post study in rural northeastern Uganda demonstrates that a community-based, peer-led sexual and reproductive health education intervention significantly reduced risky sexual behaviors and improved comprehensive knowledge among adolescent girls and young women, though further robust research is needed to address persistent contextual risk factors.
This study utilizes natural language processing to analyze over 90,000 Reddit posts and comments, revealing that anonymous online communities serve as vital support infrastructures for men with infertility by facilitating clinical sense-making, emotional validation, and collective coping while mitigating the stigma often associated with male infertility in offline settings.