African, male attitudes on female genital mutilation: an Australian survey

Men of refugee and migrant backgrounds in Australia: a scoping review of sexual and reproductive health research

Australia's National Men's Health Strategy 2020-2030 identifies refugee and migrant men from culturally and lingustically diverse backgrounds as priority groups for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) interventions. The paucity of SRH research focusing on refugee and migrant men is a significant gap to advance men's health and policy. Hence, this review aimed to synthesise the available evidence on refugee and migrant men's SRH needs, understandingsand experiences of accessing services after resettlement in Australia. A systematic search of peer reviewed literature in PubMed, Scopus, and PsyInfo was made. A World Health Organization framework for operationalising sexual health and its relationship with reproductive health was used to map the identified studies. The socio-ecological framework was applied to thematically synthesise data extracted from individual studies and identify factors that influence the SRH of refugee and migrant men. We included 38 papers in the review. The majority of sexual health studies (16) were about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), mainly HIV (12), followed by sexual health education and information (5) and sexual functioning (3). Reproductive health studies focused on contraceptive counselling and provision (3), antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care (1) and safe abortion care (1). Several factors influenced refugee and migrant men's SRH, including a lack of access to SRH information, language barriers and stigma. We found that SRH literature on refugee and migrant men focuses on STIs, meaning other areas of SRH are poorly understood. We identified key gaps in research on experiences of, and access to, comprehensive SRH care.

Maternity care of women affected by female genital mutilation/cutting: An audit of two Australian hospitals

BACKGROUND

Pregnant women affected by female genital mutilation/cutting are at risk of adverse maternal outcomes compared to unaffected women, and sometimes require procedures to facilitate giving birth that midwives and doctors do not routinely perform. These women require culturally sensitive care. Current health professional literature provides evidence that midwives and doctors need further knowledge and training in this area.

AIMS

This audit aimed to describe the demographic characteristics of pregnant women with female genital mutilation/cutting giving birth at two Perth maternity units, in addition to assessing health provider compliance with the local female genital mutilation/cutting Clinical Guideline.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The clinical database used by public maternity units in Western Australia was used to identify affected women who gave birth during 2014 at King Edward Memorial Hospital or Osborne Park Hospital. Demographic characteristics and information about antenatal care and maternal outcomes were collected.

RESULTS

53 women fulfilled the audit criteria. Prevalence of pregnant women with female genital mutilation/cutting varied from 0.33% to 2.18% between the two units. Compliance with the Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Clinical Guideline was generally suboptimal. While no woman was deinfibulated antenatally, 26% of women required intrapartum deinfibulation to give birth.

CONCLUSIONS

Women with female genital mutilation/cutting make up more than 2% of the antenatal population in some Perth metropolitan maternity units. Health care provider knowledge of, and compliance with, the Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Clinical Guideline was poor in the two units studied. It appears that healthcare professionals need more education and training to provide affected women with the best care.