Mikaela Kelly

University of California, Los Angeles | UCLA · Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

This chapter presents a case of an adolescent facing both commercial sexual exploitation and drug addiction. The chapter reviews existing research on substance use among youth impacted by commercial sexual exploitation. In particular, the chapter highlights the intersecting risks and contexts of substance use and commercial sexual exploitation, as...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate baseline and post-operative changes in quality-of-life and symptom-severity scores in women undergoing laparoscopic or open abdominal myomectomy for symptomatic fibroids. DESIGN Prospective cohort study of patients choosing myomectomy for symptomatic uterine fibroids. SETTING Academic medical center PATIENTS A total of 143...

Prior research has examined the high health care needs and vulnerabilities faced by survivors of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), yet their perspectives are frequently absent. We sought to understand the narratives and views of individuals affected by CSE on their bodies, health, and motivations to seek health care treatment. Twenty-one girls...

Purpose The available research on specialized interventions for youth experiencing commercial sexual exploitation almost exclusively focuses on the impact and efficacy related to cisgender girls, despite the inclusion of youth who identify as transgender in these programs. This paper aims to present a case study on the experience of a transgender a...

Objective: We measured pregnancy rates and pregnancy outcomes among girls with histories of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), and then quantified the associations between the outcome of pregnancy with: a) girls' exposure to childhood adversity, and b) their behavioral health. This is the largest study of pregnancy outcomes and associated facto...

Background: Adolescent females with histories of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) have high mental health and substance use treatment needs, yet little is known about their perspectives regarding behavioral health and behavioral health treatment. Objective: We sought to understand the attitudes of adolescent females with histories of CSE reg...

Purpose We sought to understand the perspectives of commercially sexually exploited (CSE) young women regarding their health care needs, access, and use patterns. Methods Twenty-one CSE young women participated in this mixed methods study. Data collection included brief surveys measuring health care use, followed by in-depth, semistructured interv...

BACKGROUND Rates of cannabis use continue to increase among adolescents, however current interventions have modest effects and high rates of relapse following treatment. There is increasing evidence for the efficacy of mobile technology-based interventions for adults with substance use disorders, but limited study of this technology in adolescents...

Background: The rates of cannabis use continue to increase among adolescents and the current interventions have modest effects and high rates of relapse following treatment. There is increasing evidence for the efficacy of mobile technology-based interventions for adults with substance use disorders, but there is limited study of this technology i...

Study objective: Because of the high reproductive health risks that commercially sexually exploited youth (CSEY) face, we sought to understand facilitators and barriers related to their use of condoms and hormonal contraception. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We conducted semistructured interviews with 21...

Developing a user-informed mHealth intervention for adolescents with cannabis use disorders

Danielle Smith, a 16-year-old African-American girl newly detained at juvenile hall, presents for psychiatric evaluation. She describes a history of sexual abuse by her foster father and 2 years of commercial sexual exploitation after running away at 14 years of age. Scarcely more than 100 pounds, she endorses drug use, primarily marijuana, and not...