Sharon J Phillips

Boston Medical Center · Department of Family Medicine

Objective: To assess the quality of information available online for abortion self-referral and to determine whether quality varies by region or distance to an abortion provider. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. We used a standard protocol to perform internet searches from August 2016 to June 2017 for abortion services in the 25 most p...

Background: Studies conflict on whether the duration of use of the copper intrauterine device is longer than that of the levonorgestrel intrauterine device, and whether women who continue using intrauterine devices differ from those who discontinue. Objective: We sought to assess continuation rates and performance of levonorgestrel intrauterine...

Objective and design: Some studies suggest that specific hormonal contraceptive (HC) methods (particularly depot medroxyprogesterone acetate [DMPA]) may increase women's HIV acquisition risk. We updated a systematic review to incorporate recent epidemiological data. Methods: We searched for articles published between 1/15/2014-1/15/2016, and han...

Objectives: To systematically review evidence published on the safety of SI (II) among women with medical conditions or characteristics identified by the World Health Organization for eligibility for contraceptive use. Study design: We searched PubMed, WEIPU, CNKI, and Wanfang to identify all relevant evidence published in peer-reviewed journals...

Background: Reproductive coercion impacts many women of reproductive age. Objectives: We sought to explore how reproductive coercion, including pregnancy coercion and birth control sabotage, impacts women in a primary care population. Methods: We administered a survey to women accessing care at a family medicine clinic in the Bronx, NY. Reprod...

The need to prevent early pregnancy and HIV among adolescent girls in Sub-Saharan Africa has been recognized increasingly over recent years. Although extensive work has been done to determine appropriate interventions for girls in high-income countries, very little evidence is available to guide programmatic interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The...

Objective: Little is known specifically about the effects of conflict and displacement on provision of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. We aimed to understand the association between levels of conflict and displacement and the availability of SRH services in post-conflict Mali. Methods: A national assessment was conducted between A...

Contraception is important for women who are postpartum, including those who are breastfeeding. Use of combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs) may affect breastfeeding performance and infant health outcomes. To identify evidence examining clinical outcomes for breastfeeding and infant health among breastfeeding women using combined hormonal contrac...

Context: Lactation causes a delay in ovulation in the postpartum period, and therefore a delay in the resumption of menses. However, return to fertility is variable in the postpartum period and is contingent upon numerous factors. The postpartum period is therefore a critical time to initiate effective contraception in order to support the numerou...

BACKGROUND: Postpartum women need effective contraception. Concerns have been raised that use of progestogen-only contraceptives (POCs) may affect breastfeeding performance and infant health outcomes. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the clinical outcomes of breastfeeding duration, initiation of supplemental feeding and weaning, as well as infant outcom...

Whether use of various types of hormonal contraception (HC) affect risk of HIV acquisition is a critical question for women’s health. For this systematic review, we identified 22 studies published by January 15, 2014 which met inclusion criteria; we classified thirteen studies as having severe methodological limitations, and nine studies as “inform...

Maternal mortality has declined by nearly half since 1990, but over a quarter million women still die every year of causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Maternal-health related targets are falling short of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals and a post-2015 Development Agenda is emerging. In connection with this, setting global research pr...

Women living with HIV are often of reproductive age, and many desire effective contraceptive options to delay or prevent pregnancy. We review the safety of various hormonal and non-hormonal contraceptive methods for women living with HIV. Additionally, we discuss drug interactions between contraceptive methods and anti-retrovirals and the safety of...

Substantial numbers of adolescents experience the negative health consequences of early, unprotected sexual activity - unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortions, pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity and Sexually Transmitted Infections including Human Immunodeficiency Virus; as well as its social and economic costs. Improving access to and use of...

To achieve the improved maternal and child outcomes of birth spacing, family planning in the postpartum period is essential. The objective of this study is to determine the perceptions regarding programmatic aspects of postpartum family planning by key informants in 17 countries determined to have high unmet need for postpartum family planning. We...

Objective: Systematically assess from the literature whether women living with HIV who use hormonal contraception are at increased risk of HIV-disease progression compared with those who do not use hormonal contraception. Methods: We searched PUBMED and EMBASE for articles published in peer-reviewed journals through December 15, 2011 for evidenc...

OBJECTIVE:: To systematically review epidemiologic evidence assessing whether hormonal contraception (HC) alters the risk of HIV transmission from an HIV-positive woman to an HIV-negative male partner. DESIGN:: Systematic review. METHODS:: We included articles published or in press through December 15, 2011. We assessed studies with direct evidence...

The HIV epidemic has been consistently associated with injection drug use and crack cocaine, but alcohol problems in HIV-infected persons are less well described. Our objectives were 2-fold: (1) to assess the prevalence of alcohol problems in HIV-infected patients initiating medical care; and (2) to determine the positive predictive value of the CA...