249264 Language barriers and access are not the only obstacles Latinas face in using family planning: A qualitative examination of the role of communication

Monday, October 31, 2011

Shelly Campo, PhD , Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA
Connie Kohler, DrPH , Dept. of Health Behavior, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
Natoshia M. Askelson, MPH, PhD , Department of Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Cristina Ortiz , Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Erica L. Spies, MS , School of Public Health, Department of Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Mary E. Losch, PhD , Center for Social & Behavioral Research, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA
Frequently it is assumed that the major barriers Latinas face in using family planning are related to access and language. However little is known about what Latinas perceive as the major barrier. Additionally much of the research has focused on adolescents. This study was designed to gather more information about the perceived barriers 18 - 30 year-old Latino women face using family planning. Interviews (N=31) were conducted in Spanish with 18 -30 year-old Latinas in a Midwestern state. The interview protocol consisted of questions pertaining to attitudes, knowledge, and experience about contraceptive use and unintended pregnancies. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated, and coded for relevant themes related to barriers. Open and closed coding strategies were used. While we expected women to discuss access and language barriers, the vast majority of the barriers that women cited were related to communication. Communication barriers occurred among partners and family members. These barriers were often related to culture, religion, knowledge, side effects, misinformation and situation. Our results indicate that more attention be paid to barriers other than language and access to increase effective family planning among young adult Latinas. Future interventions need to provide women with communication skills that increase comfort with communicating about sex and contraceptives with family members, partners, and health care providers.

Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify the importance of communication as a barrier to contraceptive use

Keywords: Communication, Contraceptives

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been teaching and researching health communication for over ten years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.