Study Shows that Family Planning Needs of Hispanics Vary According to Acculturation
July 1, 2024 3 minutes read
New research of Hispanic women surveyed at a public hospital in a New York City suburb shows that a large proportion — nearly three in five — were unaware of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.1
About one-third of the women surveyed were unaware they could get an intrauterine device (IUD) at the hospital, and close to half were unaware that abortion care was offered at the hospital.1
Investigators found that Hispanic women who had more acculturation in American culture, including speaking English, were more likely to have more interest in family planning services.1
These findings suggest that reproductive health clinicians should not treat Hispanics as a monolithic group in which the same contraceptive counseling approach would work for everyone, says Joshua Fogel, PhD, a coauthor on the study, who is a professor at Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, NY. Fogel also has conducted research at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, NY.
“When a healthcare provider or hospital is providing counseling about family planning, Hispanics are not one-size-fits-all,” Fogel says. “Those Hispanics who are less acculturated in American society have lower levels of interest in abortion and family planning services.”
Acculturation is the extent to which someone in a group, such as Hispanics, adopts values, beliefs, and language of the culture of another group, such as American English-speaking culture.1
Researchers looked at how long the women lived in the United States, since this also could have an effect on their acculturation, and they collected information on who they included in their social circles and whether their friends were more likely to speak English or Spanish, Fogel notes.
Those surveyed for the study had different knowledge and attitudes toward contraception and abortion, depending on whether they had retained their Hispanic culture or became acculturated into American culture.
Previous studies have shown that women with higher English language acculturation levels are associated with using contraceptive implants, hormonal injections, patches, pills, or IUDs.1
The new research also finds that English language acculturation was positively associated with all family planning variables except for plan B. This means that women who were more acculturated in English language had more interest in contraception and abortion service.1
Hispanic women acculturated in American culture through English language and ethnic/social relations were associated with higher levels of interest in abortion and family planning when compared with those who were not Americanized and who spoke only Spanish, Fogel explains.
Overall, there was a lower level of interest and awareness of both medical and surgical elective abortion among the women surveyed than there was for other family planning variables.1
There are several reasons why Hispanic women who are not as acculturated to American society have less awareness of family planning services. This could have something to do with having access to fewer brochures and clinicians who speak their language. Even though interpretation services are available, having a provider who speaks Spanish might work more efficiently for patients, Fogel notes.
It also is possible that women who are retaining their Hispanic culture are disinterested in family planning services for religious reasons. The Catholic church, for instance, is against abortion and most contraception practices.
“We didn’t study religiosity levels,” Fogel says.
“Clinicians want the best for their patients, but say someone is not American-acculturated, then they may not be interested in all family planning services,” he explains. “The doctor may want to talk about it, fine, but you need to know how to phrase it because the patient may not be interested in this stuff.”
Reproductive healthcare clinicians need to know whether their patients are acculturated to America before they phrase questions about family planning services, he adds.
“If you want to communicate something to a patient, be aware of the patient’s background and whether or not they would be interested in it,” Fogel says. “Meet them where they are and work with patients rather than telling them what they must do.”
REFERENCE
- Lee D, Fogel J, Arce L, et al. Roe v. Wade overturned: The association of acculturation with interest in and awareness of hospital services for family planning among Hispanic women. Hisp Health Care Int 2024; April 13. doi: 15404153241246103. [Online ahead of print].
New research of Hispanic women surveyed at a public hospital in a New York City suburb shows that a large proportion — nearly three in five — were unaware of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
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