Intersections of Ethnicity and Social Class in Provider Advice Regarding Reproductive Health

Bibliographic Data

ID11017308
AuthorsRoberta A Downing (At the time of this study Roberta A. Downing was with the Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md. Thomas A. LaVeist was with the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore. Heather E. Bullock was with the Psychology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz.), Thomas A Laveist (At the time of this study Roberta A. Downing was with the Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md. Thomas A. LaVeist was with the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore. Heather E. Bullock was with the Psychology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz.), Heather E Bullock (At the time of this study Roberta A. Downing was with the Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md. Thomas A. LaVeist was with the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore. Heather E. Bullock was with the Psychology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz.)
Year2007
Volume97
Issue10
Pages1803-1807
Publication date2007-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2006.092585
PMID17761569
PMCIDPMC1994173
OpenAlexW2071826577
LanguageEN
Citations received49
References cited17

Objectives. We examined how ethnicity and social class influence women’s perceptions of reproductive health care. Of primary interest was assessing whether health care providers are perceived as advising low-income women, particularly women of color, to limit their childbearing and to what extent they feel they are discouraged by providers from having future children. Methods. Ethnically diverse, low-income (n=193) and middle-class women (n=146) completed a questionnaire about their pregnancy-related health care experiences. Results. Logistic regression analyses revealed that low-income women of color experienced greater odds of being advised to limit their childbearing than did middle-class White women. A separate model demonstrated that low-income Latinas reported greater odds of being discouraged from having children than did middle-class White women. Conclusions. Low-income women of color were more likely to report being advised to limit their childbearing and were more likely to describe being discouraged from having children than were middle-class White women. More research is needed regarding how ethnicity and social class impact women’s experiences with reproductive health care

Environmental health · Ethnic group · Logistic regression · Middle class · Odds · Odds ratio · Population · Race (biology) · Reproductive health · Social class · Sociology · Women of color · Demography · Gender Studies · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Medicine · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Contraception · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Gerontology