Abstract
Objective: To assess racial differences in attitudes and knowledge about sterilization. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Questionnaires were mailed to participants' home addresses. Patient(s): One hundred ninety-three women, aged 18-45, who had undergone tubal sterilization. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Attitudes and knowledge about tubal sterilization and awareness of contraceptive alternatives. Result(s): We received 193 completed surveys (64% response rate). African American (AA) woman were more likely to have a family member who had undergone tubal sterilization, to report that their mothers influenced their sterilization decisions, and to report that prior unintended pregnancy and desire to avoid insertion of a foreign object were very important factors in their decision to choose sterilization over other methods. Compared with white women, AA women more often thought that sterilization reversal could easily restore fertility (62% vs. 36%); that a woman's sterilization would reverse itself after 5 years (60% vs. 23%); and that a man cannot ejaculate after vasectomy (38% vs. 13%). Fewer AA women had ever heard of intrauterine contraception (90% vs. 98%). Racial differences in knowledge remained statistically significant after adjusting for socioeconomic confounders. Conclusion(s): Misinformation about sterilization and limited awareness of contraceptive alternatives among AA women may contribute to racial disparities in tubal sterilization rates.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 17-22 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Fertility and Sterility |
| Volume | 95 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- disparities
- knowledge and attitudes
- race/ethnicity
- Tubal sterilization
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Reproductive Medicine
Cite this
Racial variation in tubal sterilization rates : Role of patient-level factors. / Borrero, Sonya; Abebe, Kaleab; Dehlendorf, Christine; Schwarz, Eleanor; Creinin, Mitchell D; Nikolajski, Cara; Ibrahim, Said.
In: Fertility and Sterility, Vol. 95, No. 1, 01.2011, p. 17-22.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Racial variation in tubal sterilization rates
T2 - Role of patient-level factors
AU - Borrero, Sonya
AU - Abebe, Kaleab
AU - Dehlendorf, Christine
AU - Schwarz, Eleanor
AU - Creinin, Mitchell D
AU - Nikolajski, Cara
AU - Ibrahim, Said
PY - 2011/1
Y1 - 2011/1
N2 - Objective: To assess racial differences in attitudes and knowledge about sterilization. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Questionnaires were mailed to participants' home addresses. Patient(s): One hundred ninety-three women, aged 18-45, who had undergone tubal sterilization. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Attitudes and knowledge about tubal sterilization and awareness of contraceptive alternatives. Result(s): We received 193 completed surveys (64% response rate). African American (AA) woman were more likely to have a family member who had undergone tubal sterilization, to report that their mothers influenced their sterilization decisions, and to report that prior unintended pregnancy and desire to avoid insertion of a foreign object were very important factors in their decision to choose sterilization over other methods. Compared with white women, AA women more often thought that sterilization reversal could easily restore fertility (62% vs. 36%); that a woman's sterilization would reverse itself after 5 years (60% vs. 23%); and that a man cannot ejaculate after vasectomy (38% vs. 13%). Fewer AA women had ever heard of intrauterine contraception (90% vs. 98%). Racial differences in knowledge remained statistically significant after adjusting for socioeconomic confounders. Conclusion(s): Misinformation about sterilization and limited awareness of contraceptive alternatives among AA women may contribute to racial disparities in tubal sterilization rates.
AB - Objective: To assess racial differences in attitudes and knowledge about sterilization. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Questionnaires were mailed to participants' home addresses. Patient(s): One hundred ninety-three women, aged 18-45, who had undergone tubal sterilization. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Attitudes and knowledge about tubal sterilization and awareness of contraceptive alternatives. Result(s): We received 193 completed surveys (64% response rate). African American (AA) woman were more likely to have a family member who had undergone tubal sterilization, to report that their mothers influenced their sterilization decisions, and to report that prior unintended pregnancy and desire to avoid insertion of a foreign object were very important factors in their decision to choose sterilization over other methods. Compared with white women, AA women more often thought that sterilization reversal could easily restore fertility (62% vs. 36%); that a woman's sterilization would reverse itself after 5 years (60% vs. 23%); and that a man cannot ejaculate after vasectomy (38% vs. 13%). Fewer AA women had ever heard of intrauterine contraception (90% vs. 98%). Racial differences in knowledge remained statistically significant after adjusting for socioeconomic confounders. Conclusion(s): Misinformation about sterilization and limited awareness of contraceptive alternatives among AA women may contribute to racial disparities in tubal sterilization rates.
KW - disparities
KW - knowledge and attitudes
KW - race/ethnicity
KW - Tubal sterilization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78650416170&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78650416170&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.05.031
DO - 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.05.031
M3 - Article
C2 - 20579640
AN - SCOPUS:78650416170
VL - 95
SP - 17
EP - 22
JO - Fertility and Sterility
JF - Fertility and Sterility
SN - 0015-0282
IS - 1
ER -