Health Psychology Research / HPR / Volume 11 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.52965/​001c.67959
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Understanding factors that influence whether a woman will seek   care for reproductive health: A national survey

Pooja Kanyadan1 Latha Ganti2 Rohan Mangal3 Thor Stead4 Lindsey Hahn5 Marcos Sosa5
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1 Wheeler School, Marietta, Georgia
2 University of Central Florida, University of Central Florida
3 University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
4 Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
5 Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lakeland Regional Medical Center
Published: 28 January 2023
© 2023 by the Author(s). Licensee Health Psychology Research, USA. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

A number of studies have characterized the importance of regular OB/GYN visits for women who are above the age of 18. As more emphasis is placed on reproductive healthcare, there has been an overall decrease in the rates of adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes. In this study, a population of 200 women were surveyed to find factors that influence whether they had sought care from an OB/GYN in the past year. These results can be further extrapolated to whether women will seek OB/GYN healthcare in the future. A survey research platform was used to collect demographic data in addition to the survey responses. Thirteen survey questions were designed, some of which were adapted from the NIH Healthcare Access and Utilization Survey. This study found that women of minority races (African American and Hispanic) were more likely to report that they didn’t feel like they were asked for their opinions about their healthcare. Additionally, women who were younger, who didn’t feel like they were asked for their opinions, and who were of minority races were more likely to have not seen an OB/GYN in the past year. These findings can be used to focus on fixing the factors that deter women from seeking regular OB/GYN care. Efforts must be made to ensure that patients feel supported and understood, for this is the only way that we can make progress towards a healthier society.

Keywords
women's health
obstetrics and gynecology
disparities in care
References

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Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Health Psychology Research, Electronic ISSN: 2420-8124 Published by Health Psychology Research