Saturday, November 1, 2003

This presentation is part of : Addressing Issues of the Vulnerable Female Population

Pregnant Hispanic Women's Barriers/Facilitators to Prenatal Care in Cobb County, Georgia

Carol Holtz, PhD, RN, School of Nursing, School of Nursing, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA
Learning Objective #1: Relate at least five barriers/facilitators to prenatal-care access for pregnant Hispanic women
Learning Objective #2: Relate at least three strategies for decreasing barriers, increasing access for prenatal care for pregnant Hispanic women.

Goal: This study was designed to understand, from the women's perspective, what factors (beliefs, values, care delivery systems) act as barriers or facilitators to accessing prenatal care. The study will ultimately provide data to improve prenatal care and maternal-infant health among poor Hispanic women in Cobb County, Georgia. Specific Aims: 1) identify factors that serve as barriers and/or facilitators to prenatal care for Hispanic women. 2) provide data to assist health care providers and policy makers in developing programs that maximize access to prenatal care for Hispanic women. Methods: This study used a two-phase exploratory design, using Krueger and Morgan (1988) focus group methodology accessing women through the Cobb County Health Department and the Cobb Pregnancy Center. Women (n=12) were asked to respond to a series of semi-sructured open-ended questions concerning their views of the need for prenatal care and factors that influence their ability to access this care. Themes and categories related to factors that facilitate/impede access to care were identified. Building on the qualitative analysis results, a structured questionnaire was administered to a second group (n=103) concerning facilitators and barriers to prenatal care, which was quantitatively analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to determine the most important factors that affect access to prenatal care. Results: Both qualitative and quantitative groups were very similar with subjects: 18-38 years old, living in the United States 6 months to 14 years, entering prenatal care at 3 to 6 months of pregnancy, having issues with: transportation; care costs;pregnancy complications such as anemia, diabetes, infections, and pre-term births; fears of legal status and domestic violence; and language barriers when accessing prenatal care. Conclusion and implications will be presented.

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