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What Are Women Told When Requesting Family Planning Services at Clinics Associated with Catholic Hospitals? A Mystery Caller Study
Author(s) -
Guiahi Maryam,
Teal Stephanie B.,
Swartz Maryke,
Huynh Sandy,
Schiller Georgia,
Sheeder Jeanelle
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
perspectives on sexual and reproductive health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.818
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1931-2393
pISSN - 1538-6341
DOI - 10.1363/psrh.12040
Subject(s) - family planning , medicine , tubal ligation , context (archaeology) , abortion , family medicine , logistic regression , birth control , odds ratio , schedule , health care , pregnancy , population , research methodology , environmental health , law , paleontology , genetics , pathology , computer science , political science , biology , operating system
CONTEXT Catholic Church directives restrict family planning service provision at Catholic health care institutions. It is unclear whether obstetrics and gynecology clinics that are owned by or have business affiliations with Catholic hospitals offer family planning appointments. METHODS Mystery callers phoned 144 clinics nationwide that were found on Catholic hospital websites between December 2014 and February 2016, and requested appointments for birth control generally, copper IUD services specifically, tubal ligation and abortion. Chi‐square and Fisher's exact tests assessed potential correlates of appointment availability, and multivariable logistic regressions were computed if bivariate testing suggested multiple correlates. RESULTS Although 95% of clinics would schedule birth control appointments, smaller proportions would schedule appointments for copper IUDs (68%) or tubal ligation (58%); only 2% would schedule an abortion. Smaller proportions of Catholic‐owned than of Catholic‐affiliated clinics would schedule appointments for birth control (84% vs. 100%), copper IUDs (4% vs. 97%) and tubal ligation (29% vs. 72%); for birth control and copper IUD services, no other clinic characteristics were related to appointment availability. Multivariable analysis confirmed that tubal ligation appointments were less likely to be offered at Catholic‐owned than at Catholic‐affiliated clinics (odds ratio. 0.1); location and association with one of the top 10 Catholic health care systems also were significant. CONCLUSIONS Adherence to church directives is inconsistent at Catholic‐associated clinics. Women visiting such clinics who want highly effective methods may need to rely on less effective methods or delay method uptake while seeking services elsewhere.