Hispanic Immigrant Women Talk About Family Planning

Abstract

In an effort to discover what can improve family planning services for recently immigrated Hispanic women and to foster cultural competence among health care providers in this arena, the authors conducted four focus groups of recently immigrated Hispanic women in a medium-sized Midwestern community. The focus group discussions covered such topics as health care, knowledge of birth control, domestic life, and economic issues in the United States. The participants demonstrated knowledge of and support for the concept of family planning and specific birth control methods. They also identified issues that challenge the use of birth control at the individual, family, system, and cultural levels.