Access to and use of abortion services among Asians and immigrants in the US
Abortion
Awarded 2018
Emerging Scholars in Family Planning
Sheila Desai, MPH
City University of New York
$3,500

Objectives: To examine the use of abortion services and potential barriers to obtaining care among Asian and immigrant women in the US. Methods: Using vital statistics data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and population data from the American Community Survey, abortion rates and ratios will be calculated for Asian women overall, South Asian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese women, and women from other racial/ethnic groups, by nativity status, from 2007-2015, and compared over time and between groups. Data from the Guttmacher Institute’s 2008 and 2014 Abortion Patient Surveys will also be used to examine the effect on distance traveled to obtain an abortion by nativity status and race/ethnicity. Results: Group-specific abortion rates and ratios and trends will be documented. Unadjusted and adjusted effect sizes for the associations between nativity, race/ethnicity, and distance traveled will be reported with 95% confidence intervals. Conclusions: Findings from this work will be critical to advance efforts to increase abortion access across all groups.