Shifting the abortion narrative for the Latinx patient
Abortion
Awarded 2021
Complex Family Planning Fellowship Research
Josephine Urbina, MD
University of California, San Francisco
$15,000

This is a qualitative study aiming to understand Latinx individuals’ attitudes, experiences and decision making with abortion. We propose an exploratory study of Latinx women from 3 US metropolitan areas with the largest Latinx population: Los Angeles, New York City and Miami. We will recruit participants using social media and confirm history of abortion prior to enrollment. We will invite 10 participants from each of the aforementioned regions to undergo in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Our goal is to recruit a sample of Latinx women from diverse backgrounds in terms of language, race, nationality and geographic location. We will record, transcribe, and analyze transcripts from the interviews. Data analysis will be done using a thematic analysis approach. We will utilize a community advisory board of Latinx women from the local community of the SF Bay Area to provide valuable insight into the underlying dynamics of certain disparities or preferences. We will also be collaborating with California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ) to give additional expert non-clinician input. Both the community advisory board and CLRJ will play a significant role in the development of the interview guide. This work has the potential to demonstrate a more accurate, community-informed representation of Latinx women’s abortion experiences. Furthermore, we anticipate that this study will prompt further research into evaluating interventions to improve abortion outcomes and experiences of Latinx women. We are hopeful that this exploration of Latinx women will bridge the gap between academic family planning research and the advancement of Latinx reproductive health and justice.