The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #72243

Nancy Goldfarb, MSW, Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy, University of California at San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 265, San Francisco, CA 94143-0936, 415-476-6594, nlgold@itsa.ucsf.edu, Alma Avila-Pilchman, ACCESS/Women’s Health Rights Coalition, P.O. Box 3609, Oakland, CA 94609, and Jennifer Parker, MSW, ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Coalition, P.O. Box 3609, Oakland, CA 94609.

This paper reviews the findings of the ACCESS/Women’s Health Rights Coalition Program, in Oakland, California, which offers a Spanish toll-free hotline providing reproductive health information, referrals, and support to women living in Northern and Central California. This program is supported by the Women’s Community Health Leadership program, funded through the Johnson & Johnson Company. According to the 2000 census, 32.4% of Californians were Hispanic. Low-income Latinas are less likely to be insured than low-income Black, Asian American or White women in California. In 1999, Latinas accounted for 48% of all births in California, but 20% of them did not begin prenatal care until at least their second trimester. In 2000, for the eighth year in a row, Latinas also accounted for over one-third of Medi-Cal funded abortions. As of December 2002, 64 callers from 20 California counties contacted the ACCESS Spanish Hotline since its inception in summer 2002. The majority (87%, n=55) was female and approximately 20% were under 21 years of age. Most were Latina (84%, n=53), and more than half of the Latinas (53%, n=28) were Mexicana. Almost half (48%, n=30) were uninsured and almost half (48%, n=30) had experienced language barriers in their pursuit of healthcare. Follow-up calls are periodically made to a sample of callers. Because little information exists about this population’s actual healthcare experiences, ACCESS is poised to raise an awareness of the barriers that Spanish-speaking women, Latinas and immigrants face in obtaining reproductive healthcare, and to model strategies that other organizations can follow.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the barriers monolingual Latinas face in accessing quality reproductive healthcare.
• Describe the ACCESS program to overcome those barriers.
• Apply methods to own outreach programs.

Keywords: Access and Services, Reproductive Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment