How and What Do Women Learn About Contraception? A Latent Class Analysis of Reproductive-Age Women in Delaware and Maryland.

Fatima Zahra , University of Maryland
Monica Caudillo, University of Maryland
Michael S. Rendall, University of Maryland

Studies of contraceptive learning have focused on younger ages and single information sources. We applied latent class analysis to a population-representative survey of 2,213 women aged 18-44 in Delaware and Maryland in 2016/17 to analyze women’s combining of sources for contraceptive information. We identified four “learning profiles” from their sources of information received in the past 3 months: 1) primarily healthcare providers; 2) traditional media such as television, radio, and print ads; 3) personal networks and the Internet; and 4) all sources. Of the two thirds of women who had received contraceptive information in the last 3 months, healthcare providers and traditional media were the most common sources of information, followed by personal networks and the Internet. Lower education and older age predicted less information receipt. Women who received information from the most sources were more likely to learn about multiple aspects of contraceptive access, cost, effectiveness, and usage.

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 Presented in Session 184. Reproductive Behavior and Sexual Health of Middle and Older Adults