Abstract
BackgroundAmerican Muslim women are an understudied population; thus, significant knowledge gaps exist related to their most basic health behaviors and indicators. Considering this, we examined American Muslim women’s contraception utilization patterns.MethodsSelf-reported data collected in late 2015 were analyzed. Women who identified as Muslim, were at least 18 years old, sexually active, and current residents of the United States (n = 224) met the inclusion criteria. Convenience sampling was employed. Multivariate logistic regression models estimated associations between demographics, marital status, ethnicity, nativity, health insurance, religious practice, and contraception use.ResultsIdentifying as Muslim, in general, was significantly associated with greater odds of using contraception in general and condoms compared to American Muslim women who identify as Sunni. Identifying as Shia was associated with greater odds of using oral contraceptive pills relative to Sunni respondents. South Asian ethnicity was associated with higher odds of using oral contraceptive pills compared to those of Middle Eastern or North African ethnicity.ConclusionsFindings suggest American Muslim women’s contraception utilization patterns share certain similarities with both American women in general and disadvantaged racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States, implying that factors that influence American Muslim women’s use of contraceptives are possibly countervailing and likely multifaceted. More research is needed to accurately identify associates of contraceptive use in this population. This work serves as a starting point for researchers and practitioners seeking to better understand reproductive health decision in this understudied population.
Highlights
American Muslim women are an understudied population; significant knowledge gaps exist related to their most basic health behaviors and indicators
We found that being a Shia Muslim or Muslim, in general was significantly associated with higher odds of using contraception
Our findings suggest these American Muslim women’s contraception utilization patterns share similarities with American women in general and with disadvantaged minority groups
Summary
American Muslim women are an understudied population; significant knowledge gaps exist related to their most basic health behaviors and indicators. The United Nations reported utilization of any contraception was 38.5% in Pakistan, 59.7% in Egypt, 38.6% in Saudi Arabia, 67.8% in Morocco, 62.4% in Lebanon, 63.8% in Tunisia, and 62.3% in Indonesia, all Muslim majority countries [12], illustrating significant variability in contraceptive use across nations The range of these rates suggests contraceptive utilization is associated with a spectrum of factors and cannot be extrapolated from one group to another.Since Muslim women residing in the United States have intersectionality in their cultural profile – as religious, racial, and ethnic minorities, possibly identifying as an immigrant, while being American – their health outcomes and health behaviors are likely nuanced not aligning completely with American women, in general, Muslim women living abroad, or racial and ethnic minority women in the United States. To inform the design of this study, we explored prior contraception research on minority and non-minority populations to identify potentially pertinent factors to include in the analyses, as well as applicable theories
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