Racial disparities in contraceptive use between student and nonstudent populations.
BACKGROUND
In order to explore opportunities for eliminating the persistent racial disparities in contraceptive use between Caucasian and African American young adults, we examined whether student populations display a reduced racial disparity in overall contraceptive use and use of highly effective contraceptives.


METHODS
Using data collected from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) over 3 years, we conducted multivariate analysis to compare racial disparities in contraceptive use in the nonstudent, young adult (18-24 years) population with those in the student population. Analyses are controlled for age, income, education, and insurance status.


RESULTS
Both African American students and nonstudents demonstrate a trend of being more likely than their Caucasian counterparts to forego use of contraception, but the findings are statistically significant only for the impact of race on nonstudents (OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.15-1.84). However, African American students show a greater disparity in using effective contraceptive methods compared with Caucasian peers (OR = 0.459, 95% CI 0.316-0.668) than in the nonstudent population (OR = 0.591, 95% CI 0.488-0.715).


CONCLUSIONS
Although race is not significant for predicting overall use of contraceptives among students, racial disparities are magnified among student populations with regard to use of highly effective contraceptives. Contraceptive counseling for African American young adults should focus on method effectiveness and consider additional issues, such as insurance coverage for contraceptives. For students, targeted counseling or interventions may be required.
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA. lgaydos@emory.edu
Laura M
LM
Gaydos
Berivan Demir
BD
Neubert
Carol J R
CJ
Hogue
Michael R
MR
Kramer
Zhou
Z
Yang
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000367:Age Factors; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult