title: Con un pie en dos islas: cultural bridges that inform sexual and reproductive health in the Dominican Republic and New York.
abstract: Immigrants from the Dominican Republic have grown in number and currently make up a substantial portion of New York City's population. In order to better understand the cultural context of Dominican women's sexual and reproductive health attitudes and practices, focus groups were conducted with Dominican women living in New York City as well as with women living in the Dominican Republic. Analysis found that women in the USA had more economic independence and a greater sense of freedom in regards to sexuality than women in the Dominican Republic. However, those in New York City also hoped to maintain their cultural identity in many ways. Women associated the prevalence of gender-based violence with male unemployment and alcohol abuse. Women in both locales reported limited condom use and saw contraception as a woman's responsibility. Many barriers to using the healthcare system were identified and, in many cases, there exists a preference for herbal treatments and folk remedies. This study provided many important insights that have the potential to increase the quality of sexual and reproductive health care for Dominican women.
authors.affiliation: Planned Parenthood of New York City, New York, New York, USA. vicki.breitbart@ppnyc.org
authors.forename: Vicki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Breitbart
authors.forename: Haydee
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.forename: Jaweer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Bethania
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Betances
authors.forename: Farra
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kahalnik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003469:Culture; D004293:Dominican Republic / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D043762:Reproductive Behavior; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data