title: Racial and ethnic disparities in contraceptive method choice in California.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Unintended pregnancy, an important public health issue, disproportionately affects minority populations. Yet, the independent associations of race, ethnicity and other characteristics with contraceptive choice have not been well studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  Racial and ethnic disparities in contraceptive use among 3,277 women aged 18-44 and at risk for unintended pregnancy were assessed using 2006-2008 data from of the California Women's Health Survey. Sequential logistic regression analyses were used to examine the independent and cumulative associations of racial, ethnic, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics with method choice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Differences in contraceptive use persisted in analyses controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Blacks and foreign-born Asians were less likely than whites to use high-efficacy reversible methods-that is, hormonals or IUDs (odds ratio, 0.5 for each). No differences by race or ethnicity were found specifically for IUD use in the full model. Blacks and U.S.-born Hispanics were more likely than whites to choose female sterilization (1.9 and 1.7, respectively), while foreign-born Asians had reduced odds of such use (0.4). Finally, blacks and foreign-born Asians were less likely than whites to rely on male sterilization (0.3 and 0.1, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Socioeconomic factors did not explain the disparities in method choice among racial and ethnic groups. Intervention programs that focus on improving contraceptive choice among black and, particularly, Asian populations need to be developed, as such programs have the potential to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies that occur among these high-risk groups.
authors: Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA. shihg@fcm.ucsf.edu
authors: Grace
authors: G
authors: Shih
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Vittinghoff
authors: Jody
authors: J
authors: Steinauer
authors: Christine
authors: C
authors: Dehlendorf
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003270:Contraceptive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003273:Contraceptive Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned / Q000208:ethnology*; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013245:Sterilization, Reproductive / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003270:Contraceptive Agents