TY - JOUR
T1 - Female genital mutilation/cutting among somali women in the U.S. state of arizona
T2 - Evidence of treatment access, health service use and care experiences
AU - Michlig, Georgia
AU - Warren, Nicole
AU - Berhe, Merry
AU - Johnson-Agbakwu, Crista
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by funding from The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office on Women’s Health (OWH)—Award # ASTWH160045-02-00 to The Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC) at ASU (Crista E. Johnson-Agbakwu, P.I.). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of DHHS, OWH or SIRC. The authors would like to recognize and thank the Somali community partners and field workers who contributed to this research. No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/4/1
Y1 - 2021/4/1
N2 - Background. Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is associated with adverse sexual, reproductive and psychological sequelae. The aim of this study was to quantitatively explore factors related to satisfaction with FGM/C-related care in the US focusing on access to care, health service utilization, and women’s experiences. Methods. A community-based survey of 879 Ethnic Somali and Somali Bantu women using snowball sampling was conducted in Arizona. Bivariate, multivariable and ordered logistics analyses assessed the relationship between the aforementioned factors measured along six dimensions: non-discrimination, physical, economic, informational, health system accessibility and individual-level health service use factors. Findings. Most participants possessed FGM/C (77.4%), namely Type III (40.2%). FGM/C related health service use was low (14.3%). Perceived discrimination was associated with reduced satisfaction in care (OR = 0.22; CI 0.13–0.37). For FGM/C-specific variables, only recollection of adverse physical or psychological events at the time of circumcision predicted service use (OR = 3.09; CI 1.67–5.68). Somali Bantu (OR = 0.10; CI 0.02–0.44) and highly acculturated women (OR = 0.39; CI 0.17–0.86) had lower odds of service use. Conclusions. Achieving respectful care and outreach to women affected by FGM/C has contextual complexity. However, the clinical implications and insights provided may have broader impacts on advancing health equity for FGM/C-affected women.
AB - Background. Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is associated with adverse sexual, reproductive and psychological sequelae. The aim of this study was to quantitatively explore factors related to satisfaction with FGM/C-related care in the US focusing on access to care, health service utilization, and women’s experiences. Methods. A community-based survey of 879 Ethnic Somali and Somali Bantu women using snowball sampling was conducted in Arizona. Bivariate, multivariable and ordered logistics analyses assessed the relationship between the aforementioned factors measured along six dimensions: non-discrimination, physical, economic, informational, health system accessibility and individual-level health service use factors. Findings. Most participants possessed FGM/C (77.4%), namely Type III (40.2%). FGM/C related health service use was low (14.3%). Perceived discrimination was associated with reduced satisfaction in care (OR = 0.22; CI 0.13–0.37). For FGM/C-specific variables, only recollection of adverse physical or psychological events at the time of circumcision predicted service use (OR = 3.09; CI 1.67–5.68). Somali Bantu (OR = 0.10; CI 0.02–0.44) and highly acculturated women (OR = 0.39; CI 0.17–0.86) had lower odds of service use. Conclusions. Achieving respectful care and outreach to women affected by FGM/C has contextual complexity. However, the clinical implications and insights provided may have broader impacts on advancing health equity for FGM/C-affected women.
KW - Access to care
KW - Female genital cutting
KW - Female genital mutilation
KW - Health service use
KW - Quality of care
KW - Satisfaction in care
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U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18073733
DO - 10.3390/ijerph18073733
M3 - Article
C2 - 33918419
AN - SCOPUS:85103498402
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
JO - International journal of environmental research and public health
JF - International journal of environmental research and public health
IS - 7
M1 - 3733
ER -