"I Don't Like Being Stereotyped, I Decided I Was Never Going Back to the Doctor": Sexual Healthcare Access Among Young Latina Women in Alabama.

UNITED States; ALABAMA

Young Latina women (YLW) in the US and in Alabama are disproportionately affected by sexual health disparities. Our community based participatory research (CBPR) study's purpose was to examine YLW's perceptions and experiences of sexual healthcare access (SHCA) toward developing community-driven, multilevel intervention strategies. We conducted 20 semi-structured qualitative interviews with YLW between 15 and 19 years old and who had been in the US for 5 or more years. We content-analyzed the data guided by the Socioecological Model of Sexual Health (SEMSH). We began analyses by coding independently, built consensus on the codes, then finished coding transcripts independently. Sixty-five percent of participants were US-born and 60% had health insurance. Participants identified barriers/facilitators to SHCA including discrimination in clinical settings and embarrassment/stigma about SHCA. Our study is the first in AL to use CBPR to work with YLW. Interventions should consider the multi-level and intersectional nature of SHCA challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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