Use of sexual health services among American Indian and Alaska Native Women

ABSTRACT

Because use of sexual health services among American Indian/Alaska Native women is understudied we: (1) examined disparities in use of sexual health services between American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic white women and (2) identified factors associated with service use among American Indian/Alaska Native women. We used data from the National Survey of Family Growth regarding the use of sexual health services collected between 2006 and 2010 from women aged 15–44 years who self-identified as American Indian/Alaska Native (n = 819) and white (n = 6,196). Weighted logistic regression models estimated the likelihood of reporting the use of sexual health services by race and factors associated with use in the American Indian/Alaska Native sample. Compared to whites, American Indian/Alaska Native women were less likely to use birth control services and more likely to use services for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. Among American Indian/Alaska Natives, younger women were more likely to use birth control services, and women who had a higher number of sexual partners were more likely to use services for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. Our results provide a national baseline against which to assess disparities and changes in the use of sexual health services among American Indian/Alaska Native women over time.

KEYWORDS:

• Contraception
• Native American
• sexually transmitted infection
• reproductive health

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the staff at the National Center for Health Statistics Research Data Center for their support in obtaining data for this project. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Center for Health Statistics Research Data Center or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.