Mistreatment in health care among women in Appalachia

Figures & data

Figure 1. Conceptual framework.

Figure 2. Survey participants by Appalachian zip code.

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of Appalachian women of reproductive age (N = 628).

Variable	Sample (M(SD) or n (%))	Overall Appalachian region (%)
Age	M = 33.7 (SD = 6.6)	41.4 (median age)^a
Income (1–6)	M = 3.4 (SD = 1.4)	$53,546 (median household income)^a
Insurance status
Not insured	n = 64 (10.2%)	13.4%^a
Insured	n = 563 (89.8%)	86.6%^a
Race/ethnicity
White	n = 564 (89.8%)	80.3%^a
Not white	n = 64 (10.2%)	19.7%^a
Marital status
Not married	n = 178 (28.6%)
Married	n = 444 (70.7%)
Education level
High school	n = 88 (14.1%)	53.4^a
Some college/trade school	n = 246 (39.5%)	9.1^a
Bachelor’s degree	n = 152 (24.4%)	25.4^a,b
Graduate school	n = 137 (22.0%)

a Data from The Appalachian Region: A Data Overview from the 2016 to 2020 American Community Survey.

b Bachelors and graduate degrees combined.

Table 2. Frequency of negative experiences in health care among Appalachian women of reproductive age (N = 628).

Variable	(n (%))
	In general health care	While seeking birth control
Bad experience with provider	–	–
No	207 (33.1%)	525 (84.3%)
Yes	418 (66.9%)	98 (15.7%)
Perceived reason for bad treatment^a	–	–
Income	210 (33.6%)	122 (19.6%)
Race	45 (7.2%)	37 (6.0%)
Gender	150 (24.0%)	–
Appalachian	133 (21.2%)	81 (13.1%)
Weight	224 (35.8%)	115 (18.6%)
Frequency of intersecting stigmas	–	–
None	267 (43.2%)	429 (69.6%)
One	123 (19.9%)	79 (12.9%)
Multiple	228 (36.9%)	106 (17.3%)
Type of bad experience^a	–	–
Didn’t feel listened to	246 (39.2%)	–
Not comfortable with provider	190 (30.3%)	–
Provider was rude/condescending	311 (49.5%)	–
Unwelcome due to LGBTQ + identity	14 (2.2%)	–
Didn’t understand birth control options	–	21 (3.3%)
Not offered all birth control options	–	35 (5.6%)
Uncomfortable due to provider’s gender	–	12 (1.9%)
Provider denied preferred birth control method	–	38 (6.1%)
Provider refused to give any birth control	–	11 (1.8%)
Refused preferred birth control	–	37 (5.9%)
Provider tried to force birth control	–	42 (6.7%)
Pressured to use birth control	–	164 (27.4%)
Pressured not to use birth control	–	50 (8.4%)
Pharmacist refused to give birth control	–	26 (4.2%)

a Categories are not mutually exclusive.