African American Women's Retrospective Perceptions of the Intergenerational Transfer of Gynecological Health Care Information Received From Mothers: Implications for Families and Providers

Abstract

Seeking preventive care and communicating openly with providers during clinical encounters could reduce adolescent African American (AA) women's risk of acquiring STIs or HIV. This study examines how the intergenerational transfer of gynecological health care information between mothers and daughters may influence the health care-seeking behavior of AA adolescent women and their ability to speak openly with providers about sexual health concerns, including sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV prevention during clinical encounters. In-depth interviews were conducted with 17 AA women (ages 20–55) to elicit retrospective narrative accounts including reason for the first visit, decision to seek care, and mother-daughter communication regarding gynecological health care. Data were analyzed using Critical Incident Analysis (CIA). Most participants (70%) sought gynecological health care as adolescents based upon their mothers' recommendations. Many (59%) reported that the visit was not preventive. Participants (29%) reported that a lack of communication from mothers regarding gynecological health was critical to their ability to speak openly with providers. Knowledge gained from this study could increase mothers' as well as providers' ability to facilitate family gynecological health communication, which could decrease young women's risk of experiencing negative health outcomes including HIV.

This research was supported in part by grants from the Wayne State University Graduate School and Department of Sociology and by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Communities of Color HIV/AIDS Prevention Postdoctoral Fellowship at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.