Navigating Social Networks, Resources, and Neighborhoods: Facilitators of Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Use among Women Released From Jail

ABSTRACT

Our objective was to understand factors that support or undermine sexual and reproductive health care use among women released from jail. We conducted semistructured interviews with 28 women (ages 20–53) on average 6 months after their release from a city jail. Social support networks were the most common factor that supported women's sexual and reproductive health care use; having a medical home, reliable transportation, financial resources, and neighborhood dynamics were other factors mentioned by health care users. Community-based public health efforts should address the social context in which women on the margins of society perceive sexual health risk and use sexual and reproductive health care services.

KEYWORDS:

• health care use
• incarcerated women
• sexual health
• reproductive health
• reentry

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a CTSA grant from NCATS awarded to the University of Kansas Medical Center for Frontiers: The Heartland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research # KL2TR000119. Megha Ramaswamy was the PI of the KL2 project, from which this study is based. The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.