Research Posters

FAMILY PLANNING BELIEFS AND BEHAVIORS AMONG AFRICAN REFUGEE WOMEN

Sample Characteristics by Country of Birth (N=101)

African refugee women comprise a growing and distinct population at-risk for poor sexual and reproductive health, however, are seldom distinctly examined in the literature, particularly related to their sexual and reproductive health attitudes and behaviors towards family planning.
Evidence from outside the United States suggests resettled African women report religio-cultural barriers to using family planning methods, in addition to barriers related to lack of knowledge, particularly regarding misconceptions related to side-effects and long-term effects on fertility.
These beliefs have not yet been adequately evaluated among African women resettled in US.
In this study, we describe beliefs towards pregnancy, and family planning behaviors in a sample of African refugee women resettled in Buffalo, New York.

Reproductive health decision‐making among US‐dwelling Somali Bantu refugee women: A qualitative study
6/11/20
Dr. Kafuli Agbemenu, assistant professor of nursing, conducts innovative community-based research to improve the reproductive health of vulnerable and marginalized populations of women living in the U.S. Her most recent study, Reproductive health decision-making among US-dwelling Somali Bantu refugee women: A qualitative study, published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, aimed to explore Somali Bantu refugee women's reproductive health decision-making, as influenced by their resettlement in the U.S. The study revealed that children are, for Somali Bantu Women, considered as wealth. If health care providers are equipped with a more culturally nuanced understanding of factors that influence reproductive health decision-making, they can provide person-centered care that meets their patients needs and is appropriate.