Identifying factors of influence on family planning practices among rural Haitian women

Type Thesis or Dissertation - Master's
Title Identifying factors of influence on family planning practices among rural Haitian women
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2010
URL http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/7071/1/Mason2010etd.pdf
Abstract
Haiti, a country located in the Caribbean, is considered to be the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. With a population of more than eight million, Haiti is amongst the poorest of the poor with majority of the population living in abject poverty. In Haiti, a large majority of women have unmet needs for family planning or child-spacing which inevitably leads to high maternal mortality. In Haiti, most births occur at home without trained health care personnel, and the country has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDs in the region. Increasing access to reproductive health services, including family planning, to women who want them is of critical public health concern. The purpose of this thesis is to examine factors that may affect rural Haitian women’s choice in utilizing family planning services by using the Social Ecological Framework as a guide. A comprehensive literature search was conducted through multiple search engines and two themes were identified as factors of influence including contraceptive use and desired family size. Increasing the availability of family planning services to women who want them would increase the likelihood of saving lives and improving the overall health of women in rural Haiti by increasing socio-economic status, empowerment, education, and reproductive health.

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