U.S. Womenʼs Intended Sources for Reproductive Health Care [23]

INTRODUCTION: It is unclear how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will influence women's use of reproductive health care sources, including family planning clinics, which have traditionally played a key role in safety net services. We explored women's intended sources of care for contraception, pelvic exam/Pap test, and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing services following passage of the ACA. METHODS: Data were drawn from a study of U.S. adults conducted in January 2013 from a national online panel. We focused on English-speaking women aged 18–45 years who answered items on intended sources of care (private office/HMO, family planning clinic, other, would not get care) for reproductive health services. We used Rao-Scott chi-square tests to compare intended sources across sociodemographic groups. Sampling weights were used to adjust for the complex sampling design and permitted nationally represented inferences. RESULTS: The response rate was 61% (n=2,182). Of the 723 respondents who met the inclusion criteria, approximately half intended to use private offices/HMOs (contraception 50%, pelvic/pap 59%, STI 51%). Intended source was associated with age, education, race/ethnicity, marital status, household income, and insurance status (P