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Disparities and Barriers Encountered by Immigrant Dominican Mothers Accessing Prenatal Care Services in Puerto Rico

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Abstract

Inadequate access to prenatal services has been associated with higher rates of mother and child mortality and premature births in the general population. Thus, this paper aims to compare the utilization and adequacy of prenatal care services of Dominican immigrant mothers with that of Puerto Rican mothers. Data was extracted from birth certificates using a cohort from 1998 to 2002 (n = 252, 919). The Kotelchuck index for adequate prenatal care was used for comparison with socio-demographic characteristics of the population. Less than half of Dominican mothers (48.5 %) received adequate prenatal care compared to more than two-thirds (69.1 %) of Puerto Rican mothers (p < .001). After controlling for demographic characteristics, health insurance, pregnancy risks, complications and previous birth (parity) the odds of receiving adequate care of Dominican mothers was 0.7 that of Puerto Rican mothers (p < .001). These results suggest significant disparities in obtaining adequate prenatal care services among migrant women and native Puerto Ricans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Determinants of Health Doctoral Program, Department of Social Sciences Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, PO BOX 365067, San Juan, PR, 00936-5067, USA

    J. F. Colón-Burgos

  2. Research and Evaluation of Health System Program, Department of Health Services Administration, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, USA

    H. M. Colón-Jordan

  3. Mother and Child Health Program, Department of Human Development, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, USA

    V. E. Reyes-Ortiz

  4. Department of Health Services Administration, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, USA

    H. A. Marin-Centeno & R. Rios-Mota

Authors
  1. J. F. Colón-Burgos
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  2. H. M. Colón-Jordan
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  3. V. E. Reyes-Ortiz
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  4. H. A. Marin-Centeno
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  5. R. Rios-Mota
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Correspondence to J. F. Colón-Burgos.

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Colón-Burgos, J.F., Colón-Jordan, H.M., Reyes-Ortiz, V.E. et al. Disparities and Barriers Encountered by Immigrant Dominican Mothers Accessing Prenatal Care Services in Puerto Rico. J Immigrant Minority Health 16, 646–651 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9875-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9875-8

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