Unmet family planning needs among female refugees and asylum seekers in Germany – is free access to family planning services enough? Results of a cross-sectional study
Abstract Background After the 1968 United Nations International Conference on Human Rights, access to family planning services became a human right. Such a service is of central importance to women’s empowerment and is empirically needed to provide adequate healthcare. For registered refugees and as...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2020-07-01
|
| Series: | Reproductive Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12978-020-00962-3 |
| _version_ | 1818885724901998592 |
|---|---|
| author | Melisa Guelhan Inci Nadja Kutschke Sara Nasser Sara Alavi Ingar Abels Christine Kurmeyer Jalid Sehouli |
| author_facet | Melisa Guelhan Inci Nadja Kutschke Sara Nasser Sara Alavi Ingar Abels Christine Kurmeyer Jalid Sehouli |
| author_sort | Melisa Guelhan Inci |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background After the 1968 United Nations International Conference on Human Rights, access to family planning services became a human right. Such a service is of central importance to women’s empowerment and is empirically needed to provide adequate healthcare. For registered refugees and asylum seekers in Germany complementary family planning services, including all forms of contraception, are free of charge. Yet, the success of these services remains unclear. The aim of this study is to describe the current reproductive health status of female refugees and to provide an initial overview of their existing unmet family planning and contraception needs. Methods Over the course of 2 years, from December 2015 to December 2017, a set of 50 female-only discussion groups were conducted in community shelters for registered refugees in Berlin. A total of 410 women between the ages of 14 and 74 participated. A convenience sampling strategy was then applied and a total of 307 semi-structured questionnaires covering 41 items related to demographic data and women’s health were distributed to volunteering female participants over the age of 17. The statistical analysis of the questionnaires was performed using SPSS (IBM, PASW, Version 24). P-values less than or equal to 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results Of the 307 participants, the majority were from Syria and Afghanistan (30% respectively). The mean age was 33 years (range: 18–63). On average, each woman had 2.5 births (range: 0–10). Twenty-four women (8%) were pregnant and fifty-four of the women (18%) were trying to become pregnant. The majority of women were classified as “requiring contraception” (n = 195; 63%) of which 183 gave further information on if and how they used family planning methods. The calculated unmet need for family planning in this group was 47%. Of the remaining 53% of the women who used contraception, many utilised “traditional” methods (34% withdrawal method; 8% calendar method) which have a pearl index of 4–18 and can therefore be classified as rather insufficient birth control methods. Intrauterine contraceptive devices were used by 30%. Conclusion Our study revealed that despite the provision of complementary family planning services, there remains unmet family planning and education needs in the female refugee community in Berlin. This study indicates that there is a major access gap to these services. Further research needs to be carried out to evaluate the access gap and clearly identify and implement action plans to address possible causes such as language barriers, lack of childcare and traumatic experiences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T16:10:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8f2def1f6a344238bb3d675a9a81ae4a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1742-4755 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T16:10:00Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Reproductive Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-8f2def1f6a344238bb3d675a9a81ae4a2022-12-21T20:14:46ZengBMCReproductive Health1742-47552020-07-011711910.1186/s12978-020-00962-3Unmet family planning needs among female refugees and asylum seekers in Germany – is free access to family planning services enough? Results of a cross-sectional studyMelisa Guelhan Inci0Nadja Kutschke1Sara Nasser2Sara Alavi3Ingar Abels4Christine Kurmeyer5Jalid Sehouli6Department of Gynecology, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of HealthDepartment of Gynecology, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of HealthDepartment of Gynecology, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of HealthDepartment of Gynecology, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of HealthMentoring Competence Center, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of HealthWomen and equal opportunities officer, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of HealthDepartment of Gynecology, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of HealthAbstract Background After the 1968 United Nations International Conference on Human Rights, access to family planning services became a human right. Such a service is of central importance to women’s empowerment and is empirically needed to provide adequate healthcare. For registered refugees and asylum seekers in Germany complementary family planning services, including all forms of contraception, are free of charge. Yet, the success of these services remains unclear. The aim of this study is to describe the current reproductive health status of female refugees and to provide an initial overview of their existing unmet family planning and contraception needs. Methods Over the course of 2 years, from December 2015 to December 2017, a set of 50 female-only discussion groups were conducted in community shelters for registered refugees in Berlin. A total of 410 women between the ages of 14 and 74 participated. A convenience sampling strategy was then applied and a total of 307 semi-structured questionnaires covering 41 items related to demographic data and women’s health were distributed to volunteering female participants over the age of 17. The statistical analysis of the questionnaires was performed using SPSS (IBM, PASW, Version 24). P-values less than or equal to 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results Of the 307 participants, the majority were from Syria and Afghanistan (30% respectively). The mean age was 33 years (range: 18–63). On average, each woman had 2.5 births (range: 0–10). Twenty-four women (8%) were pregnant and fifty-four of the women (18%) were trying to become pregnant. The majority of women were classified as “requiring contraception” (n = 195; 63%) of which 183 gave further information on if and how they used family planning methods. The calculated unmet need for family planning in this group was 47%. Of the remaining 53% of the women who used contraception, many utilised “traditional” methods (34% withdrawal method; 8% calendar method) which have a pearl index of 4–18 and can therefore be classified as rather insufficient birth control methods. Intrauterine contraceptive devices were used by 30%. Conclusion Our study revealed that despite the provision of complementary family planning services, there remains unmet family planning and education needs in the female refugee community in Berlin. This study indicates that there is a major access gap to these services. Further research needs to be carried out to evaluate the access gap and clearly identify and implement action plans to address possible causes such as language barriers, lack of childcare and traumatic experiences.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12978-020-00962-3GermanyRefugee healthFamily planningWomenContraceptive usePregnancy, unplanned |
| spellingShingle | Melisa Guelhan Inci Nadja Kutschke Sara Nasser Sara Alavi Ingar Abels Christine Kurmeyer Jalid Sehouli Unmet family planning needs among female refugees and asylum seekers in Germany – is free access to family planning services enough? Results of a cross-sectional study Reproductive Health Germany Refugee health Family planning Women Contraceptive use Pregnancy, unplanned |
| title | Unmet family planning needs among female refugees and asylum seekers in Germany – is free access to family planning services enough? Results of a cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Unmet family planning needs among female refugees and asylum seekers in Germany – is free access to family planning services enough? Results of a cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Unmet family planning needs among female refugees and asylum seekers in Germany – is free access to family planning services enough? Results of a cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unmet family planning needs among female refugees and asylum seekers in Germany – is free access to family planning services enough? Results of a cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Unmet family planning needs among female refugees and asylum seekers in Germany – is free access to family planning services enough? Results of a cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | unmet family planning needs among female refugees and asylum seekers in germany is free access to family planning services enough results of a cross sectional study |
| topic | Germany Refugee health Family planning Women Contraceptive use Pregnancy, unplanned |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12978-020-00962-3 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT melisaguelhaninci unmetfamilyplanningneedsamongfemalerefugeesandasylumseekersingermanyisfreeaccesstofamilyplanningservicesenoughresultsofacrosssectionalstudy AT nadjakutschke unmetfamilyplanningneedsamongfemalerefugeesandasylumseekersingermanyisfreeaccesstofamilyplanningservicesenoughresultsofacrosssectionalstudy AT saranasser unmetfamilyplanningneedsamongfemalerefugeesandasylumseekersingermanyisfreeaccesstofamilyplanningservicesenoughresultsofacrosssectionalstudy AT saraalavi unmetfamilyplanningneedsamongfemalerefugeesandasylumseekersingermanyisfreeaccesstofamilyplanningservicesenoughresultsofacrosssectionalstudy AT ingarabels unmetfamilyplanningneedsamongfemalerefugeesandasylumseekersingermanyisfreeaccesstofamilyplanningservicesenoughresultsofacrosssectionalstudy AT christinekurmeyer unmetfamilyplanningneedsamongfemalerefugeesandasylumseekersingermanyisfreeaccesstofamilyplanningservicesenoughresultsofacrosssectionalstudy AT jalidsehouli unmetfamilyplanningneedsamongfemalerefugeesandasylumseekersingermanyisfreeaccesstofamilyplanningservicesenoughresultsofacrosssectionalstudy |