The Unobserved Barriers in Undocumented Latina Women’s Reproductive Health Utilization: A Review of Health Policy Across Four States
dc.contributor.advisor | Montes, Veronica (Sociologist) | |
dc.contributor.author | Yupe, Stephany | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2024-07-15T18:36:07Z | |
dc.date.available | 2024-07-15T18:36:07Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2024 | |
dc.description | Stephany Yupe was a student at Bryn Mawr | |
dc.description.abstract | This study examines the patterns of reproductive healthcare utilization of Latina undocumented immigrant women to contribute to a discussion of unequal health access for these women. The health-seeking behaviors of women were analyzed across California, New York, Minnesota, and Illinois to understand how state policy plays a role in preventing undocumented groups from receiving preventive services. The goal of this review is not to list patterns of reproductive health. Although it provides insight into prenatal and postpartum care rates for women. Instead, it deconstructs barriers in reproductive studies that prevent access to the health system. The undocumented Latina experience in the U.S is precarious compared to documented or U.S.-born Latinas. Undocumented women are subject to federal law that excludes them from receiving safety nets such as Medicaid. Based on a review of thirty-four qualitative articles on undocumented Latinas and health disparities, this thesis reveals how public health policy and cultural barriers influence care. The review adds to healthcare disparities for undocumented women by going beyond a mainstream model of SES barriers like income, and insurance status as determinants of health. The concept of unobserved barriers such as fear of deportation is used instead. The study is corrective to the thin literature on Medicaid policy by showing how state insurance has an intimate relationship with the undocumented. The findings reveal that undocumented women were receiving prenatal care at alarmingly lower rates than documented women or were receiving inadequate care. In all cases state sovereignty for public health was influential to the services women lacked. The prominent unobserved barriers were English proficiency, lack of knowledge, fear of deportation, and temporary coverage. The cases of California, New York, Minnesota, and Illinois reveal that to improve access unobserved barriers need to be taken seriously in the face of insufficient health policy. | |
dc.description.sponsorship | Bryn Mawr College. Department of Sociology | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10066/50356 | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.rights.access | Open access | |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ | |
dc.subject.lcsh | Reproductive health | |
dc.subject.lcsh | Medical policy | |
dc.subject.lcsh | Women noncitizens | |
dc.title | The Unobserved Barriers in Undocumented Latina Women’s Reproductive Health Utilization: A Review of Health Policy Across Four States | |
dc.type | Thesis |