IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v286y2021ics027795362100650x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“I talked to a couple of friends that had it”: Informal feminized health networks and contraceptive method choices

Author

Listed:
  • Dalessandro, Cristen
  • Thorpe, Rachael
  • Sanders, Jessica

Abstract

Scholars recognize that social networks can influence a number of health behaviors, including women's contraceptive method choices. However, the gendered dynamics underlying the process of using non-medical information sources to make decisions about contraception has received less attention. Using 30 semi-structured interviews with women enrolled in a contraceptive initiative in the western United States, we explore how women use gendered understandings of medicine and feminized social networks to make decisions about contraceptives. Frequently categorizing their experiences in medical settings as unsatisfactory, women often turn to social support networks of other women—what we call “informal feminized health networks”—to gather information about the effects of contraceptives on women's bodies and to make decisions about which contraceptives are best. While informal feminized health networks are useful, women utilize them in light of unsatisfactory experiences in clinical settings. Working to uproot the paternalistic legacy of institutionalized medicine and improving provider-patient communication will enhance contraceptive access and help women reach their reproductive goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Dalessandro, Cristen & Thorpe, Rachael & Sanders, Jessica, 2021. "“I talked to a couple of friends that had it”: Informal feminized health networks and contraceptive method choices," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:286:y:2021:i:c:s027795362100650x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114318
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027795362100650X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114318?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kincaid, D. Lawrence, 2000. "Social networks, ideation, and contraceptive behavior in Bangladesh: a longitudinal analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 215-231, January.
    2. Gayen, Kaberi & Raeside, Robert, 2010. "Social networks and contraception practice of women in rural Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(9), pages 1584-1592, November.
    3. Dorothy Warner & J. Drew Procaccino, 2004. "Toward wellness: Women seeking health information," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 55(8), pages 709-730, June.
    4. Hans-Peter Kohler, 1997. "Learning in social networks and contraceptive choice," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 34(3), pages 369-383, August.
    5. Stevens, Lindsay M., 2018. "“We have to be mythbusters”: Clinician attitudes about the legitimacy of patient concerns and dissatisfaction with contraception," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 145-152.
    6. Kai-Wen Cheng, 2011. "The Effect of Contraceptive Knowledge on Fertility: The Roles of Mass Media and Social Networks," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 257-267, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Heidi Colleran & Ruth Mace, 2015. "Social network and community level influences on contraceptive use: evidence from rural Poland," Post-Print hal-04313952, HAL.
    2. Sheabo Dessalegn, S., 2017. "Social capital and maternal health care use in rural Ethiopia," Other publications TiSEM bb0ec225-4ec3-4028-90d6-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    3. Stella Babalola & Neetu John & Bolanle Ajao & Ilene Speizer, 2015. "Ideation and intention to use contraceptives in Kenya and Nigeria," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(8), pages 211-238.
    4. Mertens, Frédéric & Saint-Charles, Johanne & Mergler, Donna, 2012. "Social communication network analysis of the role of participatory research in the adoption of new fish consumption behaviors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(4), pages 643-650.
    5. Le Guen, Mireille & Schantz, Clémence & Régnier-Loilier, Arnaud & de La Rochebrochard, Elise, 2021. "Reasons for rejecting hormonal contraception in Western countries: A systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    6. Gayen, Kaberi & Raeside, Robert, 2010. "Social networks and contraception practice of women in rural Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(9), pages 1584-1592, November.
    7. Gayen, Kaberi & Raeside, Robert, 2007. "Social networks, normative influence and health delivery in rural Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(5), pages 900-914, September.
    8. H Peyton Young, 2014. "The Evolution of Social Norms," Economics Series Working Papers 726, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    9. Kuang-Ta Lo, 2012. "The Crowding-out Effect of Homeownership on Fertility," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 108-117, March.
    10. Aduralere Opeyemi Oyelade & Onome Bright Oghenetega & Favour Eforuoku, 2020. "Labour Force Participation Rate and it Implications on Food Security, Fertility Rate and Economic Growth in West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Countries," Business & Management Compass, University of Economics Varna, issue 4, pages 444-458.
    11. Tiéfigué Pierrette Coulibaly & Jianguo Du & Daniel Diakité & Olivier Joseph Abban & Elvis Kouakou, 2021. "A Proposed Conceptual Framework on the Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices: The Role of Network Contact Frequency and Institutional Trust," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-12, February.
    12. Nicoletta Balbo & Francesco C. Billari & Melinda Mills, 2013. "Fertility in Advanced Societies: A Review of Research," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 29(1), pages 1-38, February.
    13. Manzer, Jamie L. & Bell, Ann V., 2022. "The limitations of patient-centered care: The case of early long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) removal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    14. Jere Behrman & Hans-Peter Kohler & Susan C. Watkins, 2003. "Social Networks, HIV/AIDS and Risk Perceptions," PIER Working Paper Archive 03-007, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    15. Pascaline Dupas & Seema Jayachandran & Adriana Lleras-Muney & Pauline Rossi, 2024. "The Negligible Effect of Free Contraception on Fertility: Experimental Evidence from Burkina Faso," NBER Working Papers 32427, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Fogarty, L. & Creanza, N. & Feldman, M.W., 2013. "The role of cultural transmission in human demographic change: An age-structured model," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 68-77.
    17. Kabeya Clement Mulamba, 2023. "The role of male partners in modern contraceptive use by women in South Africa: Does space also matter?," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 1-23, June.
    18. Moser, Stephanie & Mosler, Hans-Joachim, 2008. "Differences in influence patterns between groups predicting the adoption of a solar disinfection technology for drinking water in Bolivia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(4), pages 497-504, August.
    19. Perkins, Jessica M. & Subramanian, S.V. & Christakis, Nicholas A., 2015. "Social networks and health: A systematic review of sociocentric network studies in low- and middle-income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 60-78.
    20. Nurul Athirah Naserrudin & Rozita Hod & Mohammad Saffree Jeffree & Kamruddin Ahmed & Mohd Rohaizat Hassan, 2022. "The Emerging Threat of Plasmodium knowlesi Malaria Infection: A Concept Paper on the Vulnerable Factors in Human," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-18, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:286:y:2021:i:c:s027795362100650x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.