The influence of patriarchal behavior on birth control access and use among recent Hispanic immigrants.

It is commonly assumed that Hispanic immigrants in the United States subscribe to a patriarchal ideology that keeps women subordinated to men, often through violence and exploitative reproductive behaviors. If this assumption is true, we might expect to find that in the Hispanic culture patriarchal males control decision-making about access to and use of birth control. Structured interviews of 100 Hispanic men and 100 Hispanic women who were recent immigrants to a Midwest community were conducted to examine this assumption.

Using Photovoice to improve family planning services for immigrant Hispanics.

In a participatory action research program called Photovoice, Hispanic immigrants in a Midwestern community took photographs to provide researchers with insight regarding family planning. This report describes the Photovoice approach, why the researchers chose it, how they implemented it, what they learned, and the benefits derived for a larger service project.

Male Hispanic immigrants talk about family planning.

In order to improve delivery of family planning services by better understanding the views of people affected, researchers conducted four focus groups among Hispanic men who recently migrated to a Midwestern community. Participants expressed opinions about, attitudes towards, and knowledge of such matters as family planning, birth control information and access, the influence of religion on family planning and birth control decisions, general familial relations, the prevalence of infidelity, use of and access to the health care system, and cultural differences between the U.S.

Understanding and responding to racial differences in drug court outcomes.

Significant differences in outcomes and characteristics exist between Caucasians and African-Americans in ten Missouri adult drug courts. Caucasians are more likely to graduate and they differ in significant ways from African-Americans in the context in which they lived their lives prior to drug court. Differences were significant between the two groups in employment levels at entry, primary drug of choice, levels of positive family support, and socioeconomic status.