Assessing Barriers and Utilization of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services among Female Migrant Workers in Vietnam

Toan Ha (), David Givens, Hui Shi, Trang Nguyen, Nam Nguyen, Roman Shrestha, Linda Frank and Stephen L. Schensul
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Toan Ha: Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
David Givens: Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
Hui Shi: Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
Trang Nguyen: Institute of Social and Medical Studies, Hanoi 10000, Vietnam
Nam Nguyen: Institute of Social and Medical Studies, Hanoi 10000, Vietnam
Roman Shrestha: Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
Linda Frank: Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
Stephen L. Schensul: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT 06030, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 14, 1-11

Abstract: Young migrant women workers frequently experience disparities in accessing health services, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, especially in urban settings. This study assesses the barriers and utilization of SRH services and explores factors associated with the utilization of these services among young female migrant workers working in the industrial zone (IZ) in Vietnam. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1061 young women migrant workers working in an IZ in Hanoi, Vietnam. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with utilization of SRH services. Nearly 35% of the participants reported using SRH services at least once since working in the IZ. Additionally, around 78% of the participants reported using a contraceptive method during their last sexual encounter. The study also found that older participants (25–29 years old) were nearly two times more likely to use SRH services than younger participants (18–24 years old) (OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.19–3.06). Married participants had nearly six times higher odds of using SRH services compared to single participants (OR = 5.98, 95% CI: 3.71–9.63), and participants with higher incomes were more likely to use SRH services (OR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01–1.04). The most commonly reported barriers to access SRH services were inconvenient hours of service operation (26.2%), followed by long distance from the service location (9.2%) and high service cost (5.2%). This study found a low level of SRH service utilization and identified several barriers to accessing these services among the study participants. The study findings provide important evidence insights for policymakers and program managers to develop and implement policies that help reduce barriers and enhance the provision of SRH services tailored to the needs of IZ married and unmarried women migrant workers in the IZ in rapidly developing and urbanizing countries like Vietnam and other low- and middle-income countries with similar contexts.

Keywords: sexual and reproductive health; contraception; migrant women workers; industrial zone; Vietnam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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