Family Planning Knowledge: The Role of Social Networks and Primary Care Providers as Information Sources for African American Women

Disparities in the rates of unintended pregnancy have increased for low-income African American women as compared to other groups due, in part, to declining contraception use. Women obtain family planning information from diverse sources, which may ultimately influence contraceptive decision making. For this qualitative study, we conducted in-depth interviews with urban-dwelling low-income African American women to explore, within the framework of the theory of planned behavior, how family planning information is acquired from two distinct knowledge sources: social networks and primary care providers. We present thematic analysis and model interpretation, and offer approaches to preventing unintended pregnancy. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)