Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Dr. Jirinia Renger

Abstract

There has been limited research on Arab Americans as they are an unidentified minority population. The specific research problem addressed through this study is that there is little research pertaining to the role of intimate partner violence (IPV) in poor contraceptive practice among Arab Americans, contributing to the larger problem of unwanted pregnancies, reproductive coercion, and other aspects of reproductive health. The problem with a high prevalence rate of IPV among Arab American women is that they are more susceptible to becoming pregnant and not accessing the reproductive health services that they may need. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study was to understand perceptions in contraceptive practice for Arab American victims of IPV and how those perceptions influenced their reproductive health decisions, based on the conceptual framework of the health belief model. Interviews were conducted as the primary source of data. Data were coded, and NVivo software was employed organize data and assist with identification of concepts and themes. Findings suggest that Arab American women of IPV had negative experiences with contraceptive use and with Arabic cultural beliefs, and societal expectations were the biggest indicator in influencing negative perceptions and poor contraceptive use. This is important to address for Arab Americans as they remain an unidentified minority group who lack intervention and prevention services due to a gap in research pertaining to Arab Americans. Implications for positive social change include raising awareness and changing the perceptions of medical, public health, and research professionals in better understanding Arab Americans and providing tailored interventions that meet their reproductive health needs.

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