Sociocultural factors in the use of prenatal care by Hmong women, Minneapolis

Understanding the sociocultural context of prenatal care underuse by an immigrant population can suggest programmatic changes that result in more effective health care delivery. Ethnographic survey interviews of female Hmong clinic patients conducted in 1987/88 revealed that they objected to biomedical procedures and to being attended by several doctors; the women also reported poor communication with staff as a problem. Clinic reforms implemented in 1989/90 included hiring a nurse-midwife, reducing the number of pelvic examinations, expanding hours of operation, creating a direct telephone line to Hmong interpreters, and producing a Hmong-language prenatal health care education videotape. Women interviewed in 1993 reported a more positive clinic experience.