Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Medical Education Research and Development, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Contraception. 2021 Nov;104(5):538-546. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2021.05.008. Epub 2021 May 26.
Despite relatively poor health outcomes of migrants in Japan, little is known about their access to reproductive healthcare. We conducted qualitative research to explore perceived barriers to access, with a specific focus on contraceptive services, and their consequences among Myanmar migrants in Japan.
From January to April 2020, we conducted 17 in-depth interviews with Myanmar migrant women and 4 key informant interviews with Myanmar interpreters working in health services in Tokyo, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures. We transcribed interviews and coded them in ATLAS.ti primarily using a deductive approach based on the 5 components of Levesque et al.'s conceptual framework of healthcare access. We also used inductive coding to allow for other themes outside of the framework to emerge.
Among the 17 women, almost half stated that they were using periodic abstinence based on the presumed fertility window or the withdrawal method. Furthermore, slightly over half of the women had a history of unintended pregnancy. Language barriers, limited health information sources, cultural and health beliefs and financial factors played important roles in access to contraceptives among Myanmar migrant women. Women described how these barriers resulted in feeling lack of control over family planning and unintended pregnancies.
Findings suggested that Myanmar migrants in Japan are faced with limited contraceptive access. Language barriers, limited information sources, health beliefs, and cultural and financial factors affected access.
Results suggest that to increase public awareness and contraceptive access of Myanmar women in Japan nonprofit support programs would benefit from the help of existing social networks of Myanmar migrants, interpreters, and Japanese doctors and researchers in reproductive health.
尽管移民在日本的健康状况相对较差，但对于他们获得生殖保健的机会却知之甚少。我们进行了定性研究，以探讨获取障碍的认知，重点关注避孕服务及其对在日缅甸移民的后果。
2020 年 1 月至 4 月，我们对 17 名缅甸移民妇女进行了深入访谈，并对在东京、埼玉和千叶县从事卫生服务的 4 名缅甸口译员进行了 4 次关键知情人访谈。我们将访谈转录并在 ATLAS.ti 中进行编码，主要采用基于 Lévesque 等人医疗保健获取概念框架的 5 个组成部分的演绎方法。我们还使用归纳编码来允许框架之外出现其他主题。
在 17 名女性中，近一半表示她们根据推测的生育窗口或撤出法使用定期禁欲。此外，略超过一半的女性有意外怀孕的历史。语言障碍、有限的健康信息来源、文化和健康信仰以及经济因素在缅甸移民妇女获取避孕药具方面发挥了重要作用。女性描述了这些障碍如何导致她们对计划生育和意外怀孕感到缺乏控制。
研究结果表明，在日本的缅甸移民面临着有限的避孕机会。语言障碍、信息来源有限、健康信仰、文化和经济因素影响了获取机会。
结果表明，为了提高在日缅甸妇女的公众意识和避孕机会，非营利支持计划将受益于现有的缅甸移民、口译员以及日本生殖健康医生和研究人员的社会网络的帮助。
