In a recent Child Trends survey, 52 percent of family planning patients reported that a provider who was familiar with their religion or culture was an important factor when choosing who to see for care. Of those, 71 percent reported that they were able to see a provider with this expertise during their last visit (see Figure 1). Overall, providers who understand how a patient’s background may affect various aspects of their health care are better equipped to deliver patient-centered care (i.e., care focused on individual patients’ preferences). This understanding is especially needed in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, where issues are often sensitive and strong patient-provider relationships are essential to delivering high-quality care.
Figure 1. 52 percent of family planning patients reported that having a provider who was familiar with their religion or culture was important, and 71 percent of those with this preference had it met
Among patients seeking a provider familiar with their religion or culture, we found that those who were able to see such a provider were more likely to rate their visit as “mostly positive” (76%), as compared to those whose preference was not met (59%).
Figure 2. Patients whose provider was familiar with their religion or culture were more likely to rate their family planning visit as mostly positive
Percentage of patients rating their visit mostly positive[1]
[1] Among patients who preferred a provider familiar with their religion/culture
Research with family planning providers has found that many health center staff are aware that providers’ knowledge of patients’ personal circumstances and the religious and cultural norms of the communities they serve are related to the provision of high-quality care. For example, the following quote highlights how understanding specific populations’ religious practices allowed a provider to help patients manage medications when they were fasting for Ramadan:
You’re there to adjust everything around their [clients’] needs ... [For example, for Ramadan] I'm gonna ... [tell you] how to manage these [medications] … from sunset to 3:00 AM ... It's allowing them to see that everything that you’re advising will shift.” – Provider who works at a federally qualified health center in the Northeast
Overall, our findings from family planning patients align with research on health care more broadly, suggesting that when patients who value a provider with religious or cultural familiarity are able to see such a provider, they receive medical care that better aligns with their community’s religious and cultural needs and are more likely to report a positive family planning experience.
Child Trends surveyed 1,016 women ages 18-34 who had recently received family planning care and who were income-eligible for publicly funded services. Participants were asked, “Which of the following factors are important to you when choosing an SRH care provider?” Their options included religious or cultural familiarity, as well as other factors such as spoke a language other than English, experience with queer patients, and having the same sex or race/ethnic identity. For respondents who rated a factor as “very” or “somewhat” important, we then assessed whether that preference had been met at their most recent appointment based on a follow-up question that asked, “Thinking about the provider characteristics listed on the previous page, which of the following were met during your most recent visit with an SRH provider?” To assess patients’ experiences, survey respondents were asked to rate their most recent family planning visit on a scale from “Mostly negative” to “Mostly positive.” We assessed for a statistically significant difference in visit experience based on whether a patient’s preference for a provider with cultural/religious familiarity was met, using a chi-square test.
This publication was supported by the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,548,353 with 100 percent funded by OPA/OASH/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by OPA/OASH/HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit https://opa.hhs.gov/.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Ria Shelton and Krystal Figueroa for their visual design work. We would also like to acknowledge Emma Pliskin and Jane Finocharo for their data analysis work.
Suggested citation
Welti, K., & Manlove, J. (2025). Patients value family planning providers who understand their religion or culture. Child Trends. DOI: 10.56417/9244k3173b