Many Spanish-speaking women prefer audio-only telemedicine contraception visits

Key takeaways:

• Spanish-speaking women were more comfortable with audio-only vs. video telemedicine contraception visits.
• Participants did not perceive the use of interpreters and technology as barriers to telemedicine care.

SAN FRANCISCO — Spanish-speaking women preferred using audio-only technology for contraceptive care obtained via telemedicine, and the use of interpreters and technology were not perceived as barriers to care, researchers reported.

“At the height of the pandemic in New York City. clinicians and patients were highly satisfied with [telemedicine]. Prior to the pandemic, a qualitative study found that clinicians felt that telemedicine can be associated with less coercion and may even be higher quality,” Marielle Meurice, MD, obstetrician and gynecologist at the University of California, San Diego, said during the oral presentation at the ACOG Annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting. “There is limited research on the experience of patients after the height of the pandemic and how telemedicine and contraception care compared with in-person care. Within our community in San Diego, over a third of our patients identify as Latin and prefer non-English languages, and therefore, we decided to focus on this patient population.”

Meurice and colleagues conducted interviews with 20 Spanish-speaking women (mean age, 33 years) after telemedicine and in-person contraception visits at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest in Southern California. Researchers analyzed responses to assess barriers and facilitators of telemedicine for contraception care for this patient population.

Overall, 65% of participants had some college education and 90% had private insurance. Most participants who attended a telemedicine contraceptive visit chose a short-acting contraceptive (55%).

Researchers observed the following five key themes obtained from interviews:

• Participants reported preferring audio-only telemedicine visits due to feeling less comfortable with being on video.
• Participants did not report difficulty with Spanish interpreters using telemedicine.
• Telemedicine was convenient and alleviated barriers caused by time, work, child care and transportation, but may have inconveniences related to method receipt.
• Those seeking in-person care preferred comprehensive care with physical examinations and familiarity of in-clinic models.
• Participants trusted telemedicine privacy and confidentiality, but those with issues obtaining privacy might choose in-person care.

“Providing language in care is essential, and supporting interpretation platforms on phone and through video is important to equitable person-centered care,” Meurice said. “Ensuring the visit is conducted in the patient's preferred language is the minimum necessity to provide high quality contraception here, and ideally, language-concordant providers should be available for patients.”