Contraception, Abortion and Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Among Young Women Migrant Workers in the Industrial Zones in Vietnam

Abstract

Background: A rapid development and urbanization have resulted in a larger number of young people migrating from rural to urban areas for work in Vietnam. However, young female migrant workers working in the industrial zones (IZ) have limited access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and are at higher risk for unwanted pregnancy, induced abortion and acquiring sexually transmitted diseases. This study investigates contraception use, induced abortion and barriers to SRH services among sexually active young women migrant workers in the industrial zones (IZ) in Vietnam.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1061 young women migrant workers working in the IZ park in Hanoi, Vietnam. Differences in the use of contraception and SRH services between participants were examined using Chi square and Fisher’s exact tests. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with induced abortion.

Results: A total of 1061 young women migrant workers (aged 18-29) were recruited and interviewed. The abortion among married participants was 15.9% (95% CI: 0.12-0.21) and among single participants was 5.2%. Unwanted pregnancy was the major reason for having an induced abortion. Nearly 78% of the participants reported using a contraceptive method to avoid pregnancy at the last sexual intercourse. Use of male condoms was the most common contraceptive method (76.4%) followed by withdrawal (13.3%). Participants who did not use any method of contraception to avoid pregnancy at the last sexual intercourse were over 3 times more likely to report having an abortion compared to those who used contraception (OR=3.1, 95% CI: 1.20-8.04). Participants with younger age, higher income and residency in the rent cluster were more likely to report having an induced abortion. The most common reported barriers to SRH services were inconvenient hours of service operation (26.2%), followed by distant location (9.2%) and cost (4.8%). Married participants were significantly more likely than single participants to use SRH services (52.4% vs. 10.3%). Among those who used SRH services, married participants were more likely to use the services for contraceptive services, prenatal care and delivery, whereas, single participants were more likely to use the services for SRH counselling. 


Conclusions: The results highlight the urgent needs to develop policies promoting equal access to SRH services for migrant workers and implement priority interventions to improve access to and promote the use of SRH services and contraception for young women migrant workers in the IZ in Vietnam

Note:
Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, USA, grant # 1R21MH118986-01A1-2019-2022.

Declaration of Interests: All authors declared no conflicts of interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Ethical Approval Statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the University of Connecticut Health Center, USA and the Institute of Social and Medical Studies, Hanoi, Vietnam. Participant were asked for written informed consent if they agreed to join the interview.

Keywords: Contraception, abortion, sexual and reproductive health services, women migrant workers, industrial zones, Vietnam