Latina women suffer a higher burden of pelvic floor disorders compared to other racial/ethnic groups. In spite of this, they tend to delay seeking care. This study examined care-seeking behaviors among Latina women in the community, with the goal of assessing whether cultural, psychosocial, and clinical factors could determine the willingness to discuss pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) symptoms and seek care.

We did a cross-sectional study of Latina women in Los Angeles using standardized surveys, including measures of acculturation; Latin-American values (familism, respect, religion, and gender roles) and US cultural values (independence, material success, and competition); knowledge, attitude, behaviors, and beliefs about PFDs; pelvic floor disorders symptoms; and measures of stress and discrimination. We included community Latina women (N = 197). We evaluated possible determinants for discussing their PFD symptoms with friends, relatives, or doctors and for not seeking care due to financial reasons or lack of making it a priority. In this study, we included all women who responded ‘yes’ or ‘unsure’ to the question “Do you have symptoms of a pelvic floor disorder?”, this included 57 community women. Descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate logistic regression, and multinomial logistic regression were performed to identify variables associated with disclosing symptoms to friends or family and seeking care, significant at a p-value < 0.05.

Among community women (N = 57), The median age of participants was 51.60 (IQR 43.60-60.90) years old. Most participants were foreign-born, unemployed, or homemakers and had gone to secondary school or higher. For those women, 44% confided symptoms in a healthcare provider, and only 38% sought care for symptoms right away. Among the reasons, 13% of women expressed that it was due to financial concerns, while 66% of women did not seek care due to a lack of making this a priority. In the univariate logistic regression models, women who discussed their symptoms with friends and relatives, compared to those who did not, were more likely to have higher scores for the value of independence (OR = 2.51, 95%CI = 0.99-6.39, p-value = 0.05), and overall were more likely to have higher US cultural Values (OR = 4.28; 95% CI = 1.35-13.58, p-value = 0.01). And women who disclose symptoms with a healthcare provider were more likely to have higher scores for gender roles value (OR = 1.75; 95%CI = 1.03-2.97, p-value = 0.04), material success (OR = 1.98; 95%CI = 1.04-3.76, p-value = 0.04), and US cultural values (OR = 2.69; 95% CI = 0.99-7.34, p-value = 0.05). In the multivariate logistic regression, a higher score for material success was associated with being more likely to seek care right away (OR = 3.85, 95%CI = 1.51-9.80). Lower US cultural value (OR= 0.23, 95%CI= 0.06-0.91), and Latin American Value scores (OR= 0.37, 95%CI= 0.14-1.01) were independently associated with being less likely to seek care due to not making it a priority.

The study suggested that US cultural values, including material success, independence, and competition, are relevant in determining whether Latina women would like to discuss their symptoms with friends or doctors in the community. The gender role value determines if a Latina woman seeks care right away or does not seek care due to making it a priority.

The care-seeking behaviors of Latina women were influenced by their values, including US and Latin-American values. Interventions considering these Latin American values are needed to raise awareness about pelvic floor disorders and encourage women to recognize symptoms and discuss them with their healthcare providers.

Continence 7S1 (2023) 100911
DOI: 10.1016/j.cont.2023.100911