Race and Religious Beliefs Are Associated With Communication Regarding Reproductive Health and Preconception Counseling in Young Women With Diabetes

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between selected internal and external characteristics and communication (intended and actual) with health care providers (HCPs) about reproductive health and preconception counseling among adolescent females with diabetes.MethodsA descriptive, correlational design was employed to conduct a secondary analysis of baseline data from a multisite, randomized controlled trial. Participants were 110 female adolescents (92% type 1 diabetes). Analysis included multiple linear regression and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses to examine the association of internal characteristics (age, race, religion, and religious beliefs) and external characteristics (ever sexually active, social support, and type of routine HCP).ResultsParticipants were from 13.3 to 20.0 years of age, 82% were Caucasian, 80% had never been sexually active, and 58% perceived low to moderate amounts of social support. For both internal and external characteristics, no ...