Presentation
The Failure to Make Internal Hospital Reproductive Health Policies—Catholic or Otherwise—Transparent to the Public in Washington State
Population Association of America, 2017 Annual Meeting
(2017)
Abstract
The percentage of Catholic affiliated hospitals in Washington State is higher than the national average and is expected to continue to increase. The impact of this context on reproductive health is a concern. All Washington State hospitals were required to post their Reproductive Health Policies on the Department of Health Website in 2014. All posted policies (n=88) were analyzed using content analysis. Results were stratified by religious affiliation. All hospital reproductive health policies, regardless of Catholic affiliation, provided more confusion than clarity in terms of reproductive health service provision. An attempt to increase the transparency of internal policies for the public was made by the state – and failed. Given the difficulties in meeting the goals of increased transparency for the public through policy language, a more promising strategy is to find ways to increase patient rights to information on procedures offered, and those not offered, in Catholic care facilities.
Keywords
- Hospital reproductive health policies,
- Reproductive health
Disciplines
Publication Date
April 27, 2017
Location
Chicago, IL
Citation Information
Hilary Schwandt, Bethany Krahn and Moriah Post-Kinney. "The Failure to Make Internal Hospital Reproductive Health Policies—Catholic or Otherwise—Transparent to the Public in Washington State" Population Association of America, 2017 Annual Meeting (2017) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/hilary_schwandt/55/