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Abstract
Mommy and Baby (LAMB) survey, we measure new mother’s neighborhood social environment by four key variables: (1) instrumental/emotional support during pregnancy, (2) neighborhood social cohesion, (3) neighborhood social exchange, and (4) neighborhood services. Logistic regressions were applied for data analysis. Neighborhood social exchange predicts less chance of lacking communication about sensitive issues in preconception visits among Caucasians (logged odds: −0.045; P < 0.01) and Asians (L.O.: −0.081; P < 0.001) and predicts less chance of lacking communication during preconception visits among Asians (L.O.: −0.092; P < 0.05). Neighborhood social cohesion predicts more chance for lacking communication about preparation for pregnancy only among Asians (L.O.: 0.065; P < 0.05). Neighborhood services predict less chance of lacking communication about stigmatized issues in the prenatal visit among Asians (L.O.: −0.036; P < 0.05). Discussion. Caucasians and Asians with more neighborhood social exchange are more likely to discuss sensitive issues during preconception visits. Neighborhood service
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On average, Asian women in this study lived in neighborhoods with lower service quality than Caucasians. As our study shows that neighborhood service is a significant predictor of Asian women’s discussion of stigmatized issues with health care providers (usually considered as a good sign in health communication), it could be critical to improve the safety, cleanness, and public service in neighborhoods with higher proportions of Asian population, as the improvement of the public service quality of those neighborhoods could be an indirect way to reduce the racial disparities in benefiting from maternal health services. From the perspective of planning interventions, initiatives like improving neighborhood services could be easier to implement than improving neighborhood social support or enhancing one’s personal network, as the latter two tend to be individual choices and community culture rather than policy makers’ actionable targets.
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