Freedman LR, et al. - This study was planned to assess women’s preferences for knowing a hospital’s religion and religiously-based restrictions before deciding where to seek care and the acceptability of a hospital denying miscarriage treatment options for religious reasons, with and without informing the patient that other options may be available. Researchers identified the desire for information about a hospital’s religious restrictions on care among vast majority of adult American women of reproductive age when deciding where to go for ob/gyn care. They observed growth in the US Catholic healthcare sector suggesting an increasing requirement for transparency about these restrictions, so that women could make informed decisions and, when required, seek alternative providers.

Methods

• A national survey of women ages 18-45 was conducted.
• From AmeriSpeak, a probability-based research panel of civilian non-institutionalized adults, the sample was recruited.
• Researchers invited 2,857 women to participate; 1,430 completed surveys online or over the phone, for a survey response rate of 50.1%.
• In this study, all analyses adjusted for the complex sampling design and were weighted in order to generate estimates representative of the population of U.S. adult reproductive age women.
• Chi squared tests and multivariable logistic regression were used to assess associations.

Results

• When deciding where to get care, one-third of women ages 18-45 (34.5%) felt that it is somewhat or very important to know a hospital’s religion, however 80.7% feel it is somewhat or very important to know about a hospital’s religious restrictions on care.
• Being Catholic or attending religious services more frequently did not make individuals more or less likely to desire this information.
• Compared to Protestant women who do not identify as Born-again, women of other religious backgrounds more frequently considered it important to know a hospital’s religious affiliation.
• These women included: religious minority women (AOR= 2.17; 95% CI: 1.11-4.27), those who reported no religion/atheist/agnostic (AOR=2.27; 95% CI: 1.19-4.34), and Born-again Protestants (AOR=2.38; 95% CI: 1.32-4.28). Religious minority women (AOR= 2.36; 95% CI: 1.01-5.51) and those who reported no religion/atheist/agnostic (AOR=3.16; 95% CI: 1.42-7.04) were more likely to want to know a hospital’s restrictions on care.
• Researchers identified more than two-thirds of women who found it unacceptable for the hospital to restrict information and treatment options during miscarriage based on religion.
• Women attending weekly religious services accepted such restrictions (AOR=3.13; 95% CI: 1.70-5.76) and considered transfer to another site an acceptable solution (AOR=3.22; 95% CI: 1.69-6.12) significantly more frequently.
• In this study, when asked, “When should a religious hospital be allowed to restrict care based on religion?” 52.3% responded “never;” 16.6%, “always;” and 31.1%, “under some conditions.”