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Introduction: Electronic health (e-Health) modalities effectively address healthcare access limitations; however, there are limited data on their adoption by Hispanic/Latina women who are disproportionally affected by health disparities. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study by disseminating an anonymous electronic questionnaire via social media to assess the perception of Hispanic/Latina women of reproductive age regarding facilitators and barriers for using e-Health modalities, including telemedicine and mobile apps, to monitor gynecologic health. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 351 Hispanic/Latina participants with high levels (98.3%) of advanced technological expertise. Current use of a gynecologic mobile app was reported by 63.8%, primarily for menstruation (85.1%) and ovulation (46.3%) tracking. While only 17.6% of participants were offered the option of a gynecologic consultation via telemedicine, the majority (90.5%) would agree to one. Higher education and advanced technological expertise correlated with acceptance of telemedicine for gynecological consults. Being younger (<29 y/o), a student, not having a preferred gynecologist and having a lower income significantly correlated with gynecologic mobile app acceptability. Conclusions: We showed that e-Health modalities are highly acceptable for Hispanic/Latina women of reproductive age to facilitate gynecological care and documented factors that are significantly associated with e-Health acceptability. These findings are relevant to public health emergencies that cause access to care limitations disproportionally affecting this already underserved population.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Past studies have demonstrated that women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher risk of gynecological conditions than do women without it. We aimed to characterize the gynecological histories of Hispanic Women living in Puerto Rico with IBD. METHODS: We identified women, aged 21 to 55 years, with a confirmed IBD diagnosis and receiving follow-up care from the University of Puerto Rico IBD clinics from 2017 through 2020. A questionnaire was administered to acquire sociodemographics, family history, past medical history, IBD diagnosis, and gynecologic aspects. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-six women were recruited. Fifty-three (28%) patients had ulcerative colitis, while 133 (72%) had Crohn's disease. Fifty-six percent of all the participants had a chronic illness in addition to than their IBD. Seventy-four out of 186 patients reported having had at least 1 late period within the last 12 months. Fifty-three (28%) described their period patterns as irregular. Thirty-nine (21%) of the patients reported having been vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), and 8 (4%) had been infected by it. Nine out of 186 (5%) patients reported suffering from infertility. CONCLUSION: The results showed that our Hispanic patients (living in Puerto Rico) had a prevalence of irregular menstrual cycles that was similar to that observed in other populations. On the other hand, the presence of HPV, infertility, and cervical cancer were lower and the frequency of Papanicolaou smears performed higher than what has been seen in the continental United States, suggesting that this topic should be investigated in future studies.