The following is an Executive Summary of the Survey results. For a complete report, please contact CHF at 937-328-8841 or through this website.
During the summer of 2006, the Community Hospital Health Services Foundation (CHF) conducted a follow-up to the 2005 Physician Study. The purpose of this written survey was to understand how women, age 12 and up, in the greater Springfield and Clark County area access health services, particularly reproductive health services, and to assess the level of awareness of the availability of services. It is hoped that information gathered from this survey will help healthcare providers plan for and improve women’s health services for all women, regardless of ability to pay.
The method used for gathering information was not a statistically validated sample. Instead the survey was distributed widely throughout the county in order to make it available to as many women as had an interest in completing the form. To this end, the survey was distributed through thirteen area churches, the Clark County Combined Health District, the Clark County Public Library, Graceworks Lutheran Services, Rocking Horse Center, Planned Parenthood, Project Woman, Springfield Surgery Center, and obstetrician/gynecologist offices. In addition, surveys were available at the Clark County Fair and on the CHF website from July 15 through September 15. This distribution was supported by local radio advertising on WKSW and WULM and a Your Turn column in the Springfield News-Sun directing women to locations where the survey could be obtained.
A total of 387 surveys were completed with nearly 10% of responses submitted electronically through an on-line survey instrument. The sample is large enough to be valid for our population size and was not significantly different from the demographic segmentation of the area as reported by the Census Bureau. The typical respondent from our sample has the following profile: a Springfield resident (78%), over age 36 (76%, with 50% over age 50), married (49.5%), without children under age 18 (54%), and employed full or part time (58%). Sixty-eight percent of respondents have annual household incomes of less than $50,000 and 65% have commercial insurance.
Responses to this eight-question survey are summarized below:
WHICH SPRINGFIELD LOCATIONS DO YOU USE FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE?
Sixty percent (60%) cited private physician, 28% cited Community Hospital and 15% cited Mercy Medical Center. Eight and one-half percent (8.5%) of respondents name Rocking Horse Center and 7% name Planned Parenthood. Seventeen percent (17%) say that they did not use reproductive health services in the last 2 years. Eight and one-half percent (8.5%) say that they use a provider outside of Springfield. Younger women are just as likely to have a private physician as older women; but older women are more likely to use a healthcare provider outside of Springfield. Only half of respondents with incomes less than $15,000 use private physicians as compared to 80% of high-income women.
WHICH SERVICES DO YOU BELIEVE ARE AVAILABLE IN CLARK COUNTY?
Respondents were given a checklist of services and asked to identify as many as they believed were available and to indicate where one might get this service.
| Table 17: Response by Healthcare Service Avaliability | |
| Healthcare Service | Checked |
| Pregnancy testing | 81.0% |
| Nurse midwife services | 48.3% |
| Sterilization (tubes tied) | 59.7% |
| Birth control, prescription or device | 79.8% |
| Emergency contraception (“morning after pill”) | 36.2% |
| Testing, treatment, and counseling for sexual transmitted diseases (STDs) | 69.7% |
| Testing, treatment, and counseling for HIV/AIDS | 64.2% |
| Screening for cancer (mammogram, breast exam, PAP test, etc.) | 77.4% |
| Family planning services | 59.0% |
| Rape treatment and counseling | 54.5% |
| Infertility testing and counseling | 36.1% |
| Medically indicated abortion when life of the mother is threatened or | |
| the fetus is not compatible with life | 29.2% |
| Specialized reproductive services such as in-vitro fertilization, | |
| donor insemination, genetic screening/counseling | 17.6% |
| Perimenopausal and menopausal care | 6.8% |
| Don’t know | 17.4% |
Women have several misconceptions about available services. Forty-eight percent (48%) believe that nurse midwife services are currently available in the county; in reality, as of the fall of 2006, there are two nurse practitioners who see gynecological patients but no nurse midwives are delivering babies. Emergency contraception and medically indicated abortions are available in the county; however, only 30% of respondents think so. Finally, although only 1/3 of respondents agree, infertility testing and counseling are available through private physicians. Perhaps, low response is reflective of the fact that after initial screening, most patients are referred out-of-county for treatmen