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Primary Submission Category: Reproductive health
Displaced Networks, Constrained Intentions: A PEN-3 Model Analysis of Birth Spacing Among African Immigrants in the US
Authors: Comfort Olorunsaiye, Redate Kibret, Madison Thai, Grace Hatridge, Triphine Sodjinou, Joanna Okusaga, Ucheoma Nwaozuru, Amal Anilkumar, Tanbira Zaman, Larissa Brunner Huber,
Presenting Author: Comfort Olorunsaiye*
Background: Population health research has often problematized immigrant cultural practices without accounting for positive attributes of this determinant of health behavior. Guided by the PEN-3 Cultural Model and a community-engaged research approach, including partnerships with immigrant-serving organizations, community forums, and a seven-member advisory board, this study examines how social and cultural norms shape birth spacing among African immigrants and whether migration disrupts these norms.
Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with African immigrant women (n=12) and men (n=8) born in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, as part of phase 1 of a mixed methods study. Data were inductively coded and thematically analyzed based on the PEN-3 Model’s Cultural Empowerment domain.
Findings: Participant age ranged from 22-63 years, most of whom were married, college-educated, and had been living in the US for 6 to 35 years. In preliminary analysis, we identified Positive and Existential cultural practices, including community postpartum support networks and breastfeeding practices that facilitated birth spacing before migration, but are weakened or absent in the US context; constraining participants’ ability to achieve desired fertility intentions. Negative influences included persistent cultural taboos around discussing birth spacing and male resistance to contraception, which limited reproductive negotiation among couples and reduced the reach of clinical counseling. Data collection is ongoing, and findings will be updated pre-conference.
Conclusion: Applying PEN-3 Model within a community-engaged study approach reveals that effective birth spacing interventions must build on, not disregard, culturally embedded practices, while addressing the structural losses migration poses. These findings will inform a novel sociocultural measure of birth spacing norms, advancing culturally centered population health science with and for African immigrant communities.