[Sexual and reproductive health of young migrant women from Latin America and the Caribbean living in Chile].

Abstract

Objective: To analyze SRH variables of migrant and Chilean adolescent and young women.

Methods: cross-sectional, analytical study of the 9th National Youth Survey. The sample consisted of 3,140 foreign and Chilean women aged 24 years old and younger. Descriptive and association analysis was performed using the Rao-Scott test. The association was measured by calculating odds ratio. Multiple linear, multiple logistic and multiple regression models were adjusted.

Results: young migrant women are 3.47 °% of the sample. On average, they arrived in Chile at 17.58 years old. Young women in cohabitation and with children were mostly migrants (21.49% v/s 10.67%) (p=0.002), (45.28% v/s 23.69%) (p=0.002) and were older at the time of unplanned pregnancy (18.92 years v/s 17.67) (p=0.033). The first sexual partner, husband or cohabitant, was more frequent in foreign women (19.47% and 6.09%) (p=0.017). Foreign young women were 2.6 (OR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.16 -0.91) times less likely to have anal sex and 2 times more likely to use a less effective contraceptive at first and last intercourse (OR: 2.19; 95 % CI: 1.03 - 4.64) (OR: 2.40; 95 % CI: 1.16 - 4.97), compared to Chilean women.

Conclusions: Foreign young women are a small group within the young population living in Chile. There are similarities between migrants and Chilean women in terms of access to contraceptives, and differences in relation to the type of partner and marital status at the time of initiation of sexual relations, number of children, sexual practices and type of contraceptive used.