Ruby Dyck Steinmann
Ruby Dyck Steinmann is a fourth-year honours sociology student, minoring in law and society.
Her thesis aims to understand young women’s information sources and influences for contraceptive decision-making.
Outside of school, you can find her doing yoga, playing sport on the beach, or on a hike with friends. She also loves tuning into her creative side through fashion, sewing, and collaging.
Understanding Young Women’s Information Sources and Influences for Contraceptive Decision-Making
Women use a wide range of information sources available for their contraceptive decision-making including health care providers, friends/family, health websites, and social media (Bankole & Onasote, 2016; Khurana & Bleakley, 2015; Marshall et al., 2018; Tiihonen et al., 2009; Yee & Simon, 2010). Often these sources emphasize different information or particular discourses regarding contraception (Cooke-Jackson et al., 2021; Le Guen et al., 2021;Yee & Simon, 2010). At ages 18-29, many women first begin to look into contraception and consider starting a method, many doing so for the sake of preventing unplanned pregnancy (Cheung & Free, 2005).
This study aims to investigate the influence of information sources for young women’s contraceptive decision-making. One hundred (100) female participants responded to an online survey about the perceived helpfulness and trustworthiness of information sources, their contraceptive concerns and beliefs, and their contraceptive decision-making. This study stands out as it uses a mixed methods approach to studying the role of information sources and factors such as source trustworthiness for young women’s contraceptive decision-making.
Findings from this study reveal that young women are highly concerned about contraceptive use for a variety of factors, and that use of family members for contraceptive information may increase concern of side effects for hormonal methods. Furthermore, source trust was influential for contraceptive decision making, as trust in healthcare providers lowered contraceptive concerns and was associated with higher decision confidence. With these findings, contraceptive education efforts should account for the broader information environment, including a focus on fostering trust in provider-patient relationships in contraceptive counseling.
How did you become interested in this topic? Why did you choose it for your thesis?
My interest in women’s sexual and reproductive health is inspired both by Sociology and my own life. At the time of choosing a topic, I had just written a paper on the medical neglection of the clitoris in my Classical and Contemporary Theory course. Writing this paper made me highly passionate about inequality and gaps within in women’s health. Alongside this, I have my own sub-par experience with contraceptive counseling that left me feeling less than empowered. I choose contraceptive decision making as my topic because I feel as though women’s health is largely undervalued in research and I wanted to have a part in furthering insights in this area.
Can you summarize your project and its main findings for us?
My project explores the role of different information sources, such as healthcare provider, family members, friends/peers, and social media, on young women’s contraceptive decision making. Particularly, my research looked into how information sources impact young women’s contraceptive concerns and how factors such as source trustworthiness and helpfulness influence young women’s decision confidence. My study found that the use of family members for contraceptive information increased young women’s side effect concerns. My study also found that trust in healthcare providers decreased young women’s concerns and increased their confidence around their contraceptive decision.
What was your favourite part of doing research?
My favourite part of my research project was collecting my survey data because I got to actually read people’s responses and see patterns and themes emerge from the data. It was very exciting to see existing research come to life in my own data and even be surprised by some of the findings!
What was the most difficult part of this learning journey? What was the most satisfying?
Writing a thesis did not come without challenges. The most difficult and frustrating part was the data analysis because I had to learn a whole new statistical program. This meant I would often make mistakes and have to re-run tests multiple times which became quite time consuming. The most satisfying part was submitting my thesis because I finally felt the culmination of all my hard work.
How has this experience influenced what you want to do after you complete your degree and how?
After this experience, I feel more confident and prepared to further my education and research journey by applying to grad programs, likely in the area of public health. I believe my Sociology background has so much to offer in the area of healthcare, specifically in relation to the gaps that exist in healthcare.
Do you have advice for other prospective Sociology honours students? What are your biggest takeaways from this research journey?
My advice for prospective honours students is, if you’re eager to conduct your own research and have a topic you’re passionate about, go for it! Writing a thesis is challenging, but the research process itself makes it worthwhile as you learn so much about academic writing, data analysis, and collaborating with a supervisor. I also really enjoyed getting to know my honours cohort, who inspired me greatly with their own research projects and academic drive.
