Do women know whether their hospital is Catholic? Results from a national survey

Objectives: Catholic healthcare limits access to common reproductive care. We assessed what percentage of US women seeking care at Catholic hospitals are aware of their hospital's religious affiliation and identified variables associated with correct identification.

Study design: We conducted a national survey of women ages 18-45 (response rate 50%). The survey asked participants what hospital they would go to for reproductive care and what the religious affiliation of that hospital was. We verified responses as correct or incorrect against a known Catholic hospital list. We used bivariate analysis and logistic regressions to evaluate factors associated with correct identification.

Results: Sixteen percent of women reported a Catholic hospital as their primary hospital for reproductive care. Among women whose primary hospital was Catholic, 63% [95% confidence interval (CI): 54.5-70.7] correctly identified this, compared to 93% who correctly identified their hospital as non-Catholic (95% CI 91.4 - 95.0). Two thirds of respondents who misidentified their Catholic hospital's affiliation reported that their hospital was secular (66%), and 48% of those women felt sure or very sure of their incorrect response. Factors associated with correctly identifying Catholic hospitals included hospital with a religious-sounding name [adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=2.80; 95% CI: 1.07-7.34], respondent older age (aOR=3.77; 95% CI: 1.35-10.56), metropolitan residence (aOR=3.35; 95% CI: 1.01-11.10) and income over $100,000 (aOR 4.95; 95% CI 1.35 - 18.17).

Conclusion: Over one third of US women who named a Catholic hospital as their primary hospital for reproductive care are unaware it is Catholic. Women are more likely to correctly identify a hospital as Catholic when that hospital has a religious sounding name.

Implications: Patients need accurate information in order to make decisions about where to seek reproductive healthcare. Our results suggest that women are often unaware of their hospital's religious affiliation. Efforts are needed to increase hospital transparency and patient awareness of the implications that arise when healthcare is restricted by religion.