Joseph E Potter

University of Texas at Austin | UT · Population Research Center

Fertility surveys have rarely asked people who are using contraception about the contraceptive method they would like to be using, implicitly assuming that those who are contracepting are using the method they want. In this commentary, we review evidence from a small but growing body of work that oftentimes indicates this assumption is untrue. Disc...

Background Healthy Texas Women (HTW) is a fee-for-service family planning program that excludes affiliates of abortion providers. The HTW network includes providers who participate in Title X or the state Family Planning Program (FPP) and primary care providers without additional family planning funding (HTW-only). The objective of this study is to...

Objectives Assess preferences for and use of medication abortion in Texas after implementation of two policy changes: a 2013 state law restricting medication abortion and the FDA label change for mifepristone in 2016 nullifying some of this restriction. Study design We analyzed surveys conducted in 2014 and 2018 with abortion patients at 10 Texas...

Importance: Texas' 2021 ban on abortion in early pregnancy may demonstrate how patterns of abortion might change following the US Supreme Court's June 2022 decision overturning Roe v Wade. Objective: To assess changes in the number of abortions and changes in the percentage of out-of-state abortions among Texas residents performed at 12 or more...

Introduction Prior longitudinal studies of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) satisfaction and continuation guaranteed their participants access to LARC removal. Under real-world conditions, LARC users who wish to discontinue may experience barriers to LARC removal. Methods A prospective cohort study recruited 1,700 postpartum Texans with...

Levels of fertility and the shape of the age-specific fertility schedule vary substantially across U.S. regions with some states having peak fertility relatively early and others relatively late. Structural institutions or economic factors partly explain these heterogeneous patterns, but regional differences in personality might also contribute to...

Objective: To assess an alternative method for estimating demand for postpartum tubal ligation and evaluate reproductive trajectories of low-income women who did not obtain a desired procedure. Study design: In a two-year cohort study of 1,700 publicly insured women who delivered at eight hospitals in Texas, we identified those who had an unmet...

Objective: To assess optimal timing, patient satisfaction, and 1-year contraceptive continuation associated with contraceptive counseling among Texans who could and could not receive no-cost long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) via a specialized funding program. Study Design: In this prospective study conducted between October 2014 and March...

Objectives To assess changes in Texas-resident border-state abortions, medication abortions, and abortions ≥22 weeks from last menstrual period (LMP) before and after implementation of House Bill 2 (HB2) in November 2013 and before and after the US Supreme Court's decision regarding HB2 in June 2016. Study Design We conducted an interrupted time s...

Introduction We compared the characteristics of postpartum women who recalled being offered or not offered intrauterine devices and implants and who obtained placement of these long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) devices at a county hospital before discharge. We assessed satisfaction and continuation among those who obtained LARC methods....

Objectives To assess continuation of the pill, patch, ring, or injectable (i.e. short-acting hormonal contraception), characteristics associated with discontinuation, and subsequent method use among low-income postpartum women in Texas. Study design Using a 24-month cohort study of 1700 women who delivered in eight Texas hospitals and were uninsur...

Objectives To examine prevalence and characteristics associated with cost barriers to preferred contraceptive use. Study design Among a nationally representative sample of women at risk of unplanned pregnancy in 2015–2017, we used Poisson regression to assess characteristics associated preferring a(nother) method in the absence of cost. Results O...

Background: Mexican-origin women breastfeed at similar rates as white women in the United States, yet they usually breastfeed for less time. In our study, we seek to identify differences in Mexican-origin women's breastfeeding intentions, initiation, continuation, and supplementation across nativity and country-of-education groups. Methods: The...

In this chapter we analyze factors associated with female sterilization in Brazil. We extend earlier analyses by adding a variable to the survival models that captures the amount of time of exposure to the risk of sterilization. We use data from the 2006 Brazilian National Survey on Demography and Health of Children and Women (PNDS). Our results ar...

Background In 2013, the Texas legislature passed House Bill 2 (HB2) restricting use of medication abortion to comply with FDA labeling from 2000. The FDA updated its labeling for medication abortion in 2016, alleviating some of the burdens imposed by HB2. Objective Our objective was to identify the impact of HB2 on medication abortion use by patie...

Background: Prior research has shown that a small proportion of U.S. women attempt to self-manage their abortion. The objective of this study is to describe Texas women's motivations for and experiences with attempts to self-manage an abortion. The objective of this study is to describe Texas women's motivations for and experiences with attempts t...

Objectives: We examined the association between quality of postpartum contraceptive counseling and changes in contraceptive method preference between delivery and 3-months postpartum. Study design: We used data from 1167 postpartum women delivering at eight hospitals in Texas who did not initiate contraception in the hospital. We conducted basel...

Background: In 2013, Texas House Bill 2 (HB 2) placed restrictions on the use of medication abortion, which later were nullified with the 2016 FDA-approved mifepristone label. Methods: Using data collected directly from Texas abortion facilities, we evaluated changes in the provision and use of medication abortion during three 6-month time perio...

Objective: To assess whether indicators of limited access to services explained changes in rates of second-trimester abortion after implementation of a restrictive abortion law in Texas. Methods: We used cross-sectional vital statistics data on abortions performed in Texas before (November 1, 2011-October 31, 2012) and after (November 1, 2013-Oc...

CONTEXT Early access to contraception may increase postpartum contraceptive use. However, little is known about women's experiences receiving their desired method at the first postpartum visit or how access is associated with use. METHODS In a 2014–2016 prospective cohort study of low‐income Texas women, data were collected from 685 individuals wh...

This study aims to investigate factors associated with female sterilization in Brazil. The analysis is innovative because it adds the time of exposure to the risk of sterilization into survival models. The models control for postpartum duration, age at delivery, parity at delivery, type of delivery, place of delivery, region of residence at the tim...

Title in Spanish: Evaluación de la ENSAR 2003Resumen: El principal objetivo de este reporte es evaluar la exactitud y precisión de las tasas de fecundidad que pueden ser estimadas con base en la Encuesta Nacional de Salud Reproductiva 2003 (ENSAR 2003). Los organizadores de la ENSAR 2003 nos solicitaron realizar un análisis similar al elaborado por...

O objetivo deste estudo é de projetar o rendimento médio da população masculina brasileira no longo prazo, levando em consideração o atual processo de envelhecimento e o aumento da escolaridade no país. Utilizando dados censitários, pesquisas por amostra de domicílios e projeções populacionais e educacionais, estimativas até 2050 indicam que envelh...

Title in Portuguese: Influências de transição da estrutura de idade-educação e migração interna no mercado de trabalho no BrasilAbstract: This study develops a methodology that incorporates internal migration dynamics into models that estimate the impact of demographic and education transitions on the age-education earnings profiles of Brazilian wo...

This paper focuses on the geography of internal migration to and settlement within the metropolitan area of São Paulo. Specifically, the research objectives are to: (1) document the major flows of internal migration into the São Paulo metropolitan area; (2) map both short- and long-term migrant patterns of settlement within the São Paulo metropolit...

The objective of this study is to estimate the long term mean earnings of the male Brazilian population, taking into account the aging process of the population and the increase in educational attainment. Using census data, household sample surveys, as well as population and education projections, estimates indicate that an aging population and an...

The main concern of this study is the impact that an increase in female participation within the labor force has on the earnings of males in Brazil. Previous research considered these transitions for male workers, but did not include female workers when estimating various effects on earnings. The 1970, 1980, 1991, and 2000 Brazilian Demographic Cen...

This paper deals with the impact of internal migration flows on the earnings of male workers. The availability of jobs and income levels in sending and receiving areas also influence internal population flows. Thus, migration is an endogenous variable that cannot be simply introduced as an exogenous variable when estimating labour outcomes. A metho...

Protestantism has expanded rapidly in Brazil in recent decades. The question we tackle in this paper is whether Protestantism has had a positive influence on male earnings in this setting, either through its influence on health and productivity, by way of social networks or employer favor and reduced discrimination, or through other mechanisms. We...

Objective To identify preferences for and use of short-acting hormonal (e.g., oral contraceptives, injectable contraception) or long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) among community college students in Texas. Participants Female community college students, ages 18 to 24, at risk of pregnancy, sampled in Fall 2014░or Spring 2015 (N = 966). M...

Objective: To explore organizations' experiences providing family planning during the first year of an expanded primary care program in Texas. Data sources: Between November 2014 and February 2015, in-depth interviews were conducted with program administrators at 30 organizations: 7 women's health organizations, 13 established primary care contr...

Title in Spanish: Políticas de población, programas gubernamentales y fecundidad: Una comparación entre el Brasil y MéxicoAbstract: The Government of Mexico implemented family planning programmes beginning in the 1970s, unlike the Brazilian Government, which has implemented no population policies. This article estimates the impact of those policies...

The impacts of shifts in the age distribution of the working-age population have been studied in relation to the effect of the baby boom generation on the earnings of different cohorts in the U.S. However, this topic has received little attention in the context of the countries of Asia and Latin America, which are now experiencing substantial shift...

Objectives In the 1980s, policy makers in Mexico led a national family planning initiative focused, in part, on postpartum IUD use. The transformative impact of this initiative is not well known, and is relevant to current efforts in the United States (US) to increase women’s use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Methods Using six nat...

Objective: To assess whether information about abortion safety and awareness of abortion laws affect voters' opinions about medically unnecessary abortion regulations. Study design: Between May and June 2016, we randomized 1200 Texas voters to receive or not receive information describing the safety of office-based abortion care during an online...

Objective: To assess women's preferences for contraception after delivery and to compare use with preferences. Methods: In a prospective cohort study of women aged 18-44 years who wanted to delay childbearing for at least 2 years, we interviewed 1,700 participants from eight hospitals in Texas immediately postpartum and at 3 and 6 months after d...

Objectives We investigated the prevalence of and sociodemographic associations with receiving prenatal and postpartum contraceptive counseling, including counseling on intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants. Methods We used data from a prospective cohort study of 803 postpartum women in El Paso and Austin, Texas. We examined the prevalence of pr...

Objective: To compare preference for long-acting contraception (LARC) and subsequent use, year-long continuation, and pregnancy among women after induced abortion who were and were not eligible to participate in a specialized funding program that provided LARC at no cost. Methods: Between October 2014 and March 2016, we conducted a prospective s...

Few publicly funded family planning clinics in the United States offer vasectomy, but little is known about the reasons this method is not more widely available at these sources of care. Between February 2012 and February 2015, three waves of in-depth interviews were conducted with program administrators at 54 family planning organizations in Texas...

In November 2013, Texas implemented three abortion restrictions included in House Bill 2 (HB 2). Within six months, the number of facilities providing abortion decreased by almost half, and the remaining facilities were concentrated in large urban centers. The number of medication abortions decreased by 70% compared to the same period one year prio...

Background: Breastfeeding is associated with numerous health benefits for the infant and mother. Latina women in the United States have historically had high overall rates of initiation and duration of breastfeeding. However, these rates vary by nativity and time lived in the United States. Exclusive breastfeeding patterns among Latina women are u...

The low prevalence of vasectomy among Latino men in the United States is often attributed to cultural characteristics despite limited evidence supporting this hypothesis. We assessed male partners’ perceived willingness to undergo vasectomy through surveys with 470 Mexican-origin women who did not want more children in El Paso, Texas. Overall, 32%...

Context: States have passed numerous laws restricting abortion, and Texas passed some of the most restrictive legislation between 2011 and 2013. Information about women's awareness of and support for the laws' provisions could inform future debates regarding abortion legislation. Methods: Between December 2014 and January 2015, some 779 women ag...

Objectives: To evaluate the additional burdens experienced by Texas abortion patients whose nearest in-state clinic was one of more than half of facilities providing abortion that had closed after the introduction of House Bill 2 in 2013. Methods: In mid-2014, we surveyed Texas-resident women seeking abortions in 10 Texas facilities (n = 398), i...

Background: Texas is one of several states that have barred Planned Parenthood affiliates from providing health care services with the use of public funds. After the federal government refused to allow (and courts blocked) the exclusion of Planned Parenthood affiliates from the Texas Medicaid fee-for-service family-planning program, Texas excluded...

Objective: To assess pregnancies that could have been averted through improved access to contraceptive methods in the 2 years after delivery. Methods: In this cohort study, we interviewed 403 postpartum women in a hospital in Austin, Texas, who wanted to delay childbearing for at least 2 years. Follow-up interviews were completed at 3, 6, 9, 12,...

This paper deals with the impact of internal migration flows on the earnings of male workers. The availability of jobs and income levels in sending and receiving areas also influences internal population flows. Thus, migration is an endogenous variable that cannot be simply introduced as an exogenous variable when estimating labour outcomes. A meth...

Objective: We assessed the impact on depot medroxyprogesterone continuation when a large care provider was banned from a state-funded family planning program. Study design: We used three methods to assess the effect of the ban: 1) In a records review, we compared how many state program participants returned to two Planned Parenthood affiliates f...

To investigate women's patterns of contraceptive use after delivery and the association between method use and risk of pregnancy within 18 months. We used the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth to examine women's contraceptive use after delivery and at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after giving birth. The sample included 3,005 births that occurre...

The state-level proportion of pregnancies that are unintended is an important social and public health indicator, and comparisons between states inform policy discussions. Unintended pregnancy is measured as a composite of abortions and unintended births, each of which is measured with error. We investigate whether between-state differences in abor...

We examined the impact of legislation in Texas that dramatically cut and restricted participation in the state’s family planning program in 2011 using surveys and interviews with leaders at organizations that received family planning funding. Overall, 25% of family planning clinics in Texas closed. In 2011, 71% of organizations widely offered long-...

CONTEXTLittle is known about low-income women's and teenagers’ experiences accessing publicly funded family planning services, particularly after policy changes are made that affect the cost of and access to such services.METHODS Eleven focus groups were conducted with 92 adult women and 15 teenagers in nine Texas metropolitan areas in July–October...

This study aims to investigate the determinants of female sterilization in Brazil. The analysis is innovative because it adds the time of exposure to the risk of sterilization into survival models. The models control for postpartum duration, age at delivery, parity at delivery, place of delivery, region of residence at the time of interview, color/...

In 2013, the Texas Legislature enacted one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the US. The parts of this legislation that went into effect on November 1, 2013 restricted use of medical abortion, banned abortions after 22 weeks gestation, and required physicians performing abortion to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. Twelve of 34...

Objectives We aimed to assess women's contraceptive preferences and use in the first 6 months after delivery. The postpartum period represents a key opportunity for women to learn about and obtain effective contraception, especially since 50% of unintended pregnancies to parous women occur within 2 years of a previous birth. Methods We conducted a...

Protestantism has expanded rapidly in Brazil in recent decades. The question we tackle in this paper is whether Protestantism has had a positive influence on male earnings in this setting, either through its influence on health and productivity, by way of social networks or employer favor and reduced discrimination, or through other mechanisms. We...

Southern states have higher rates of female sterilization compared with other areas of the United States, and the reasons for this are not well understood. We examined whether low-income and racial/ethnic minority women, who were previous targets of coercive practices, disproportionately report using sterilization in the South. We used data from 12...

Protestantism has expanded rapidly in Brazil in recent decades. The question we tackle in this paper is whether Protestantism has had a positive influence on male earnings in this setting, either through its influence on health and productivity, by way of social networks or employer favor and reduced discrimination, or through other mechanisms. We...