Hopkins

Kristine Hopkins

Faculty Research Associate, Research Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin
Areas of Expertise:
  • Reproductive Health
  • Immigration
  • Women

Connect with Kristine

(512) 471-8313

About Kristine

Hopkins' areas of specialization include women’s reproductive health, evaluating health policies, public health, sociology of health, and adolescent health. Her research focuses on reproductive health issues in Texas, the US-Mexico border, and Latin America. Her current project is the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, which began in 2011 to evaluate the impact of reproductive health policies enacted by the Texas Legislature. Her work with TxPEP focuses on studying the availability of contraception among women in the postpartum period, access to health services among women in community colleges, health care organizations' ability to provide family planning services, and access to abortion.

Briefs | Podcast | Publications | In the News

Briefs

Many Low Income Women in Texas Do Not Get the Effective Contraception They Want after Giving Birth

  • Joseph E. Potter
  • Kate Coleman-Minahan
  • Kari White
  • Daniel A. Powers
  • Chloe Dillaway
  • Amanda Stevenson
  • Daniel Grossman
SSN Key Findings,

Podcast

Publications

"Clinic Versus Over-the-Counter Access to Oral Contraception: Choices Women Make along the U.S–Mexico Border" (with Joseph E. Potter, Daniel Grossman, and Jon Amastae). American Journal of Public Health 100, no. 6 (2010): 1130-1136.

Assesses motivations for oral contraceptive users living in El Paso, Texas for patronizing a U.S. clinic or a Mexican pharmacy with over-the-counter pills, and to determine which women were likely to use the over-the-counter option. 

"Acceptance and Continuation of Immediate Postpartum LARC: Experiences from a Texas Hospital" (with Chloe Dillaway, Cristina Wallace Huff, Sara Holcombe, Jenny Duret-Uzodinma, and Joseph E. Potter). Obstetrics & Gynecology 130, no. 2 (2017): 393-402.

Assesses patient demand for immediate postpartum placement of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) in Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital in Houston, Texas. 

"The Impact of Reproductive Health Legislation on Family Planning Clinic Services in Texas" (with Kari White, Amanda Stevenson, Daniel Grossman, Joseph E. Potter, Abigail Aiken, and Celia Hubert). American Journal of Public Health 105, no. 5 (2015): 851-858.

Evaluates the effect of legislation in Texas that dramatically cut and restricted participation in the state’s family planning program in 2011.  Finds that 25% of family planning clinics in Texas closed, organizations served 54% fewer clients, and long-acting reversible contraception was less widely available.

"Barriers to Postpartum Contraception in Texas and Pregnancy within Two Years of Delivery" (with Joseph E. Potter, Amanda Stevenson, Kari White, Daniel Grossman, and Celia Hubert). Obstetrics & Gynecology 127, no. 2 (2016): 189-196.

Assesses pregnancies that could have been averted through improved access to contraceptive methods in the two years after delivery. 

"Women's Experiences Seeking Publicly Funded Family Planning Services in Texas" (with Kari White, Daniel Grossman, Joseph E. Potter, Fran Linkin, and Celia Hubert). Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 47, no. 2 (2016): 63-70.

Assesses women’s experiences obtaining affordable family planning services in the wake of substantial budget cuts to state family planning programs.

"Perceived Interest in Vasectomy among Latina Women and Their Partners in a Community with Limited Access to Female Sterilization" (with Daniel Grossman, Joseph E. Potter, Kari White, and Celia Hubert). Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 27, no. 2 (2016): 762-777.

Assesses male partners’ perceived willingness to undergo vasectomy through surveys with 470 Mexican-origin women who did not want more children in El Paso, Texas.

"Women’s Knowledge of and Support for Abortion Restrictions in Texas: Findings from a Statewide Representative Survey" (with Kari White, Joseph E. Potter, Amanda Stevenson, Daniel Grossman, and Liza Fuentes). Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 48, no. 4 (2016).

Assesses women’s knowledge of specific abortion restrictions in Texas and reasons for supporting these laws. 

"Change in Distance to Nearest Facility and Abortion in Texas, 2012 to 2014" (with Daniel Grossman, Kari White, and Joseph E. Potter). JAMA 317, no. 4 (2017): 437-439.

Finds that, following the 2013 Texas House Bill 2, one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, the number of Texas facilities providing abortions declined from 41 in 2012 to 17 in June 2016.

In the News

"Trump's New Title X Birth Control Plan Requires Ineffective Birth Control Most Women Don't Want," Kristine Hopkins (with Katherine Strandberg), USA Today, June 7, 2018.
Kristine Hopkins quoted on access to birth control in Sydney Greene, "Women at Texas Community Colleges aren’t Getting the Kind of Birth Control They Want" The Texas Tribune, April 24, 2018.
"Religious Exemptions Come at Expense of Women’s Health," Kristine Hopkins, Austin American-Statesman, November 8, 2017.
Kristine Hopkins's research on the higher rates of pregnancy amongst Latina teenagers discussed in "Research Aims to Reduce Teen Pregnancy among Latinos," University of Texas News, July 19, 2011.
Kristine Hopkins quoted on the inaccessibility of health care providers to many women in southeast Texas in David Mildenberg, "Texas Reproductive Health Cuts to Deny Women Access to Care" Bloomberg News, November 12, 2013.
Kristine Hopkins's research on the effects of reproductive health-related laws and demand for long-acting reversible contraception in Texas discussed in Alexa UraKristine Hopkins, "Health Program Changes Could Increase Access to Contraceptive Products," The Texas Tribune, July 31, 2014.
Kristine Hopkins quoted on the correlation between over-the-counter oral contraceptives and preventative healthcare rates in R. Sam Barclay, "California to Let Pharmacists Prescribe Birth Control Pills" Healthline, June 26, 2015.