Availability of emergency contraception at rural and urban pharmacies in Pennsylvania☆
Received 1 September 2005; received in revised form 14 November 2005; accepted 14 November 2005. published online 23 January 2006.
Abstract
Objective
Pharmacy availability of emergency contraception (EC) is necessary for timely access to this important contraceptive method. This is especially important in rural areas where pharmacies are fewer and further apart.
Study Design
This study was conducted using a telephone survey of 186 pharmacies located in the northeast region of Pennsylvania.
Results
Only 32% of the pharmacies had EC in stock, which did not differ by rural or urban location. Pharmacies that stocked EC in rural counties were less likely to have evening store hours compared with urban counties (p=.01). Pharmacies that did not stock EC most frequently cited lack of perceived need as the reason (61%).
Conclusion
Emergency contraception availability in pharmacies is uniformly low in this region of Pennsylvania, creating a significant access barrier. Although there were no significant differences in EC availability between rural and urban pharmacies, additional barriers in rural settings could impede timely access to EC for rural women.
aDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA
bDepartment of Pediatrics, DuPont Hospital for Children, Jefferson Medical College, Wilmington, DE 19802, USA
Corresponding author. Division of General Internal Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, P.O. Box 850, Hershey, PA 17033-0850, USA. Tel.: +1 717 531 8161; fax: +1 717 531 7716.
☆ This study was supported by the General Clinical Research Center at the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine.
ABSTRACT