Acceptance and use of emergency contraception with standardized counseling intervention: results of a randomized controlled trial☆☆☆
Preliminary findings from this project were presented at the 133rd Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, Philadelphia, PA, December 12, 2005.
Received 28 June 2006; received in revised form 31 July 2006; accepted 21 August 2006. published online 12 October 2006.
Abstract
Objective
The objective of this work was to evaluate the acceptance, use and recall of an optional advance prescription for emergency contraception (EC).
Materials and methods
This study used as randomized controlled trial evaluating contraceptive counseling intervention with women aged 16–44 years who were at risk for unintended pregnancy (N=737). Intervention participants (n=365) received contraceptive counseling with optional advance EC prescription. Control women (n=372) received no contraceptive or EC counseling. Among intervention participants, initial acceptance and use of EC in first 2 months were evaluated. Among all participants, differences were evaluated between recall of EC discussion and use of EC.
Results
Among 365 intervention women, 336 received EC counseling and 51% of these 336 accepted advance EC prescription. At 2 months, among the women who had accepted EC, 6% had filled and used their prescription and 8% had filled but not used their prescription. At 12 months, intervention women were significantly more likely than controls to recall talking about EC (33% vs. 5%) and obtaining a prescription (38% vs. 6%), but there were no differences in the use of EC (6% vs. 6%).
Conclusion
When the option is available for EC counseling, approximately half of women accepted advance prescription for EC. However, few women who received information and/or an advance prescription remembered discussing EC, filled the prescription or used EC over 12 months.
aDepartment of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
bDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
cUNC Center for Women's Health Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
dCecil Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
eDivision of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30342, USA
Corresponding author. Center for Women's Health Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB 7521, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7521, USA. Tel.: +1 919 966 7924; fax: +1 919 843 3120.
☆ This project was made possible through a cooperative agreement (award no. U50/CCU300860 TS-0768) between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association for Prevention, Teaching and Research (APTR).
☆☆ The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the CDC or the APTR.
ABSTRACT