Abstract
Objective
The study was conducted to compare the provision of emergency hormonal contraception
(EHC) through pharmacies and clinical services to determine whether aspects of client
satisfaction and subsequent sexual health outcomes vary significantly between these
services.
Study Design
A pilot observational study was conducted in South London. Participants were recruited
from pharmacies and clinical services when they presented requesting EHC and met with
the researcher to complete a structured questionnaire 4 months later.
Results
One hundred thirty-three women were enrolled in the study, 50 of whom accessed a community
pharmacy for EHC plus 83 women who obtained EHC from a clinical service. Seventy percent
of women who went to a pharmacy and 43.9% who went to a clinical service obtained
EHC within 24 h (p=.004). A greater proportion of women attending a clinical service
felt at least quite comfortable asking for EHC, compared to those who went to a pharmacy
(p=.007). Those who obtained EHC from a clinic also felt significantly better informed
about both EHC (p=.015) and their future contraceptive options (p=.000), compared
to the women who attended a pharmacy.
Conclusions
This pilot study found that women who went to a pharmacy had more rapid access to
EHC compared to those who chose to attend a clinical service. Other aspects of provision
and client satisfaction seem to favor attendance at a clinical setting over a pharmacy
as a venue for obtaining EHC.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 31, 2008
Footnotes
���Dr. Kirsten Black was granted a Research Training Fellowship from the Guy's and St. Thomas' Charitable Foundation to undertake this study as part of a Ph.D. program. Schering Health Care contributed funds for the consumable costs of the study.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
