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Results for “Contraceptive Availability”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Impact on contraceptive practice of making emergency hormonal contraception available over the counter in Great Britain: repeated cross sectional surveys.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact on contraceptive practice of making emergency hormonal contraception available over the counter. DESIGN: Analysis of data on contraceptive practice for women aged 16-49 years in the period 2000-2 from the Omnibus Survey, a multipurpose survey in which around 7600 adults living in private households are interviewed each year. SETTING: Private households in Great Britain. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Use of different types of contraception and rates of unprotected sex. RESULTS: After emergency hormonal contraception was made available over the counter, levels of use of different types of contraception by women aged 16-49 remained similar. No significant change occurred in the proportion of women using emergency hormonal contraception (8.4% in 2000, 7.9% in 2001, 7.2% in 2002) or having unprotected sex. A change did, however, occur in where women obtained emergency hormonal contraception; a smaller proportion of women obtained emergency hormonal contraception from physicians and a greater proportion bought it over the counter. No significant change occurred in the proportion of women using more reliable methods of contraception, such as the oral contraceptive pill, or in the proportion of women using emergency hormonal contraception more than once during a year. CONCLUSIONS: Making emergency hormonal contraception available over the counter does not seem to have led to an increase in its use, to an increase in unprotected sex, or to a decrease in the use of more reliable methods of contraception.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

A new model for collaboration--making emergency contraceptives available in developing countries.

Private/public-sector collaboration in contraceptive research and development offers a fresh opportunity to consider a holistic approach to making emergency contraception (EC) available in developing countries. Emergency contraception has been available since the 1970s but has remained under-utilized. Emergency contraception may be used by women who want to prevent a pregnancy and therefore has a specific use, in a specific situation. This paper highlights the distinct and reciprocal advantages of a collaborative approach between the Consortium for Emergency Contraception (the public sector) and a pharmaceutical company (the private sector), to the introduction of EC in developing countries. The importance of cultivating a public/private-sector collaborative approach, which serves the interests of both parties concerned, in order to foster progress in this important initiative, is highlighted.

Contraceptive Agents, Female↗
PubMed2004

A national study examining the effect of making emergency hormonal contraception available without prescription.

BACKGROUND: In January 2001, emergency hormonal contraception was made available for women over the age of 16 years directly from a pharmacist without prescription. It is of interest whether this change in the UK has led to any improvements or deterioration in the service provided for the women who need it. METHODS: Self- completed, anonymous questionnaires were distributed to women requesting emergency hormonal contraception through a single group of pharmacies located throughout England, Wales and Scotland. RESULTS: A total 419 women returned completed questionnaires. A greater proportion of women were able to take emergency contraception within 24 h when they obtained their tablets directly from a pharmacy without a prescription (64% versus 46%, P = 0.029). Women who obtained their drugs directly from the pharmacist were just as well informed, just as likely to arrange regular follow-up and generally preferred this system, although they disliked having to pay. CONCLUSION: Making emergency hormonal contraception available without prescription has improved services to women who need them, but these improvements are quantitatively minimal, preventing only five additional pregnancies per 10,000 users.

Contraceptives, Postcoital, Hormonal↗
PubMed1994

Practical problems which women encounter with available contraception in Australia.

Australian women face major difficulties with contraception because of the limited range of choices, the need for meticulous attention to compliance with most available methods and because of cost limitations for a significant minority of the population. The most commonly used methods are oral contraceptive pills and barrier methods, and each has substantial compliance problems which can be minimized with care and counselling. There is an urgent need for a wider range of options in Australia and for good information and publicity about them. Present progress in this direction gives some hope for the near future.

Australia↗
PubMed2006

Determinants of contraceptive availability at medical facilities in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the variation in provision of hormonal and intrauterine contraception among Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. DESIGN: Key informant, cross-sectional survey of 166 VA medical facilities. Data from public use data sets and VA administrative databases were linked to facility data to further characterize their contextual environments. PARTICIPANTS: All VA hospital-based and affiliated community-based outpatient clinics delivering services to at least 400 unique women during fiscal year 2000. MEASUREMENTS: Onsite availability of hormonal contraceptive prescription and intrauterine device (IUD) placement. RESULTS: Ninety-seven percent of facilities offered onsite prescription and management of hormonal contraception whereas 63% offered placement of IUDs. After adjusting for facility caseload of reproductive-aged women, 3 organizational factors were independently associated with onsite IUD placement: (1) onsite gynecologist (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 20.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.02 to 58.74; P<.001); (2) hospital-based in contrast to community-based practice (adjusted OR, 5.49; 95% CI, 1.16 to 26.10; P=.03); and (3) availability of a clinician providing women's health training to other clinicians (adjusted OR, 3.40; 95% CI 1.19 to 9.76; P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: VA's provision of hormonal and intrauterine contraception is in accordance with community standards, although onsite availability is not universal. Although contraception is a crucial component of a woman's health maintenance, her ability to obtain certain contraceptives from the facility where she obtains her primary care is largely influenced by the availability of a gynecologist. Further research is needed to determine how fragmentation of women's care into reproductive and nonreproductive services impacts access to contraception and the incidence of unintended pregnancy.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Effects of making emergency contraception available without a physician's prescription: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Timely access to emergency contraception has the potential to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and subsequent abortions. A public health policy initiative in British Columbia beginning in December 2000 allowed pharmacists to provide emergency contraceptives (ECs) without a prescription. We sought to determine changes in EC use after the policy was introduced and to analyze EC use with data generated by the policy. METHODS: All Ovral, Preven and Plan B EC prescriptions from Jan. 1, 1996, to Dec. 31, 2003, were identified through the BC PharmaNet and Medical Services Plan administrative databases and the data analyzed to determine changes between 1996 and 2002. Changes over time were determined in the frequency of EC provision, choice of EC agent, frequency of EC use by age group, repeat use and geographic distribution of EC prescription for the pre- and post-policy periods. Anonymized patient-specific data from treatment consent forms were used to describe the reason for EC use, interval between unprotected intercourse and EC prescription, proportion prescribed for immediate or future use, referrals for regular birth control and STD screening and concomitant antiemetic use. Consent data also provided the time in the menstrual cycle that the EC was requested. RESULTS: The number of EC prescriptions increased from a pre-policy mean of 8805 (99% confidence interval 7823-9787) in the years 1996 to 2000 to a post-policy total in 2002 of 17 794. Physicians prescribed the levonorgestrel regimen (Plan B) less frequently than did pharmacists. The frequency of EC use was highest among women aged 20-24 years across all study years, and all age groups demonstrated a post-policy increase in use. On average, 2.1% of the women received an EC 3 or more times a year over the period of the study. More women in urban regions received ECs than women in more rural areas of the province. Analysis of pharmacist treatment consent forms used in 2001 and 2002 showed that 56.2% of women receiving an EC reported using a method of birth control that had failed, 55.7% of pharmacist-provided ECs were obtained within 24 hours after unprotected intercourse, 1.1% of ECs were obtained for future use, antiemetics were provided to 57.7% of women receiving the Yuzpe regimen (Ovral, Preven) and to 20.5% of women receiving levonorgestrel, and women tended to seek ECs when unprotected intercourse occurred at the time of highest risk of pregnancy in their menstrual cycle. Women in greatest financial need obtained ECs more frequently from physicians than from pharmacists. INTERPRETATION: The policy change that granted pharmacists authority to provide ECs to women without a physician's prescription did not simply expand EC availability but was associated with an overall increase in EC use in the province.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Community availability of contraceptives and family limitation.

This study examines the impact of contraceptive service availability on contraceptive use in Korea, Mexico, and Bangladesh. Using World Fertility Survey Data on once-married females and their communities of residence, the multivariate analysis finds that the community level of contraceptive availability directly affects the likelihood of current use, net of the effects of community development, education, parity, and marital duration. The results are supportive of the recent policy emphasis on maximizing the geographic availability of contraceptive services.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Contraceptive implants.

Available contraceptive implants appeal to women of diverse cultural and socioeconomic background because they offer long-term contraception, safety, effectiveness, reversibility and lack of estrogenic side-effects. Experience with Norplant I indicates that despite some side-effects the continuation rate is the highest for any reversible method of contraception. Disruption of the menstrual cycle is the main reason for discontinuation, hence research effort needs to focus on the mechanism of progestogen-induced endometrial bleeding and appropriate therapy. Implant service programs should have trained and skilled personnel who can provide adequate counseling that complements any public education effort and also provides effective services. Because contraceptive implants offer no protection against sexually transmitted infections, those who engage in high-risk sexual behavior should be encouraged to use condoms as well.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

A multivariate analysis of interstate variation in fertility of teenage girls.

A multiple regression model was used to determine the correlates of state-to-state variation in fertility of teenage girls. The independent variables were the abortion-t0-live birth ratio, contraception/conception ratio, racial composition, adult personal income, per cent urban population, and adult educational attainment. The model explained 69 per cent of the interstate variation in 1974 fertility. Both the racial composition and the abortion ratio were significantly (p less than .01) correlated with fertility. With 1970--1974 change in fertility as the dependent variable, the model explained 80 per cent of the variation, with income as the most strongly correlated variable. The contraception/conception ratio was also significant (p less than .01), as was racial composition (p less than .05). Factor analysis of the independent variables showed that the six variables were well accounted for by three factors representing culture/education status, abortion availability, and contraception availability. The analysis showed that utilization of both contraception and abortion was important in determining the fertility of a state's teenagers. Increased availability of publicly subsidized contraception in low income areas and increased availability of abortion in low income and rural areas might be expected to result in decreased fertility of teenage girls.

Abortion, Induced↗