Characteristics of women who sought emergency contraception at a university-based women's health clinic
Received 1 August 2008; received in revised form 3 December 2008; accepted 6 March 2009. published online 11 May 2009.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to identify unique characteristics for seeking emergency contraception (EC) among sexually active unmarried women who attended a university-based women's health clinic (WHC).
Study Design
Three hundred nine consecutive women who attended the women's health clinic for 3 months of the 2006 spring semester completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Fisher exact and Student t tests were used to assess bivariate associations, and step-wise regression was used to determine independent associations.
Results
Women who requested EC were more likely to have previously used EC (P < .001), to have had unprotected sex in the past 6 months (P < .001), to have experienced an unintended pregnancy in the past year (P = .009), and to perceive the need for EC use in the next 3 months (P < .001) but were less likely to use hormonal contraception or an intrauterine device (P < .001).
Conclusion
Our findings support the need for increased education that would include the use of and access to effective primary contraceptive methods in conjunction with EC awareness.
Reprints: Jared W. Parrish, MS, 7110 Ambler Ln, #15, Anchorage, AK 99504
Authorship and contribution to the manuscript is limited to the 5 authors indicated. There was no outside funding or technical assistance with the production of this article.
Cite this article as: Parrish JW, Katz AR, Grove JS, et al. Characteristics of women who sought emergency contraception at a university-based women's health clinic. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2009;201:22.e1-7.
ABSTRACT