Objective
The purpose of this study was to determine women's knowledge of contraceptive effectiveness.
Study Design
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of a contraceptive knowledge questionnaire
that had been completed by 4144 women who were enrolled in the Contraceptive CHOICE
Project before they received comprehensive contraceptive counseling and chose their
method. For each contraceptive method, women were asked “what percentage would get
pregnant in a year: <1%, 1-5%, 6-10%, >10%, don't know.”
Results
Overall, 86% of subjects knew that the annual risk of pregnancy is >10% if no contraception
is used. More than 45% of women overestimate the effectiveness of depo-medroxyprogesterone
acetate, pills, the patch, the ring, and condoms. After adjustment for age, education,
and contraceptive history, the data showed that women who chose the intrauterine device
(adjusted relative risk, 6.9; 95% confidence interval, 5.6–8.5) or implant (adjusted
relative risk, 5.9; 95% confidence interval, 4.7–7.3) were significantly more likely
to identify the effectiveness of their method accurately compared with women who chose
either the pill, patch, or ring.
Conclusion
This cohort demonstrated significant knowledge gaps regarding contraceptive effectiveness
and over-estimated the effectiveness of pills, the patch, the ring, depo-medroxyprogesterone
acetate, and condoms.
Key words
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: April 09, 2012
Accepted:
April 3,
2012
Received in revised form:
March 1,
2012
Received:
January 4,
2012
Footnotes
The Contraceptive Choice Project is funded by an anonymous foundation.
The authors report no conflict of interest.
Cite this article as: Eisenberg DL, Secura GM, Madden TE, et al. Knowledge of contraceptive effectiveness. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2012;206:479.e1-9.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Mosby, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
