= Registered users
= Paid-up subscribersMost teenage girls and young women have little, if any, knowledge of long-acting contraceptive methods, a qualitative study has found.
The UK has the unenviable status of having the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe. The NICE public health guidance on one-to-one interventions to reduce the rate of under-18 conceptions encourages healthcare professionals to try to reduce unplanned pregnancies in young people.1 To do this, young people must have access to contraception that is not only effective and reliable but also appropriate to their needs.
This study used a self-reported survey of young people aged under 25 years attending three young people's sexual health clinics in Newcastle upon Tyne over a three-week period. It looked at their knowledge and attitudes to the: contraceptive patch, vaginal ring and implant.
A total of 127 young women, aged 13 to 21 years, responded. Ten participants had had an unplanned pregnancy and 68 had had a pregnancy scare. The majority had no prior knowledge of the three types of contraception being discussed. Those who already had some knowledge of these methods reported getting this from a variety of sources including: friends, family, boyfriends, college, the media and healthcare professionals.
Interest in these methods was varied but generally low. The most popular was the patch and the least popular the vaginal ring.
Several major themes emerged from qualitative analysis, relating to advantages and disadvantages of using these methods:
- convenience
- effectiveness
- safety and side effects
- invasiveness
- discretion
The authors noted that it was useful to understand what young people look for in contraceptives; they suggest that healthcare professionals should provide information relating to these themes to assist young people to make the most appropriate choice.
I would also suggest we should think about ways to overcome barriers that make some methods less attractive, e.g. strategies to help overcome irregular bleeding with contraceptive implants.
Dr Richard Ma